DURBAN PARK - Not so strongly worded letter

AkanmuAbuja@gmail.om

Rating: 7.3/10

Durban Park - “The Garden” – Restaurant & Bar

Amadu Bello Way (Turn right off Aminu Kano right after Amigo Supermarket)

Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria.

Letter to Durban Park Garden Management

Dear Durban Park Garden 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.

This letter is only relevant when one considers how most park/gardens in Abuja are and realizes that Durban Park stands apart. To cut to the chase, I will list out the intrinsic values that make Durban Park one of Abuja’s hidden gems and a unique place as far as garden/parks in town go:

Why the Garden at Durban Park is Different from Other Garden/Parks in Abuja:

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks where you see random old men with “prostis”.

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks where you see randoms (sketchy people) of any age.

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks where you see women who look like “prostis” looking for business (it is worrisome that this is something I even have to note when discussing a nighttime spot in Abuja).

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks with obnoxious live music.

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks where your options for food are limited to uniquely prepared meat – (not that this place couldn’t be enhanced if it had some grilled fish and bad ass Igbo goat meat thing whose’ name I only happen to remember in certain gardens after a few beers).

Ø  Durban Park isn’t one of those garden/parks where a customer and their parked car feel unease where safety or distance between parked car and main bar area are concerned.

Notable Things about Durban Park

v    Durban Park has a vast menu with a lot of different types of food, most of which is well-prepared and tastes great. The Burger is noteworthy.

v    You have an ambitious pizza menu with a surprisingly wide range of different types of pizza. The key word here is ambitious. Finding a good pizza spot in Abuja has proven tricky for me and given the feedback other people have about the pizza they’ve had in town, I suspect the snob in me is more responsible for this than the quality of pizza in town. That being said, personally, I was not thrilled by the pizza I tried from your menu. On the other hand, I wasn’t overly disappointed either.

v    The food and drinks on your menu are priced reasonably given the type of place it is compared to other garden/parks and the fact that it is in Wuse 2. That being said, it fails my “would the average man leave here after a full experience feeling like their wallet didn’t take a slight bump” test. (But then this raises many questions about my insight into what the “average man” in Abuja’s wallet and willingness to spend on a night out is so feel free to take my test with a pinch of salt).

v    There is sheesha available.

v    The crowd is on the more sophisticated side of the spectrum… as far as garden/parks are concerned.

v    There is a covered area with booths, which is a plus for people who want some degree of privacy without losing out on the open-air atmosphere.

v    The anti-décor (my personal way of describing décor in an outdoor, yet enclosed area) at Durban Park is well-conceived and adds significant value to the overall experience. A lot of garden/parks suffer from having a main bar area that lacks focus and isn’t well-organized. At Durban Park, the main restaurant/bar area is set up such that it is enclosed in an area where customers can enter following a light security check and have the option of sitting at low tables on the grass; going to a higher section with hardwood floors, booths, and some small tables; or alternatively, sitting at one of the high stool/tables.

v    You usually have a good DJ and good music. The DJ plays a wide range of music (at some point I heard a track off Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and was pleasantly surprised).

v    On some nights when I’ve been there, there is some….entertainment… where some guy balances spinning bottles, does tricks with fire, and displays other stuff (there isn’t really a more eloquent or elaborate way to describe it), which was amusing to me after a couple of drinks but otherwise seemed dumb.

v    Durban Park is something of an expatriate joint. I have seen many more foreigners (politically correct attempt at saying “white people”) here than any other outdoor bar in Abuja. This is a noteworthy point because it provides further insight into the type of environment Durban Park offers (yea yea yea-colonial mentality accusation worthy statement).

v    The overall attitude of your waiters is great. However, the quality of your service is diminished due to the fact that it sometimes takes a long while for orders to arrive. Furthermore, there is a tendency for customers closer to the kitchen to get better and quicker service than others seated in further away sections like the booths.

Personally, I am not big on garden/parks for many of the reasons discussed above. However, after going to a few different garden/parks in Abuja, I find that Durban Park is notable because it somehow manages to remain a garden in a park without many of the unattractive (to me anyway) clichés that define many other gardens in Abuja. This very reason may be why Durban Park would not be my recommendation to anyone who is looking for the typical garden/park night out. However, Durban Park is my recommendation for anyone who is looking for the rustic pleasures that accompany an outdoor bar/restaurant in a busy city without any of the disharmony and rawness that may detract from the experience.

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

Warm Regards,

Akanmu