Cameroon - Maestro

Restaurant:  Maestro

Location:  45 Deptford Broadway, London, SE8 4PH

Date of visit:  9 August 2015

Time of visit:  6.30pm

Research for this meal brought up one main, single choice. There are reportedly one or two "street food" stalls selling Cameroonian cuisine too, but this was the only real restaurant choice. Off to Deptford we went.

The website said the restaurant opened at 4pm on Sunday. Google said 6pm. We arrived at 6.30pm. According to the sign on the door, they had been open since 1.

On walking in we were presented with a completely empty restaurant, with the exception of the waitress apparently doing the books at the counter. We were greeted with a look of pure bemusement. A reaction we have witnessed several times, but she made no attempt to welcome us to the venue. I asked if I could take a table. I don't even think she replied, but we saw ourselves to a table anyway.

After a few minutes she eventually came over to us and presented a couple of menus. The selection of food on the menu was larger than that on the website. It was also cheaper than the listing on the website, which doesn't seem to have been updated since 2008. 

Elle being Elle, she wasn't ready to order the first time the waitress came to ask. And my God did we suffer for that. She didn't return for at least twenty minutes, and only then after asking her to come over to please please take our order!

The menu had a selection of meat dishes, with many different varieties of meat - pork, goat and chicken to name a few. Most of the main dishes also came with an included side dish, of which there was a fair selection.

For drinks Elle ordered a Diet Coke, only to be told they had no soft drinks. So we both went for beer - Heineken. Food wise, Elle ordered the "Poulet DG" - grilled spicy chicken with a side of chips. Immediately we were told they had no chips, so she opted for a side of fried plantain. I went for the national dish of Cameroon - Ndole - with beef (and a side of fried plantain). I was met with a look of disbelief, and was asked if this was the first time. She actually spoke! As this was true, it was my first time so  Iasked if she recommended it. Without saying a word, she left the table. This was really odd and, with hindsight, downright rude.

The restaurant remained empty. It had a really authentic feeling, and quite clearly was a venue capable of hosting busy music and club nights. Throughout the visit was a diet of Cameroonian music videos on various flatscreen TVs. All music seemed really current and it was a great insight into popular culture in Cameroon.

We had plenty of time to enjoy the music videos too, as we waited over 35 minutes for the food to appear. Elle's plate of food looked fantastic when it came. A great portion and large pieces of chicken. Unusually, at least for us, the chicken pieces were chopped entirely - through the bone - rather than full pieces. Quarter thighs, half ribs etc. But the chicken had a great slightly spicy grilled taste, served with onion, tomato, a small green salad selection The fried plantain which was really nice and sweet, but quite soft and squidgy - as fried plantain tends to go when cooked.

As soon as my food arrived I knew I was about to embark on something I had never tried before. Ndole is a soup-like stew of nuts, ndoleh (bitterleaf) and meat. The bitterleaf part is key, as this is what gives it the deep green colour, and the overpowering bitter taste. It was served in a bowl with the fried plantain on a separate dish, and a small dish of chilli sauce (which actually came with all the food, so it was likely intended for both of us). The ndole looked quite oily and initially I couldn't see much beef, but it was buried under the green.

This was absolutely the most unusual thing I've eaten on this project so far. Like nothing I had ever tried before. The taste was unique. Initially quite pleasant. But after a few seconds the bitterness of the ndoleh starts to push through. That is accentuated with the next mouthful. And even more so with the next. I was hoping for the familiarity of the beef to help me through, but I couldn't taste it. It was mostly fat and tubes anyway.

Then I remembered the chilli sauce. I added some of that to the plantain, ate some of that then went back to the ndole. All of a sudden it was like a different meal! The spiciness of the chilli sauce (and it *was* spicy) seemed to cancel out much of the bitterness of the bitterleaf, but retained the flavour. Suddenly, I was able to eat the dish quite happily. And this lasted for a little while, until the bitterness started to creep through again. Eventually, with the meat gone, and the increasing bitter greasiness left in the bowl I had to stop. I left just under a quarter of the ndole, which is unheard of for me. I also left much of the plantain, which was just too greasy for me.

After a bit of a wait, the waitress came to collect the plates. I wasn't risking it - I took this opportunity to immediately ask for the bill. We had already been here for much longer than expected. A few other people had come in during our meal, but they seemed to be linked or related to the restaurant rather than paying customers.

We left the money on the table and made our way out. No goodbye. No real positive memories of a fairly disappointing night. Onward.