As lovers of good food and the experience of dining out; husband and wife team, Segun and Dare Oni became disenchanted by the standards of restaurants offering food from their country of origin, Nigeria. The frustration of not finding a Nigerian restaurant in London that offered an outstanding level of service and food compared to other restaurants compelled them to launch Onidodo. Onidodo started as a supperclub in 2014 and became a fully-fledged restaurant in 2018, when they opened their North London site.
Onidodo means plantain seller in Yoruba but the name came from their surname Oni and Dare’s favourite food plantain, which is called “Dodo” in Yoruba (A Nigerian language). Onidodo is a modern Nigerian restaurant which passionately brings an authentic taste of Nigeria with a modern twist to the London food scene. For too long other international cuisines have seen mass market appeal, whilst Nigerian cuisine has yet to enjoy the same brand recognition despite having so much diversity of flavours and dishes. In a 2017 study* of over 1000 UK adults, it was found that 69% consumed Chinese food, 66% went for Indian, 33% Thai, 26 % French and 23% Japanese – Nigerian (or African food) was not on the list. Onidodo aims to change that and part of its ethos is to change the perception of bad customer service in Nigerian restaurants and the lack of authenticity and care in Nigerian food.
Dare Oni, Head Chef in a release made available to African Voice said, “It is time to showcase Nigerian food in the UK. It is time for Nigerian restaurants to be an option when families and friends want to dine out on a Friday night. Food lovers should be able to see Nigerian food in the same way that they see Turkish, Chinese, Indian, Italian and other global cuisines.”
The Onidodo restaurant presents Nigerian cuisine executed with style and panache and Dare is dedicated to creating a revolutionary menu to satisfy all tastes. By offering authentic dishes with a modern twist, Onidodo captures the essence of Nigerian culture in surroundings that ooze cool sophistication in the metropolis of London.
Segun manages the front house, logistics, staff and the business side of things while Dare, a self-taught chef, is the head chef and manages the kitchen and creates new dishes. One of her most popular dishes is The Onidodo Suya Chicken and Waffles which received a lot of social media attention in 2018. The dish consists of waffles, fried egg, plantain and Suya seasoned chicken breast; combining a breakfast/brunch classic with authentic Nigerian flavours. A new innovative dish is the Onidodo Asun pie which was inspired by the traditional Nigerian asun dish (Chopped spicy goat meat). This pie uses shredded goat meat in short crust pastry, it is warm and comforting perfect for the autumn/winter season.
“Our aim is to create unique and exciting experience for our customers regardless of their background whether they are Nigerians, the Nigerian millennials that want something different but with the same flavours that they grew up with or Non-Nigerians who have never tasted Nigerian food before.” – Segun Oni, Co-Founder.
This enterprising couple aims to go worldwide by turning Onidodo into one of the biggest African/Nigerian restaurant brands in the world delivering the best experience through great service, outstanding dishes and atmosphere.
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