Funmi's

Stopped in for lunch, with some decent expectations given the reviews. Boy was I disappointed. I am a fan of Queen of Sheeba, and assumed this was to be similar (apology in advance if that's a ridiculous expectation...).

Anyhow, I had a steamed fermented soy appetizer - that was decent. Not pretty to look at but decent flavor. I also split a fish and plantains plate with greens, as well as a chicken satay like dish. The fish was good, not great - cooked nicely but the flavor was not interesting. The plantains had a strange skin type texture, as if they were sitting out for a long period of time before cooking. The chicken satay app was pretty terrible - dry and flavorless. For $25 + tip for two apps and an entree with a sprite... I'd rather skip.

Won't be back... Funmi once, shame on you... Funmi twice, shame on me...

I was so excited to try this place when some friends suggested it recently. I've had Senegalese and Ethiopian food  many times before, so I wanted to see how Nigerian fare compared. Plus, I love trying new things.

We went with a large group on a Friday night and they obviously weren't prepared for us. Only three people total were running the entire establishment to cook, take orders, serve and check people out. It was a disaster.

It took 20 minutes before our order was even taken. Then it took more than an hour to get our food. The delay could've been somewhat forgiven if the food had been great, but I found it to be mediocre at best. We had the chicken kabobs and plantain cubes for appetizers and the lamb dish and the house vegan stew for our entrees. The stew was tasteless and the rice that accompanied it was no better. The plantains were decent.

Nothing that we had was good enough to make us risk trying it again. I'm disappointed since I had such high hopes of finding a new ethnic gem.

Good food, good flavors and friendly service.  I love spicy food and African or Afro-Caribbean food is generally good in my book.

Tried the veggie goat stew with rice and the tilapia topped with onions and tomatoes with a side of plantains.  The goat stew was flavorful and the goat meat tender and not too fatty, it was basically a curry dish with potatoes and carrots and such.  The rice left something to be desired, it was plain rice but it lack something of texture or flavor.  I think there are other types of rice that might have worked better, especially one that could soak up the sauces well.  Next time I will try the flat bread instead.  My mother very much enjoyed her dish of the tilapia and the little bit of it I sampled was good.  

Both portions were reasonable but not large.  I could have easily eaten more but I still left satisfied.  

Atmosphere is nothing at all but it was clean, the bathroom was clean and the TVs were on closed caption instead of annoyingly loud like some places.

Definitely worth a try and for me at least, a return visit.  It is easy to get to just off the Watterson in the Gardiner Lane shopping plaza but not immediately visible from the road.