/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72021456/WA_JAN23__1_.0.png "Dept. of Culture by Photos: Teranga, Dept of Culture, Nok by Alara | Illustration: Eater")
Dept of Culture offers an intimate, BYOB journey through authentic Nigerian cuisine, where Chef Ayo’s storytelling brings each spice to life at a communal table.
"Dept. of Culture, a Bed-Stuy Nigerian spot that does a four-course prix fixe for $97.20, feels like a dinner party at your coolest friend’s house. Make friends while you sip your BYO-bottle of choice to the tune of Nigerian vinyl. While it was once harder to get a seat at this four-course prix fixe than an in-unit washer and dryer, reservations have opened up recently—probably because they opened a new place, Radio Kwara, so now’s your chance." - bryan kim, neha talreja, kenny yang, willa moore, will hartman
"This wonderfully unusual restaurant consists of a communal table in the window of a Bedford-Stuyvesant storefront, with short counter that overlooks a kitchen, seating perhaps 14 all together. The center of attention is Nigerian chef Ayo Balogun, who creates a memorable four-course meal each night for $97.20, consisting of dishes from his native country presented in elegant formats, focusing on a recent evening on fufu, fish, beans, and pungent sauces." - Eater Staff
"Dept of Culture is a Nigerian restaurant unlike any other in the city, focusing on cooking from the state of Kwara. And while the $100 prix fixe menu puts it in the fine dining category, the restaurant has made a name for its casual vibe. It represents a growing trend towards dinner party-style restaurants, where pepper soup and joloff rice are served around a communal table with strangers. Note: Dept of Culture landed on Eater’s list of the best restaurants in America in 2022, and getting a reservation here takes some planning. Luckily, the team has a more casual, easier-to-get-into sibling Radio Kwara nearby in Clinton Hill." - Eater Staff
"This Bed-Stuy place serves a four-course, prix-fixe meal twice nightly in a room off of Nostrand Avenue. The space has the energy of a cool gallery opening, only the attendees here don't have daddies and personal connections to the Getty family. Or maybe they do. But they're not insufferable about it. Dept. Of Culture can only fit about 15 diners per seating, most of whom commune at a wooden table next to framed photos of the owner’s grandparents. This place it BYOB, so if you have a favorite wine, bring along a bottle. It’s the perfect way to get out of a date night rut. " - carina finn koeppicus, hannah albertine, neha talreja
"Eating at Dept. of Culture, a Nigerian restaurant that serves a $75, four-course meal, is one of the best nights out you can have in Bed-Stuy. Turns out, sitting at the communal table, drinking (complimentary) white wine out of tiny Ikea glasses, and talking to strangers might be the best way to do a tasting menu. Between each course of regional specialties from Kwara, the chef will tell stories about his personal connection to the spicy pepper soup or homemade Nigerian cheese you’re about to eat. You'll always hear a record spinning, and there’s a BYOB policy in addition to that free wine. " - neha talreja, nikko duren, bryan kim
