Aburi Gardens International Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

My friend knows I LOVE oxtail, so she recommended this restaurant a while ago. I happened to be in the area over the weekend, so I decided to give it a try. While the customer service was exceptional from when I first placed my order by phone, to when I arrived to pick up my order, I was not at all impressed by the food. The jollof rice was ok. It was full of flavor and spice, but perhaps it was so dry and hard/clumpy because it was later in the evening. The oxtail was not only OVERLY spicy, it was also full of the little hairs that come on it😩 I know it’s a tedious process to clean meats and remove hairs/feathers, but it must be done. I understand that some may go unplucked, but it didn’t appear that any attempt had been made to remove these hairs. I also ordered cassava leaf without meat, which to my surprise didn’t come with rice either. Not the best I’ve had, but it wasn’t as bad as the oxtail. I just had to make my own white rice. I really wanted to like this place! I may give it another try, going for something else...maybe the peanut butter soup next time. I gave this place a 3 because of the nice young man at the register. They’ve got customer service on lock, just wish I could say the same for...

Me and my sisters been eating here over a year now. I’m a vegan so I always order just a side of Casava or side of the black eyes peas from the mother land special which I ask to have no meat in either one. What they do is move the meat out of dish but meat was stick cooked with it. I found meat pieces multiple times they don’t really respect people’s special diets or ways of life. They seem like they just care about the money. Their menu is not vegetarian/ vegan friendly at all! It’s a shame the food is great but the owner and workers there have no consideration for people that choose not to eat meat they almost I feel like force it on you or trick you into eating it instead of just being honest about certain dishes that have no modifications for people who don’t eat meat. I’m so disappointed there’s not many good spots here in Woodbridge I like food with flavor but they don’t have human decency here ! Sometimes the food is really oily and sometimes the rice is hard and crunchy DO NOT EAT here especially if you are vegan...

I love their food and I drive over 45 mins to eat there and support their business on the regular! I have family from West Africa and I crave peanut butter soup and cassava leaf often but don’t know how to make it yet so I come here. I always order the motherland combo with Jollaf Rice, chicken and black eyed peas with a side order of meatless cassava leaf 😋 I’ve ordered almost everything on the menu, even the meats like fish, the soups, plantain, fufu, etc and I still keep coming back for more! I found my favorite combo of food for me❣️ The gentlemen working the front are always sweethearts and when I found out that a woman started it all and is the cook, I loved this spot even more! ❤️ If you are American, keep an open mind and palette when trying foods from other countries before complaining about something you know...