Ródo | Abuja

📍19, Kolda Link/Street, Off Ademola Adetokunbo Cresc, Wuse II.

First off, it’s been a while I was THIS excited to visit a new restaurant! Hadiza (@hadiza.eats) gracefully asked if I wanted to go try out Ródo together, and of course I said yes!

I was excited because first, it was a contemporary take on African Cuisine. Second, it was somewhat affordable. Third, its chef is one I have been following for a while and have tried a number of her dishes at previous restaurant visits.

I had pre-scanned the menu knowing exactly what I wanted. And so we wennnnttt!

AMBIENCE:

The architect in me instinctively got drawn to the buildings design first. I found the use of the column & chamfered corner to emphasize the entrance to be quite interesting.

Inside, you are welcomed into a reception space first, and to the left is the downstairs dining area. You are first drawn to the beautiful ceiling covered in locally crafted lamps.

The warm tones of the furniture and wall paint also pulled me in, as well as the art pieces. They were beautiful and all around the restaurant.

There was also mention about possibly transforming the ground floor area to a cafe sometime in the future which I particularly was excited about.

To the right was the stairs leading to the upstairs dining area which was stunning.

Same earthy feel as downstairs, decorated with locally crafted elements also.

Particularly loved the mirror wall. It made the space seem like it had another dimension. Bigger essentially.

FOOD:

Complimentary Cornbread

It’s like a warm hug welcoming you to the restaurant. Warm, spongy & sweet. I wanted more.

Okra Tempura – N3,800

crispy fried okra, sweet chill dip

I have watched so many shows & videos on the internet over the years about the different ways you can have okra. But I’ve only known it one way: served with either pounded yam or semo.

This really took me buy surprise. I was not sure what I was expecting, but I didn’t think it would taste like any other vegetable tempura.

The only difference was the squishy/slimy centre, which was rather subtle and created an interesting texture with the crispy tempura. I recommend! It’s not as scary as it looks.

Twice Fried Smashed Plantain – N3,800

unripe plantain, pineapple & habanero dip

Seeing this on the menu, I was mainly interested in the dip. I imagined it’d be the star of the dish.

Despite it being a good spicy dip, the plantains paired better with the sweet chili sauce. It took it up a notch with the sweetness.

rodo, yaji & sweet chill chicken, smoky jollof rice, plantain, slaw.

Ródo Claypot – N8,000

I got the claypot mainly because I wanted to see how our favorite Nigerian meal could be elevated. Even though not much ‘elevating’ had been done, it was an amazing plate of Jollof rice.

Well seasoned & flavored rice (even though I was missing the smokey element), juicy chicken strips and some fried semi-ripe plantains. The slaw was simple & good.

Bao Buns – N5,800

tozo, chilli & honey, sauteed chili, cabbage, crispy sweet potato

The Bao Buns. After trying these, I would say I’m still on the search for A1 bao buns in the city. I thought the ingredients highlighted in the description would be the star of the buns, however only 2 out 5 of those were presented.

So a mouthful of dough, cabbage and some tozo was not really the best. It was missing a sauce/oil that would bind the ingredients together as it was quite dry. There were also comments about the bun tasting off, but I thought this was just a dough thing which I personally didn’t mind.

Side note: Luckily, management was available, so we were able to bring this to their attention. After explaining, they apologized and pointed out the staff were still getting a hang of things, as the restaurant just opened a few days ago.

Understandable, however, it was just us 4 diners at the time who ordered 3 starters. So I would like to believe there wasn’t much rush or pressure in the kitchen that would warrant missing ingredients or condiments on the plate.

Durban Lamb Curry – N7,500

slow cooked lamb, potatoes, coriander, tomatoes, grilled carrots, South African Naan

This! This is one of the dishes I could go back for. Lamb is a great choice for curries. The flavors were rich & I liked the play in texture with the potatoes, tomatoes & carrots.

The South African Naan was different. Unlike the soft naans you usually find in Indian / Mediterranean restaurants, this was rather hard. Same concept, just hard bread. Safe to say I’m not a fan of South African Naan.

Ramen – N8,500

pepper soup broth, beef fillet, egg noodles, grilled chicken, chilli oil, eggs

Finally! A place in the city I can go for Ramen. The mention of pepper soup broth was what reeled me in. I also liked that the dish features both chicken and beef, which means even more flavor! Noodles were al dente and the right noodles! Not indomie. A must try!

Zobo Pap Brûlée – N3,800

caramelised hibiscus sugar, berry compote, gurundi

Again, I was not sure what to expect getting into this but was it a sweet surprise!

I had 4 different textures in my mouth; the crunchy caramelized zobo sugar, the little seeds in the compote, the creaminess of the pap & finally the grains in the gurundi. Absolutely loved it as well as it’s presentation.

Agege Apple Pie French Toast – N3,800

caramelized apples, cinnamon, chin chin dust, vanilla ice cream.

I didn’t get a chance to try this but my friends highlighted that it was missing the main element of french toast, which is it being dipped into a creamy mixture. Essentially, It was just toasted bread, caramelized apples & ice cream.

SERVICE:

Service was great! From the welcoming lady at the reception, to the attentive waiters/waitresses, all the way to the chef listening to our comments.

I appreciated that management took the time to explain things & apologize as well.

SALMAH’S SIDENOTE:

Whether a restaurant just opened or not, I expect to get exactly what they aimed for in the early days at least.

I’m not necessarily a believer of “oh they just opened, cut them some slack”. I expect that you’ve projected possible outcomes and have come up with possible solutions as well.

SPEND SUMMARY:

Complimentary Cornbread

Okra Tempura – N3,800

Bao Buns – N5,800

Twice Fried Smashed Plantain – N3,800

Durban Lamb Curry – N7,500

Ramen – N8,500

Rodo Claypot – N8,000

Zobo Pap Brûlée – N3,800

Agege Apple Pie French Toast – N3,800

Soft Drinks – N1,000

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