I ain't really a food person. In fact I could be bad taster sometimes, but I think I know something good when I see it.
Recently in Ibadan, we have had a lot of startups especially in the food business. Though Lagos is the business and economic hub of Nigeria, it has become oversaturated with businesses.
There's a booming population in Ibadan that is yet to be catered for in many aspects of provision of goods and services and businesses are gradually keying into that.
So this time I visited a 'continental quick service restaurant' in the center of Ibadan - Bodija, Ibadan, called "The Place". It's located directly by the road just before Aare junction, Bodija Ibadan.
The highway adjacent The Place
Ther had been a lot of noise about the place😉, considering the fact that it was just by the highway... so it was quite obvious that something big was coming to the place.
Cars can park outside
There are also parking spaces within
The front entrance
The Place Ibadan opened this location on the 5th of May, 2025, and it is really really a nice place to go.
Their parking space is well-spaced. The building itself is a one-storey, with the restaurant proper/sitting area on the ground floor and more sitting area at the top.
The aesthetics are very nice and there are balloons and decor all over, perhaps because they just opened.
The dishes are served at the serving stand, you make payment and then you sit to eat your food or take away your food in food packs.
Their food ranges from the usual rice in it's different forms (jollof, fried, basmati etc) to different types of protein to different types of African shallows.
Cross-section of the food on display
The different types of rice on display
Proteins (Meat, Chicken, fish etc)
The reviews online aren't yet quite impressive yet, as it seems the patronage is really beyond their projected capacity. It feels like they're still trying to get a hang of it.
I hope they're able to keep up with the quality offered in other states of the country like Lagos and Abuja.
Here's the rice and chicken I bought. Was almost done devouring it here
There is a competitor located not very far from The Place called item7 and they're very popular for their drive-by-pick-up business model. Though they sell very limited food options, the patronage is so high cos they're effective (perhaps I'll do a check-out of that place soon too).
Let's keep our fingers 🤞.
What do you think?
| Camera | Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra |
|---|---|
| Inbuilt Lenses | 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 12 MP, f/3.0, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide) |
| Editing | As taken |
@draysax_shotit
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 7.42175 lat 3.91036 long The Place Restaurant, Aare Bodija, Ibadan d3scr))