Crown cafe — Restaurant in Arlington

This is my first time trying African food. I always passed this place and thought to give it a try. I was looking for a menu online but couldn’t find one so figured that I needed to come by to find it myself. I asked for a couple orders but they didn’t have any left (I can’t buy at 9pm). I ended up ordering the Jollof Rice and Ewa Aganyin to go and didn’t know what to expect. I I did wait awhile but read good reviews online so I had some faith that whatever I order would taste good. There’s no specific person acting as your waiter or waitress, it seems like a big family working here where everyone’s job is mixed. When I finally got my order, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they give you a pretty large portion. The plastic to go container was heavy and high quality, it even says that it’s microwave safe. They offered silverware with my order and even the plastic silverware was somewhat heavy duty. Our order came with a container of siracha as well. Jollof rice “tastes like Mexican rice” But tastes great regardless. The chicken was juicy and slightly crispy and blackened on the outside as if it was grilled. 10/10. Plantains were delicious. I’ve had plantains at other places but this place cooked their plantains really well: it was slightly blackened, crispy on the edges, and full of sweet and savory flavor. The ewa aganyin tastes really good… probably the best bean stew I’ve had in my life. The fried fish that comes with it is fried fish, not soggy, cooked well, I didn’t find bones all over the meat, it was easy to separate the meat...

I drove all the way from Denton to try the seafood okra soup I saw online. I was greeted by the kindest lady, Esther; she was truly a gem. Although I waited for a while for the food, when it finally arrived, it didn't look appetizing. Unfortunately, it was tasteless, and I had to ask for more Maggie seasoning. The seafood did not include snails, stock fish, or dry fish as mentioned on their menu, which was highly disappointing, especially considering the price. I was hoping for something much better and more flavorful.

The side of jollof rice was also lackluster; I only took one spoonful, and it had no taste or flavor, leaving me disappointed again. The moi moi was okay but a bit dry. Overall, for my first experience here, I was quite let down, especially since it was recommended by a friend.

The atmosphere was decent, and I would consider returning primarily because of Esther’s excellent service. She was genuinely concerned about my experience and wanted to make things right, which I...

Service was excellent, and food was surprisingly nice. I had Amala with gbegiri and ewedu. It was delicious.

I also ordered the Ewa agoyin plate, jollof rice place and oat-fufu and ogbono to go. I tasted the jollof rice. The smell and flavor of "party jollof" was on point, but the rice itself was not cooked through.

I also tried some of my Ewa Agoyin. The beans itself was nice, but their agoyin sauce did not come through at all, and so that "agoyin flavor was missing"! The sauce makes the meal. It seems to be missing an important ingredient, more palmoil and that deep frying of the pepper. The fried plantain was not soft. It was chewy and rubbery.

Overall, compared to many other Nigerian restaurants that I have tried, I will give them an 8 out of 10, which means I would go back for some meals and definitely...