Drums are banging, tambourines are shaking and everyone is singing, “All of us, MBS”. We’re not at a concert – instead we are inside Ayo, one of the newest restaurants to open in River Walk. Every hour, the staff dance through the packed tables, inside and outside, and belt out anything from happy birthday to classic Saudi songs.
With all those positive vibes bouncing around the room, we challenge you to come to Ayo and leave without a smile on your face. Even the way the food and drinks are served will have you grinning from ear to ear, as everything is brought to your table with a knowing wink and by the oh-so patient staff who wait for customers to whip out their cameras and start snapping.
Take the mocktails that come in funky, themed glasses shaped like a totem or a parrot, and served from trays with plumes of smoke rising from them. (So, not the place for a formal business meeting.)
The menu is made up of dishes from across the African continent – an admittedly rather wide brush for a collective of more than 50 countries. Ayo’s hero dish is the showkawa beef (Nigerian-style beef), which is already an Insta star. We can see why as it’s a showstopper, which will have you grabbing for your phone before your fork.
The dish is inspired by traditional cooking methods, where food is prepared in natural vessels rather than pots and pans. So the beef is encased and cooked inside an emptied pineapple (yes, really), so that when it’s served, the top comes off and the beef is scooped out with all those juices.
In typical Ayo style, the burgers have playful names – the chicken burger is entitled Mama Africa. While the Hakona burger with its bright green baps (again, which made us beam), certainly gave us no worries for the rest of our day. The Hakona’s Angus beef patty is loaded with toppings that include beef bacon, caramelised onions and a generous helping of South African cheddar cheese, which just oozes out of the this beautiful burger.
If you’re after healthier options, don’t dismiss the salads. The earth bounty salad mixes together pickled beets, baby carrots, Kenyan quinoa, black lentils and crispy chickpeas. The crunchy yet zingy side is a surprisingly filling accompaniment.
Apparently, Ayo means happy child, and you’ll certainly feel your inner child smiling throughout the experience. While it is all a little gimmicky and you may well not be a repeat customer (unless you’re with the kids) when it comes to the food, this restaurant is certainly no one-hit wonder.
