"If you've been in Clinton Hill recently, we’ll bet you an order of pounded yam that you’ve walked by Radio Kwara on Greene Ave. and never noticed the completely unmarked restaurant. But the Nigerian food coming out of their tiny kitchen—nourishing goat meat pepper soup, charred octopus suya—is worth a stop. From the folks behind Dept. of Culture, a Nigerian restaurant that offers a four-course tasting meal around a single table, Radio Kwara is a more casual alternative, with an a la carte menu that caps out at $34. If Dept. of Culture is a special occasion restaurant, Radio Kwara is a weeknight spot that makes even a Wednesday feel like a special occasion. photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte photo credit: Kate Previte Inside, there are a handful of tables and a curved counter overlooking the kitchen, where friends gossip over brioche-like bread, slick with butter and topped with goat or mushrooms, and wine from Radicle, which is directly next door. Radio Kwara doesn't sell alcohol, but they allow you to bring your own bottles with a small corkage fee. Invite a friend here for a long overdue catch-up, and pick up one bottle more than you think you’ll need. Then settle in for a mellow evening punctuated by obe ata, Nigeria's versatile red pepper-based sauce, which you’ll find in several dishes—sandwiched between moi moi and flakes of mackerel, and poured over sticky, stretchy pounded yam. In each dish, it tastes just a little different. Food Rundown photo credit: Kate Previte Bread Ati Obe The dish that made us fall for Radio Kwara. A towering hunk of bread, toasted in butter so that each side is soaked but crisp, layered with obe ata and your choice of either crispy sautéed mushrooms or marinated goat. You can’t go wrong, but start with the mushroom. photo credit: Kate Previte Charred Suya Octopus Something about the contrast between the tender chew and the sharp spiciness of this well-charred tentacle makes us wonder why more places don't make octopus suya. photo credit: Kate Previte Goat Meat Pepper Soup If you had a cold, we estimate three sips of this clear, spicy broth would cure you instantly. But that makes it sound like the broth is the best part. It's not. It’s tied for first place with the thin, bouncy noodles, and the hunk of soft goat. This is a beautiful soup. Order it. And if you don’t usually share soup, let this soup be the exception. photo credit: Kate Previte Pounded Yam Some days, eating a chicken wing clean or getting every bit of meat out of crab legs feels like a fun challenge. Other days are for pounded yam. Actually, scratch that—all days are for pounded yam. Radio Kwara's is smooth and sticky, served drowning in a pool of obe ata, and we’d like to feed it to everyone we love, especially if they’ve recently had their wisdom teeth removed. Black Jollof Rice If you're here with a larger group, you could definitely get this rice, which is served in a warm clay pot, to round out your order. We find it lackluster compared to other mains though, and sometimes slightly undercooked. Why order rice when you could be eating baby-soft yam? Moi Moi For the Radio Kwara version of this steamed bean cake, a circular patty is served atop a bed of smoky mackerel. The patty is dense, the mackerel perfectly flakey. photo credit: Kate Previte Guinea Fowl A dainty little bird—great for two friends who want to pick at something for several hours while catching up on every single minute of every single day since they last saw each other." - Willa Moore
