Restaurant Critique

 By: Haneefah Adamu, Halima Sogbesan & Amina Kollere.

 RESTAURANT CRITIQUE

What you are about to read is an account of our collective experiences of our visit to the AUN clubhouse, Amina, Hanyfah, and Halima. On one sunny afternoon, our professor, Dr. Samuel Tesunbi, treated us to lunch at the club. While there, we took the opportunity to critique the restaurant.

The AUN University Club restaurant is regarded as one of Adamawa’s finest restaurants. The architecture of the club is splendid, with a very large and spacious parking lot. The absence of valet services gives patrons a chance to drive around freely, with no hassle.

RECEPTION:

Upon entering the AUN club, the restaurant is the first thing you see through the glass door. There are no doormen or people waiting to take your coat, but then again, the clubhouse is no 4-star restaurant.  Sitting at the counter are two expressionless, weary-looking receptionists glued to their computers as they sort out the takeaway orders. An incoming customer that wants any attention at the reception would have to walk up to the receptionist to make requests or ask questions. The reception is feebly decorated with three wood carved figurines standing on a small mahogany table, the reception has a very high roof which makes every sound resonate and there is no music to eliminate the noise while a person sits and wait for his or her order.

AMBIENCE:

The blue painted, well-lit restaurant sitting area has eight wooden tables with four lightly foamed, closely knitted metal chairs that don’t allow free and comfortable movement. The ocean blue paint on the wall doesn’t complement the furniture and the dark grey tiled floor or the off white painted ceilings, which then gives the eating area a dull ambience.

Instead of the two displaced paintings, the décor should be themed to complement the overall appearance of the restaurant. Though there are five air conditioners in the restaurant, it still feels drafty and stuffy, especially as more people come in the restaurant for lunch. As for the floor, it is relatively clean, but it could have been cleaner, and the most shocking of all is, the presences of  flies in the restaurant!

STAFF & PROFESSIONALISM:

Upon entry, we did not get ushered to a table; we just roam around to find a table to settle ourselves in. After taking a seat, a shabbily dressed waitress (all waiters are professionally dressed in 4-star restaurants) with a smiling face presented us with a menu. An average order with less than ten customers in the restaurant takes up to 20 minutes. While we were waiting, we were conversing and watching television with nothing to nibble on. 

MENU:

The menu consists mostly of African dishes with few foreign dishes. With the wide variety of faculty and staff coming from all over the world, we think the entrees should be more diverse. We notice that there is a fine selection of drinks and beverages, ranging from soft drinks, beers, wines, and spirits, but there are no natural juices on the beverage menu. Not everyone likes artificially flavored drinks. Water is not free at the clubhouse; a medium sized bottle costs N150, and a big bottle costs N200.

FOOD:

The waitress comes with tablemats, glass cups, cutleries, and water.. The big bottle of water we have ordered is not cold.  We order fried rice and boneless chicken with green salad (N1550), beef burger and potato chips (N1150), and Jollof rice and peppered chicken (N1150), which came 20 minutes later.

The fried rice is well cooked and the vegetables are really crunch. The chicken is properly deboned, well spiced and sautéed that it awakened every taste bud on the tongue. The salad, with English dressing, is not as enjoyable because the lettuce isn’t crispy.

The potato chips have been fried to a golden brown and the burger has visible lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. However the top of the bread looks burnt, this is not too attractive. The chips come with ketchup. The chips taste great. It has just the right amount of salt, and it is dry enough to be enjoyed. The beef burger is also good. The beef is well spiced, and the tomatoes and onions taste fresh. The lettuce on the other hand tastes like it has started wilting. The bread is also really soft and enjoyable.

The Jollof rice is not as enjoyable. One of us who ordered the Jollof rice thinks she could have cooked the same, or better, standard of Jollof rice in her kitchen. She believes the chicken was well spiced but too tough (they probably under-cooked it). She also did not think the food was worth the wait

Still, our colleague admits that the meals hot and edible, though we had to keep batting away flies as we ate which was as difficult and uncomfortable as Jackie Chan fighting off goons in the movies.

BATHROOM:

There are his and hers bathrooms at the university club restaurant.. However, they are not something to boast of. For a place that receives many patrons, this may need some revisiting. While the toilet provides running water, a clear mirror, tissue and a hand wash, there are ants by the sink, on the wall, on the floor, and the toilet bowl. There is no air freshener provided.

Overall, two of us agree that the restaurant has a very good culinary service, except for some professional services and maintenances, which are in dire need for improvement. The third person disagrees with the culinary services and thinks it isn’t worth the while. We give the AUN Club Restaurant one star!