🇳🇬 🇳🇬 Intercontinental Nigerian Restaurant (AfricanFood) Best Nigerian Igbo,Yoruba, Hausa Cuisine🇳🇬🇺🇸 — Restaurant in Columbus

So I was waiting to make this review because I wanted to give them another chance. I had been to this place the first time with my husband and the staff all had a very unfriendly faces. And this was all of them that were in the restaurant that day. We made our orders and other than taking on money and taking the order and giving us our food they had no interaction with us and not one person smiled even though we were smiling. I went again the next time and had the same exact experience. And then because their food was good I recommended a friend of mine to go there and they had the same exact experience again. Today was the last straw. I called them on the phone to make my order before going to pick it up and the lady that I spoke to was very rude. While I was ordering a couple of the items that I wanted were not names that I was familiar with because it was in the Nigerian local language. So I try to describe to her what I was wanting and the whole time she seemed annoyed that I was still on the phone trying to find the name. She was trying to rush me off the phone and didn’t care if she sounded rude and eventually she hung up on me. I called back and canceled the order because that is horrible customer service. I am African too and because of that I would never try to ruin another African’s business however this place is the worst place I have ever gone to. Again this was my last straw after giving them a few chances. Go at your own risk!

So I’m editing this because as I was expecting one of their reps has responded and taken no accountability just like they have done with the rest of the bad reviews they have had. When I called a second time I said “cancel the order” after I asked if I was hung up on. You’re either lying or deaf. No body is expecting you to stay on the phone and chat, but have some decency and know that you are required to have good customer service or things like this will happen again. Please train your staff better. If you like don’t take this advice. You already are defensive with all your negative reviews anyway. Accountability is very important. Use this as an opportunity to better yourself. Again you have horrible customer service. Even in your responses it shows! Whoever wants evidence, just scroll through the responses to the negative comments and compare to how other places respond to the negative comments. Have a good night! Or maybe not because I’m sure you’re you’ll be writing scripts for your response to this new information...

I really, really don't want to leave a negative review, given how the owners here are extremely nice, but I feel like I need to air a couple of complaints:

1. I decided to order the meat pepper soup, and the lady said "you can get it by itself or get it with something." I asked if it came with anything, and she replied "you can get it with rice or fufu". I went with the fufu. The answer should've been "no, it doesn't come with anything", because they charged me $3 for the fufu separately. Wouldn't have ordered it if I'd known that. Apparently, if the menu doesn't explicitly say a dish comes with rice or fufu, it's extra.

2. Then I asked what kind of meat it was, and was told goat meat. Great, I love goat. Nope. There were two tiny pieces of actual meat in it and the rest was tripe, which I'm not a fan of. Tripe is not meat, guys, it's tripe. Please don't tell other people that in the future, it's misleading.

3. I also asked for some water, since there were glasses sitting on each table, and was brought a bottle of water. Didn't find out till I got the check that I was also charged $1 for that. You need to tell people upfront that things will cost extra, and what place doesn't even give you free tap water these days, anyway?

Turns out it was a good thing I ordered the fufu, because I didn't end up liking the soup broth itself. I'm not holding that against the restaurant, mind you, it's not their fault that it didn't suit my taste. I just feel a little miffed that I got misinformation or no warning of extra charges three separate times in the same visit. For what it's worth, the fufu and the snack they served beforehand were great, and the other, more familiar stuff on the menu is probably good, too.

Sorry again for the long and mostly negative review. I hope future diners won't be accidentally caught off...

I cannot get enough of their Pounded Yam FuFu and Egusi Soup. It is absolutely delicious! This was my second try at partaking in West African cuisine, after a not so impressive meal I had a few months back. I’m so glad I gave this place a try. Especially realizing that there are so many different interpretations of these dishes across the continent.

Yam Fufu and Egusi Soup: The Fufu comes fresh, hot and the perfect texture for pulling. While the flavor is mild, it’s a wonderful companion to some of the more savory soups/stews. The Egusi Soup has a powerful, spiced and seasoned flavor profile. I did have to adjust to some of the thin fish bones in it - but not out of the ordinary or too unexpected when cooking with dried fish. The flavor it brings is worth the minor inconvenience. I get mine with the 2 chicken drumsticks - which are well cooked and also wonderfully seasoned. I’d like the option to order without a protein on Uber Eats, though.

Jollof Rice, Plantains with Beef: The rice was coated and seasoned very well! I enjoyed the spice, flavor and texture of the rice. My beef was a tad tough. I really only wanted to try the rice, but on the Uber Eats app currently requires a protein - so, I’m not taking any points away for it. Plantains were chef’s kiss!

If you’re like me and want to experience African cuisine from right here in Central Ohio - I highly recommend this place. Also, very good portions...