Lunch at work is usually food from this ‘buka’ called Amala Place. I hope a lot of people in Abuja know about it because they serve really good food. If you did not, you can thank me later.  The queues are a testimony to its goodness. It’s located directly opposite NEXT Cash and Carry (There’s a banner on the side of the road that reads ‘Amala Place’).

But this post is not about Amala Place.

There I was, driving to our lunch spot when I noticed someone hollering at me. I turned to look and it was my colleague. A brief chat and we decided to get pizza from AJ’s in Capital Hub, which is also located on the same street as NEXT. We got to Capital Hub and AJ’s was closed so we decided to go to The Grill Country: The Authentic Texan Grill. I can’t vouch for its authenticity but it wasn’t half bad.

It’s a nicely decorated cosy place with an open plan kitchen which may not have been a good idea on the owner(s)’s part. We stepped out to take a look at some of the other shops in the plaza and when we returned, the fumes had spread through the restaurant. Yes, they had an expeller. *cue coughs*

I ordered grilled tilapia, A ordered king prawns and F basically ordered rice and chicken. F’s food came out about 10 minutes before ours did. Nigerian restaurants need to learn. I noticed that the sauce that came with F’s chicken was the same sauce on my fish. It was a sauce with an abundance of flavour and veggies. Being a ‘pepperless’ person, I found it spicy. A little pet peeve of mine is badly marinated protein and this fish was badly marinated.

It was a pretty satisfying meal but some things struck me as funny. The grilled stuff on the menu don’t come with sides; If you want fries or rice, for example, you have to pay extra. The size of the prawns was okay but I thought it was expensive; it cost N3000 for two prawns! Also, I had wanted the spicy baked potatoes but was advised against it by the waiter as it would have taken about thirty minutes to make. -_-

Would I choose Amala Place over this place? Maybe. What are your restaurant related pet peeves? Tell me in the comments! 🙂

The Grill Country: The Authentic Texan Grill is located at The Capital Hub, Ahmadu Bello, Way, Abuja.