BLUCABANA - Not so strongly worded letter

AkanmuAbuja@gmail.om

Rating: 8.5/10

Blucabana Restaurant & Cafe

Mabushi District

by Setraco Bldg. (see better address below)

Abuja, Nigeria.

Letter to Blucabana Management

Dear Blucabana Management,

This is a not so strongly worded letter to express my opinions following my experience at your establishment. I should inform you that this letter is being made available to the public through the internet, primarily for the purpose of empowering other consumers.

I have heard about half a dozen different people proclaim that “as soon as I entered (Blucabana), I felt like I was no longer in Nigeria.” It is safe to say that Blucabana is an oasis of sorts in Africa’s most prominent man-made city.

A Diamond in the Rough Indeed:

There is a very specific reason why my mind went to ‘oasis’ when I thought of the best way to briefly describe Blucabana. Located in the Mabushi district of Abuja and away from the hustle and bustle of major city areas like Wuse 2 and Maitama means that customers who patronize your establishment enjoy the feeling of being at a sort of retreat (or even a resort for those who utilize your gym and family playrooms). The oasis feeling is further compounded by the fact that getting to Blucabana involves navigating through an unnamed back road in Mabushi, then travelling a few yards on rough unpaved roads before coming to a gate that opens up into what felt like Qarth to me after my journey through the Red Waste (especially given that I initially got lost trying to locate your restaurant).   

The reason for my dramatic Game of Thrones reference is that the address listed on this letter is exactly the same address listed on your website. To clarify, “by Setraco bldng” is NOT a satisfactory way of letting people know where you are and how to find you. That being said, I could not myself think of an alternative address you could have put on your website and so instead will recommend that you use a rawer description of how to get to Blucabana. For example, my friend’s attempt at describing the way yielded: Take the next exit after the Mabushi junction; Go down a bit until you see a turning to your right just before the Setraco building; Go straight (the road is unpaved); and then take the second right turn.

You’re welcome.

My Blucabana Experience:

I will preface by saying that the comments here may reflect the fact that I am holding Blucabana to a slightly higher standard, and in doing so will linger on some issues I had with your establishment, which given almost any other establishment in town, I may have simply touched on briefly. My legitimate hope is that the points I make here, all of which are easily rectified, add value to your consideration of ways to strive for continued improvement. It is needless to say that my comments notwithstanding, I am impressed by Blucabana.

When I drove in through your gate, it was nice to be assisted with parking by one of your staff. Perhaps the assisted parking combined with my entrance into the main building through a nice open-spaced foyer set precedence and premature expectations, being ultimately responsible for the disappointment that followed when I realized that there was no greeter, captain, receptionist, or hostess to guide me to whichever section of the establishment I was interested in. In fact, I had to on my own walk in through the nice foyer, head all the way to the nice courtyard through the back door of the front building, walk  past the small tables set up outside, turn left in front of the large swimming pool with seemingly blu-er than usual water, and then enter a magnificent dining hall, after which I slowly walked through the middle of the large room, glancing at the tables arranged on the edges of the room in order to find the place where the other members of the group I was dining with was already seated. In other words, although I was impressed by the architectural and interior design qualities of your entire establishment, found the courtyard and large pool to be soothing, and think that the set-up and use of space in the main dining hall is a revelation, I feel you would benefit greatly from having someone greet your customers as they come in; if not for the sake of courtesy, then to at least let them know where they can go to find what they are looking for (not to mention whether or not they can just randomly sit themselves at any table).  

Although the service here is for the most part at a high standard, I couldn’t help but to feel as though the waiters sometimes suffered from a lack of focus and confidence. One of my biggest pet-peeves while dining out is when a waiter asks for my attention and upon receiving it has already quickly strayed to another customer (even if the other customer was at the same table as me). Thus, when a waitress at Blucabana asked for my order, interrupting a conversation I was having and then before I could start saying my order quickly moved to the other end of the table to attend to another person in the group I was dining with, it wasn’t a winning point for Blucabana as far as my perception of your service goes. Upon her return and apology (a redeeming factor), I realized that she had meant no harm by her action but was merely overwhelmed by the large table she was attempting to serve. It seemed to me that the waitress, though possessing the right amount of positive energy, lacked the confidence and focus that was needed to take control of her table and set the pace such that she did not end up appearing to be flustered.

My questioning of your waiters’ abilities was further escalated when I finally placed my order and said “I’ll have the steak”, to which she initially feigned confusion, looked at the menu page and asked “do you mean the tenderloin steak?” Last I checked, there was no other steak item on the menu. However, it could be debated that she was right in confirming my order so that’s a non-issue. The issue, however, occurred when I told her that I wanted my steak prepared medium-rare, to which she looked at me like I was mad and said she doesn’t know if that could be done. For the sake of speeding things up since she was serving a large group of people (not to mention my not wanting to sound like a pretentious jerk), I asked her to bring the steak however the kitchen prepared it. That was a big mistake on my part. The thing with tenderloin steak is that when cooked beyond medium-rare, it begins to lose its tenderness. In essence, the longer you cook tenderloin steak, the less tender and more dry it becomes. Thus, when I received a piece of steak that was charred in certain parts and which only possessed moisture due to the dish’s sauce rather than the steak’s own juices, I was quite disappointed. I had initially been struck by the balance the meals on your menu seemed to possess, and subsequently felt a little shut down by overcooked meat. That being said, the dish in itself as a whole was not unpleasant and another individual who ate the same order claims to have actually enjoyed his steak.

Regarding your entire menu, you have a good and broad selection of menu items that makes Blucabana a great choice for both lunch and dinner. However, despite the depth of your menu, neither me nor the five or so people I discussed the dishes you serve with were able to find that hmph factor that takes your food to the next level. Is it good food? Yes. Is it exemplary food matching the (perceived) level of the establishment? No. Not only do I feel that you need one or two more exciting menu items, but you also need to enhance the quality of the food itself. I feel you are fine in the departments of presentation, speed of delivery, and balance of menu items; it is only where exemplary taste is concerned that you are lacking. Also, I decided to try your signature cocktail; “the Blucabana”. It was not bad. Tasted exactly the way I expect a deep blue drink to taste (yea yea yea, I shamelessly sipped a blue drink in public).

All in all, I believe that Blucabana offers a wholesome and worthwhile experience. Given the impressive nature of your establishment in and of itself, my first glance through your menu made me feel as though you could easily get away with charging higher prices than you currently charge and being justified to do so. However, considering you still don’t have those kaboom menu items, I conclude that the best thing about Blucabana is that given the cost to patronize the place, the overall experience is certainly worthwhile.   

Please feel free to contact AkanmuAbuja@gmail.com if you represent Blucabana and would like to respond.

Warm Regards,

Akanmu