The Menu: A Love Letter to Nigeria and the World
If there is one thing that defines the new Macdons Continental more than anything else, it is the ambition of the menu. This is not a restaurant that has picked a lane and stayed in it. This is a restaurant that has looked at the full breadth of what great food can be and said: all of it. We will serve all of it, and we will do it properly.
Nigerian & Africana Classics
The heart of the menu is the Nigerian section, and it deserves to be talked about at length. The jollof rice at Macdons Continental is the kind that ends arguments. Smoky, deeply flavoured, cooked with the kind of patience that produces that coveted layer of crust at the bottom of the pot — the layer that true jollof rice lovers fight over. It arrives steaming, paired with your choice of protein, and it tastes exactly like a party should.
Beyond the jollof, the soups section is a genuine celebration of West African culinary tradition. The egusi soup is thick, rich, and made with assorted meat that has been allowed to absorb all the flavours it deserves. The afang — a Delta State speciality that Macdons has every right to be proud of — is prepared with fresh vegetables and the right level of seasoning that makes you close your eyes on the first bite. The banga soup, served with starch or pounded yam, is everything a Delta person could want from a restaurant meal.
The pounded yam here deserves a special mention. It arrives smooth, stretchy, and at the perfect temperature — which sounds simple until you have been served cold, lumpy pounded yam at too many restaurants and realised how rarely anyone actually gets it right.
Grills & BBQ
The grill section is where Macdons Continental flexes in a direction that surprises many first-time visitors. The peppered grilled chicken — available whole, half, or quarter — arrives charred and glistening, with a pepper sauce that manages to be genuinely spicy without overwhelming the flavour of the meat itself.
The suya deserves its own paragraph. Thinly sliced, marinated in groundnut spice, and grilled over heat until it achieves that characteristic dry-edge texture, the Macdons suya comes with the obligatory sliced onion and tomato accompaniment. It is the kind of suya that makes you order more before you have finished the first portion.
The asun — peppered goat meat — is another standout. Bold, chewy in the right way, and absolutely loaded with heat and flavour. Order it as a starter or as a full meal. There is no wrong answer.
Continental & Intercontinental
For those who want to explore beyond Nigerian cuisine, the continental section of the menu holds its own with confidence. The pasta dishes — particularly the creamy chicken pasta and the penne arrabiata — are prepared to a standard that would not look out of place in a dedicated Italian restaurant. The sauces are fresh, the pasta is properly cooked, and the portions are generous without being excessive.
The grilled steak with chips and mushroom sauce is a dish that speaks to the quiet ambition of the Macdons kitchen. It is not trying to be a Lagos fine dining experience. It is simply trying to be a very well-executed steak. And it succeeds.
The seafood platter — grilled prawns, calamari, and fish fillet with a signature sauce — is the dish to order for special occasions or for any Tuesday when you simply feel you deserve something extraordinary.
Fastfood Favourites
The fastfood counter at Macdons Continental is a reminder that a great burger does not need to come from an international chain. The Macdons Classic Burger — beef patty, special sauce, fresh toppings on a toasted bun — is the kind of burger that makes you question why you ever ordered elsewhere. The shawarma, available in chicken or beef, is thick, generously filled, and wrapped with the care of someone who knows that the last thing anyone wants is a shawarma that falls apart in their hands.
The chicken wings come in BBQ, hot, and lemon pepper variations. All three are worth trying. The BBQ is sticky and sweet. The hot version is exactly as advertised. The lemon pepper is the sleeper hit — bright, aromatic, and impossible to stop eating.
The Confectionery
No account of the Macdons Continental menu is complete without spending significant time on the confectionery section. This is a part of the menu that the team describes as “absolutely to die for” — and having tried it, the confidence is entirely justified.
The chocolate lava cake is the flagship dessert, and it earns that status completely. Served warm with vanilla ice cream, it achieves the impossible balance of being both deeply indulgent and light enough that you do not regret eating it. The moment the cake breaks and the warm chocolate flows out is a moment that regular customers have been known to photograph.
The red velvet cake, the cheesecake, the doughnuts, the meat pies and fish pies — all of them carry the same hallmark of being made by people who actually care about the outcome. The custom celebration cakes, available with 48 hours advance notice, are a rapidly growing part of what Macdons Continental offers the city.
The confectionery here is not an afterthought. It is a destination in its own right.
