Radio Kwara — Restaurant in New York

A group of us had the opportunity to dine at this restaurant as part of Tasting Collective, where a pre-set menu was created to showcase the cuisine. While I understand that a tasting experience may not fully represent the regular menu, it provided a glimpse of what might be expected.

One area of concern was the spacing of the restaurant. It is quite compact, which made it challenging to be comfortable throughout the meal. Despite my petite stature at 5’1”, I found it difficult to stretch my legs.

We began our meal with the goat pepper soup, which was enjoyable and had a bold flavor profile, though it was quite spicy and may not have been the most suitable choice as the first dish for all guests.

The subsequent dishes featured minimal meat, leading to the perception that we were enjoying a primarily vegetarian experience, which may not have aligned with everyone’s expectations given the higher price point of the tasting menu.

Before dessert, we were informed that the planned “Nigerian Sweet Dough” was unavailable, and we would instead be served ice cream and caramelized plantain. It was a bit surprising that a restaurant would run out of key ingredients for a tasting menu, especially since we were the first seating of the evening and had provided an exact count in advance.

While I appreciate the effort put into the dining experience, I must admit that it may not be on my list for a return visit to...

In my previous visit to Radio Kwara last year, I was impressed by the novelty of the menu and the elevation of the dishes in terms of technique and texture. There was also a generosity in the portions. I remember the fish pepper soup as a whole bone-in fish with a piping hot pepper soup. I remember the Joloff rice being so flavorful and balanced and I was so taken by the genius of them using black rice that I was compelled to order the pounded yam in the same meal and felt vindicated. I remember the charred octopus which was perfectly charred and seasoned with suya.

But this was last year.

This year, my visit to Radio Kwara was filled with disappointment. I tried the black-eyed-pea dumpling over cooked mackerel which was excellent and I was ready for another pleasant experience. Then they served the goat pepper soup which had three tiny pieces of meat and noodles over lukewarm soup. The Octopus was not seasoned enough and was too salted. The joloff rice was under seasoned and just seemed like salted black rice with some sad carrots on top.

Thankfully, I got that bottle of wine from next door to drown out the disappointment. But this is my biggest grievance - that I spent 75 bucks per head (including tax and tip) and I left the restaurant still hungry and had to pick up a pizza slice on the way. That is...

I've never ordered an entire menu before until this place. Took some friends here to try Nigerian food for the first time and this place fully delivered. I'm usually skeptical about Nigerian places - they never seem to get it right. But the service, the food, the hospitality, and the ambiance were all right. It was small chops themed (kind of - but really more kinda like Nigerian Tapas). We ordered literally everything on the menu and everything was delicious. The Goat Cheese, the Agege Bread, the Pepper Soup, the Suya Octopus, the Jollof, tbh I can't pick highlights - Nigerian food is my favorite 🤷🏾‍♂️. I gotta say though as far as authenticity goes, it nails it while still elevating the food to another level. The base stew was perfectly balanced while still delivering an acceptable level of spice. The fish pepper soup was really authentic and hit the spot - that or the Agege was probably my favorite favorite. I highly recommend you visit here if you're in Brooklyn, you won't be disappointed. In fact you'll be spoiled - this sets a...