From Lagos to Kigali — “Danfo by The Grid” Restaurant Journey

In my last two explorations of Nigerian restaurants abroad (see part 1, part 2), Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali was not part of my mentions. So here goes my story on a new entrant in a “posh” location in the city.

Location and atmospherics are central to marketing good food.

While “Danfo by The Grid” is a new entrant following in the footsteps of Jollof Kigali, there are some interesting differences. Unlike the former, the latter seems to have a bit more space and selection of Nigerian beverages — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. But that’s about it.

As for Danfo by the Grid, the location is sublime — the Kigali Business Centre is a prime location next to Kigali Heights and the Kigali Convention Centre. What’s more the menu can only be accessed by scanning a QR code on the table.

As I had early pointed out in the first series:

“Nigerians in the diaspora know the exact needs of their brothers and sisters at home visiting these new climes. But the question is how have they responded to these clientele?”

Against the backdrop of my diaspora sojourn — having previously resided in Dubai, London, Scotland, and having also visited Berlin, Houston, Atlanta, Florida, Tanzania and South Africa in the past decade or just over — I have been rather unimpressed by the ambience of Nigerian restaurants in these locations (when compared with their counterparts).

Made in Lagos — surely

Another eye-catcher is the creative naming convention of the Cocktails highlighting/ celebrating everything Lagos from “Lagos Island” through “Ojuelegba” to “Ikeja Margaritas.”

Last, but surely not the least, the Jollof Rice is awesome irrespective of who won the debate of this popular Nigerian dish.

As I usually do, I sign off with managerial and theoretical implications, “Nigerian restaurateurs need to up their game and provide the appropriate ambience, quality of service and innovativeness” a theme that resonates with my inaugural research “Nigerian restaurants in London: bridging the experiential perception/expectation gap” published in 2007.

At the theoretical level, academics should encourage students to undertake research projects on how to make Nigerian restaurants more competitive especially in climes outside Nigeria.

Journal of Foodservice Business Research

One interesting 2018 article “Identity, ethnic embeddedness, and African cuisine break-out in Britain,” highlights why it all matters.

Originally published at https://www.tekedia.com on February 6, 2023.