LIFESTYLE GUIDE: ‘Out & Taste’ in East Legon-Accra | That Perfect Take Away Joint You Should Note Down

Being a foodie/foodienne/glutton/munch-all-you-like, the eyes in my belly always seem to notice new eateries around town, no matter if my stomach is already groaning from excess. So imagine my excitement when I whizzed past a new take-away on the way to the office!??!  It was like utopia.

“Oooh, I must go there!” I thought, hoping not to forget where I’d seen the sign.  So when the opportunity presented itself a couple of days ago I knew exactly where I’d like to fill my belly!

“Out & Taste” in East Legon’s American House is a little take away offering a selection of Ghanaian food served on time and presented well.  I was later to learn that this week old venture was the business owner’s second branch; the first being located in Haatso.

It is evident that a lot of thought has gone into the branding for “Out & Taste”; the black, white and red colour scheme is present throughout the restaurant, staff uniform and the takeaway packaging. The logo is simple, original and effective – there is no doubt that this is a place to eat. Overall the branding creates the sense of consistency which is unfortunately a concept that has not been embraced by many business owners in Ghana.  I remain impressed.

In these trying times of “Dumsor” a business giving out complimentary items is a welcome yet rare phenomenon. A large slice of watermelon was individually wrapped and placed on top of the paper place mat covering the main meal. A lovely end to my meal – thank you!

Ordering from the menu, I went for my favourite Special Jollof rice with turkey which cost 25GHC. A side serving of fried plantain would have cost me an extra 5GHC. Given the size of the portion, the price is definitely value for money – I’m glad that I did not add the plantain.

My order would easily have provided two possibly three meals for me. In truth, as a renowned ‘rice officiando’ I focused on the rice dishes – jollof, waakye, plain rice and a variety of stews/gravies. But I did notice other meal variations such as red red and beans, yam and kontomire stew etc.

During my short wait in the customer area, I was spoken to attentively and politely by Adwoa and her staff member.  The waiting area houses a TV and a fridge stocked with a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There is also the option of ordering smoothie. For those who like al fresco dining, there is a small eating area complete with two tables, but you’ll have to be content with eating next to a very busy generator as most businesses in East Legon now cannot survive without one.

My special jollof arrived in around five minutes (I was pleasantly surprised) and so one can safely say that traditional Ghanaian fast food has been mastered.

Overall, I liked the presentation and flavour of the rice which contained sweetcorn, garden peas, sweet peppers, onion and chopped frankfurters(!). However, I would have expected there to be a warning that the rice contained meat as although I do eat meat, I prefer vegetarian jollof. As expected the rice was complemented by packaged servings of shito and kpakpe shito, I really would have preferred red gravy though!

Only really a couple of negatives in relation to the food – the jollof was seasoned slightly too liberally with black pepper which I found a little overpowering, but this can be attributed to personal preference. The portion was (for me) slightly too gigantic! Check out the size of the turkey wing above!!!  I had to share it with my colleague as it was definitely too big for me alone.

In short, I remain impressed by “Out & Taste”, owned and run by a friendly lady called Adwoa. The concept of a clean, fast, aesthetically pleasing and friendly alternative to the usual Ghanaian fast food kiosks on the side of the road will definitely please many.  Let’s hope that they introduce a delivery service soon.  All the best to Adwoa and her team for the future!

Location: The Shell Petrol Station slip road off Boundary Road, American House, East Legon, opposite the American House bus station.  Tel: 0270 522 834

If you own a restaurant, café, hotel, bar, night club, tourist destination, customer service based business or any lifestyle ‘joint’ in any part of the world, why don’t you invite one of our lifestyle writers to enjoy your food, stay at your hotel or explore your services so we can honestly review your business—and give you the needed worldwide publicity.

Even if we are not invited and we ever happen to be your customer, we will not let go our observations so to let others know what we honestly think.

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