Smoky party jollof rice with a charred grilled chicken thigh and caramelised plantain on a dark wooden table, warm light from the side

Restaurant and Lounge · Asaba

Food at its finest.

Jollof with the smoky bottom of the pot, whole fish straight off the charcoal, pepper soup that clears your head. Cooked fresh every day on Maryam Babangida Way.

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Buffet ₦15,000
150 Maryam Babangida Way

Suya smoke. Jollof soul. Pepper soup that makes you sweat and smile. A pot of egusi big enough for the whole family. This is Asaba, cooked properly.

Ukoni means kitchen. We take that literally.

Signature plates

Three plates to start your table.

First time at Ukoni? Begin with these. Tap Add on any of them and it goes straight into your order.

From the grill Whole grilled tilapia with charred, pepper rubbed skin, topped with sliced red and green peppers and onion, served with fried plantain and a bowl of pepper sauce

Grilled tilapia

A whole tilapia rubbed in our pepper marinade and laid over live coals until the skin blisters. Fried plantain on the side, pepper sauce for dipping.

₦15,000

African soups A clay bowl of egusi soup thick with ground melon seed, bitter leaf and pieces of meat in red palm oil, beside a smooth mound of pounded yam

Egusi soup

Ground melon seed cooked down slowly with dried fish and greens into a thick, golden pot. Served with your choice of swallow.

₦5,000

Pepper soups Catfish pepper soup in a deep bowl, the broth hot and spiced, finished with fresh herbs

Catfish pepper soup

Fresh catfish simmered with uziza, ehuru and scent leaf until the broth runs hot and clear. One spoon and your chest opens up.

₦10,000

Spiced skewers and chicken pieces charring on a grill over glowing charcoal, smoke rising in warm light

From the grill

Charcoal does the talking.

Fish rubbed in pepper and spice, chicken glazed and turned, all of it over live coals until the edges blacken and the smoke gets into everything. Hot, smoky, and best eaten with your hands.

Grilled croaker₦25,000
Grilled catfish₦30,000
Full catfish BBQ₦30,000
Full chicken BBQ₦30,000

See the full grill menu

The menu

119 dishes and drinks across 21 categories, priced live from our kitchen. Add what you want, then check out for pickup, delivery or dine in. You can also send the order straight to us on WhatsApp.

Spice crusted skewers resting on paper beside sliced onion, tomato and a bowl of ground pepper, with charcoal glowing in the background

The kitchen

Ukoni is Igbo for kitchen.

The name is literal. This is a working kitchen that happens to have tables, run by a family from Asaba.

Fish comes in whole. Pepper is measured by hand. The soups go on the fire in the morning and stay there until they are right. The menu reads like a Delta family feast because that is exactly what we are serving.

Live charcoalFish and chicken from the grill cook over real coals.
Soups from scratchEgusi, banga, oha and nsala made the long way, in big pots.
Fresh leaves and spiceUziza, scent leaf and ehuru bought fresh for the pepper soups.