The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Nigeria meets Nando’ s for a feast of food
Babatope Aliu is chasing his dreams to bring authentic Nigerian flavours to Dundee by launching the ultimate grill house experience at The Horeb Food Company.
Named after Mount Horeb from the Bible, the Nigerian-born 44-year-old plans to combine flavours from his home with local produce at Dundee’s newest restaurant.
Based across four floors, the venue will host an eatery on the ground level, with storage and prep on the second, staff rooms and toilets on the third, and offices on the top floor.
Taking over the Mangobean cafe in Dundee city centre which shut in 2019, The Horeb Food Company is due to open on Murraygate within the next month.
Boasting 44 covers with both indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant will be open from 10am to 8pm seven days a week.
Investing over six figures into the venture, Babatope hopes that his customers can enjoy various types of grilled meat and vegetables, and experience something different to what is already available locally.
Babatope worked in finance in the oil and gas sector before venturing into hospitality. He has been self-employed in the past 12 years and has always been passionate about food.
He moved from Lagos to Dundee with his wife, Christy, and three children in the summer of 2020 when she began pursuing a Masters degree in English Literature at Dundee University.
He said: “It has always been my dream to set up a restaurant but I was worried about opening a place in Lagos.
“When you open a new place there it is the talk of the town for the first couple of weeks and then it is on to the next one.
“I didn’t want to open something and then have to shut it down.”
But it wasn’t until a friend suggested he should pursue his hospitality ambitions, that he looked into acquiring a building, which he did in July 2021.
Babatope said: “I took over the coffee shop and decided to upgrade it with a hot food licence so we can grill, fry, and do proper cooking. That is what got me here.”
Menu options will include lamb, steaks, different cuts of chicken and turkey wings.
He also plans to separately cook grilled vegetable skewers with courgette and eggplant so that vegetarians and vegans can still enjoy his barbecue flavours.
The premises will serve beers and cocktails once the alcohol licence has been granted, and mocktails will be available.
The restaurant looks to provide an experience similar Nando’s in terms of differing levels of heat in their dishes.
“It will be a cross between a local Nigerian restaurant and Nando’s,” he added. “There will be hot options, but the menu will range from mild to very hot.”