Well I know this is not a Lagos experience but this is from a reader who lives in Lagos and wanted to share her experience in Abuja…. Fair enough 🙂

Consider this an Extraordinary item lol

“I’m new to Abuja, a place I’ve always wanted to be just to get a feel of Lagos’s “rival”. But most especially to sample the social scene and of course the food experiences the Federal Capital Territory has to offer. I’ve been gathering intel on this assignment and I have a list of restaurants, cafes and spots to visit. It is a very long list. I owe it to the community of foodies out there to do as much as I can during my stay at Abuja.

My first official sit-down-to-eat was to satisfy a sudden hunger that came upon me a few weeks ago and Southern Fried Chicken was the only place around. Verdict: NO. I expected fast food but got overpriced bad food with “slimy” ketchup, stale burger buns and inattentive staff. I took photos of my meal but it still looked really poor despite editing and filters. I wasn’t expecting fine dining but if your entire business is about the basic staple – burger and chips, do try to get it right. I simply refuse to count this as my first experience. I felt assaulted by greasy, soggy chips and a dry burger.

I digress.

This post is about one of the places on my list: Salamander Cafe. Craving breakfast on a late and sunny Saturday morning, I made my way to No. 5 Bujumbura Street, Off Libreville Street, Wuse 2, Abuja.

Ambience: This cosy little cafe is tucked away on a quiet street. There is an outdoor section with  lovely shade. Upon going in, a vibrant, eclectic decor hit me and cane chairs. Loved the wall art and the quirky little pieces all around. The service was great and the waiters were attentive. I loved the menu layout. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture. I look out for things like that, the cleanness of the font, how the menu items are described. I like neat menus and if there are pictures on the menu, they must be tasteful but I prefer no photos on menus because it can easily look tacky. The music, a jazzy crooning in a foreign language,  was loud enough to be heard but not too loud to be distracting. It was very soothing. Like all my favorite spots, it had a bookshop section with a beautiful collection of books and cosy chairs by large windows that let in a lot of natural light.

Food: I had the English Breakfast which came with tea and a glass of fresh orange juice. I’m a big tea lover. Opted for green tea which was quite weak  so I had some of my friend’s regular black tea instead. One seemingly little thing I was very pleased about is that the milk that came with the tea was warmed. Nothing worse than fridge cold milk making your cuppa tepid. I realize this simple thing is often overlooked in restaurants. However, the waiter omitted to inform us of the glass of orange juice that came with the meal until it was brought to his attention by my friend. He then mentioned that they were out of orange juice but he substituted it for a tasty glass of fresh pineapple juice.

My eggs were well done as I requested and the waiter was courteous enough to recommend their turkey bacon as I told him to exclude the pork in my order. The butter was also pliable and not frozen stiff. The portion size was very healthy and my meal cost me an affordable N3500 plus a small bottle of water.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and experience.”

Thanks for sharing your Abuja experience with us 🙂

Read other Lagos experiences shared on the blog.