Benin Cafe Resturant — Restaurant in Toronto

Food: My standard for judging Nigerian food at any restaurant is their egusi and jollof rice. If you mess that up than its a no for me. I ordered the egusi and flavour was 5/5. Portion on pounded yam was a bit small compared to Afrobeat Kitchen but price was relatively similar and taste was more "authentic". I would say this is their strength and if you just want to taste something that's "home cooked" then they are a very strong candidate for flavour.

Service: Would have been a 5/5 if one issue was eliminated. The menus have no prices.......... As a fellow Nigerian this raises eyebrows but because the prices seemed fair when I asked I stayed. However.....As someone who's looking for a place to bring my "Oyinbo" friends this one flaw makes it almost impossible as Non-Nigerians, especially younger generation value transparency when dining in. So unfortunately it was a 3/5 just for that issue alone. If they resolve that issue (eg Buy stickers for ~$30 and place prices on menu, or for FREE make a digital menu and use QR code on table to scan) then they will instantaneously have my recommendation to friends.

Atmosphere: This one was another one that lost stars on review. It's too dark..... I was there mid-day. I understand trying to save money on hydro but half the restaurant was too dark to see food clearly. Again this is an issue for the "Oyinbo" mostly as I personally don't mind eating good food in pitch black darkness. Cheap high efficiency LED lighting on the wall will up the atmosphere from a 2/5 to 4/5. The art was okay but a bit crowded and you cant see it clearly when its too dark. Add some traditional bini music in the background and voila atmosphere is better.

Overall I rate the restaurant 3/5. If they fix the last two issues and "modernize" a bit, I believe this restaurant has potential to overtake all the other Nigerian restaurants in the West-End, North York, and Peel due to having better food and better prices. I know many people at Humber College who are dying to try Nigerian food but because historically Nigerian food in Toronto is not the most accessible (and expensive) its not possible. Food was proper authentic and Top 10 taste I've had in Canada and Nigeria but the other issues need to be rectified in order for this to compete with Afrobeat...

I have eaten the chicken fried rice twice. It's delicious but the second time they forgot the 2 pieces chicken on top which are included and it tasted different from the first time. First time was mixed with all sorts of veggies corn included and rice was fried. The 2nd time was not fried rice more like boiled rice but still delicious and less veggies..no corn I have called several times to order chicken fried rice for a group of friends and I after bragging to them and they never have the ingredients to make it...always out of chicken whether its 12pm 2 PM 5pm or 8pm. So y is it on the menu. My friends have tried the ogbonno and egusi and love it!!! Great customer service but they seem to be overwhelmed with orders and can't keep up. I need the chicken fried rice please!!!!!! 4 stars only because they hardly have...

Everything was going okay until I got the bill for the food. I’m trying to figure out why 3 dishes totalled $114 when the portions were tiny and the restaurant had no ambiance with mediocre service. I ordered jollof rice, efo riro, and banga all of which had lovely flavour. The portion sizes were tiny for the $30+ dollars I was charged for them. The restaurant itself is clean but is not particularly aesthetically pleasing. The food also took 45-60 minutes to arrive. I probably won’t be returning here because I don’t think there’s much value in waiting close to an hour for tiny plates I could’ve...