Overall good experience, but the portions are very small and there’s no guaranteed meat dish on the menu, which is pretty disappointing for the price point and set menu presentation.
Large table with bench seating (I really wish I hadn’t worn a dress ) takes up most of the space and the chef comes and gives more background on each of the dishes when each course is served. Food takes a veryyyy long time to prepare. I believe they have a very limited kitchen. Dinner is 4 courses and takes about 2 and a half hours, so plan accordingly. Fish pepper soup was great, but portion of fish is super tiny. We had yam 2 ways with a crawfish sauce which was good. Egusi soup and pounded yam which was great. Caramelized plantain and ice cream for dessert, also good.
From previous reviews and beli posts I was really looking forward to a goat or short rib dish or even the wara cheese, but we unfortunately weren’t served any of those dishes on this night. The menu changes day to day. Our booking was actually moved from last week due to an overbooking error so maybe they had short rib 😭
While the experience was great and it seems like the staff really love food, I cant get past the lack of a meat dish on the set menu. I probably won’t be back given some of the other great set menus in this price point range. Really wanted to love it since it’s been in my beli bookmarks for ages :(
Just came back from the restaurant and I feel so content and happy. I am not really into fine dining because a lot of the time it can get too intellectual, but I feel Dept. of Culture really made it experiential. The food is very good, I can feel the culture, the identity and the love in the food. I love Chef Ayo spend time explaining the dish, the culture and sharing his personal stories. He is not only a chef but an artist! This is a very unique, culturally and wholesome experience I had in NYC. We will definitely come back!
My other half and I visited here on a Saturday evening. There are 2 sitting an evening and the menu is a set 4 course menu (which you don’t see beforehand and is regularly changing). You also have to prepay the $85 per person when you book so just be aware of that. The restaurant is BYOB, something which we knew from reviews but was only shared with us by the restaurant about 60 minutes before our reservation.
We arrived promptly for our 6pm reservation and had our pick of seats on the communal table. The setup is one communal table and a few bar seats so if you are particular on where you want to sit then arrive right at your reservation time. Annoyingly someone was late to our seating so our service was delayed by about 25 minutes (by which point the person still hadn’t arrived) and this did result in the meal being slightly rushed.
We started with the Pepper Soup, which was out highlight of the evening (I would return just for this dish). The fish was perfectly cooked and the pepper soup had a good kick to it, a really well balanced dish. The next dish was a Nigerian cheese dish, I am not a cheese fan so can’t fairly judge this but the tomato sauce it came in was lovely (I just hated the cheese). Next we had Herring and Yams, I found this dish a little stodgy and the picketed herring flavour was slightly overwhelming. I enjoyed a small amount of it but found the dish difficult to finish. The meal ended with caramelised plantain, which was very sweet but a nice way to end the meal.
I really enjoyed the experience and the chef coming out and explaining each dish was a nice touch. Overall we had a nice evening but not sure we would rush back. The portion sizes were pretty small (although the yams were filling) and for the price point I think I would rather visit somewhere else. However I do encourage people to try Dept of Culture at least once.
Incredible vibe. Unique vinyl selection, amazing food, and a host who has mastered the art of the evening. It feels like dining at the house of someone with impeccable taste in both spice and sound. The speakers are the absolute star of the room—crisp, warm, and perfectly tuned to the space. 10/10, would move in if I could.
