About Tantalizers (Eatery) in Abuja

Tantalizers is a Nigerian-owned quick service restaurant that first opened in Lagos in the 90s and then opened its flagship in Abuja in 2003. When Tantalizers opened in Zone 3, there was quite a buzz about it. The restaurant served the usual Nigerian favorites like meat pies, scotch eggs, chicken, jollof rice, fried rice, cake, and hamburgers and It may have been the first fast food place to start selling local meals like moin-moin, swallows and different kinds of soups, They also serve beans pottage and yam pottage, which some consider to be an odd thing for a fast food place to sell.

Tantalizers has always been a very casual restaurant, so there’s not much flash to expect here. The space isn’t very large, so it may feel a bit tight, which results in people mostly taking their orders to go. Also, the service has gotten very lax and the restaurant is just a step away from operating like a bukka. The attendants may seem a bit short on patience, but it’s probably stress from boredom. Nonetheless, the food is still great and affordable and the portions are good. The chicken was a favorite because it was actually quite large and prepared with skill – not too dry, not too moist, and the seasoning went down to the marrow. Over time, the portions may have reduced a little, but the taste remains the same. Tantalizers’ pastries are still a quick, reliable option and people still favor them.

The easiest Tantalizers branch to locate is the one on Aminu Kano Crescent, probably because it’s close to Banex and right on the roadside, but the one that seems to get more traffic is the branch at Garki 2. There was a health hazard warning issued about the restaurant a while ago because there was a huge refuse dump located just behind it, but people don’t seem to mind as they keep trooping in. The branch at Zone 3 is most difficult to find if you don’t live in the area and people usually just stumble upon it when visiting the plaza where it’s located or some other place around the area.

In entirety, Tantalizers may not be the place you recommend to a friend for a get-together, or the place you pick for a special, romantic evening, but it’s good, filling food you can get when you need a quick fix and don’t really have that much cash to spare. – 78, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja.

Leave a comment