Abuja has developed a fine-dining market where a meal per person can easily cross ₦100,000.
The customers are not difficult to identify. Nigeria’s capital has a concentration of diplomats, senior public officials, expatriates, corporate executives and wealthy residents. Wuse II, Maitama and Asokoro have become the main addresses for restaurants serving that market.
The businesses behind those menus are equally interesting. Some were founded by trained chefs. Others were built by entrepreneurs who made their careers in oil and gas, technology, gaming, consulting or design before moving into hospitality.
Nigeria’s food-service market was estimated at $11.09 billion in 2025, spanning everything from roadside food vendors to quick-service chains and fine dining.
At the top of that market, Abuja’s restaurants are selling more than meals. Location, privacy, interiors, service and social experience help determine what customers are prepared to spend.
Based on reported menu prices and average spending, here are eight of Abuja’s most expensive restaurants and the entrepreneurs behind them. Price estimates can change as menus are updated.
1. Boto Restaurant — Badriyya Ahmed Mu’azu
Typical spend: Above ₦100,000 per person
Boto operates at the expensive end of Abuja dining. Starters have been priced from about ₦16,000, while main courses have ranged from ₦23,500 to ₦81,000. Its highest-priced menu items have reached about ₦146,500, with average spending per diner estimated at above ₦100,000.
The restaurant was founded in 2022 by Badriyya Ahmed Mu’azu, who is the daughter-in-law of former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar. She serves as the executive chef.
Mu’azu trained at École Ducasse in France and completed internships at Hôtel Le Meurice and Maisons Taillevent in Paris. Before entering professional cuisine, she studied landscape architecture at Kingston University and design and applied arts at Central Saint Martins.
Boto reflects both backgrounds. French culinary influences run through the menu, while the restaurant places considerable emphasis on design and the dining environment.
Mu’azu is also a daughter-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
2. The Burgundy by Chef Stone — Abiola Akanji
Typical spend: About ₦100,000 per person
The Burgundy is built around a seven-course Pan-African tasting experience and operates largely by reservation.
Its founder, Abiola Akanji, better known as Chef Stone, has turned his culinary career into a broader food business.
Akanji studied business management at London Metropolitan University before undertaking professional culinary training in the United States. His restaurant draws from food traditions across 17 African countries.
He also owns Reddish Chronicles Culinary School, which says it has trained more than 9,000 students, and Truck Central, a food-truck park in Abuja. He has published cookbooks and serves as a judge on MasterChef Nigeria.
That gives Akanji revenue streams beyond the restaurant itself, an advantage in a business where rent, staff, ingredients and energy can put heavy pressure on margins.
3. TAR TAR — Tahirah Ikharo
Typical spend: ₦100,000 and above per person
TAR TAR in Wuse II mixes seafood, Asian techniques and Nigerian dishes.
Reported prices include about ₦25,000 for crispy calamari, ₦31,000 for pan-seared scallops, ₦27,000 for shrimp dumplings and ₦38,000 for its crab cake. A complete meal can take average spending beyond ₦100,000 per person.
Founder Tahirah Ikharo entered hospitality after more than a decade in communications, development and public-sector work.
Her career included assignments connected to UNICEF, USAID, the European Union and the former UK Department for International Development. She later served as head of strategic communications at Nigeria’s National Social Investment Programme and chief of staff at the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.
She founded TAR TAR in 2022, moving from policy and consulting into a consumer business aimed at Abuja’s premium market.
4. CARNEVAL Brazilian Churrasco — Salim Chidiac
Typical spend: ₦70,000 to ₦100,000 per person
CARNEVAL sells the Brazilian steakhouse experience in Abuja, with meats carved at the table and different dining packages.
Its La Carneval package has been priced around ₦76,500, while the higher-end Extravagancia experience has reached ₦98,500 before VAT and service charges.
The man behind the restaurant, Salim Chidiac, came from Nigeria’s gaming industry.
Chidiac served as managing director of Ogabet Games Global between 2021 and 2025 after earlier working as its head of operations.
He now runs SSC Hospitality, which operates CARNEVAL and KICKOFF Sports Bar.
The portfolio gives him exposure to more than one type of hospitality spending. CARNEVAL targets premium dining, while the sports-bar concept competes for customers spending on food, drinks and entertainment.
5. Istanbul Café & Restaurant — Hasan Yiğit
Typical spend: ₦50,000 to ₦100,000 per person
Istanbul Café serves Turkish and other international dishes from its Abuja locations.
A diner can spend upwards of ₦50,000, while a fuller meal can approach ₦100,000. Individual dishes have included lamb chops around ₦47,000 to ₦52,000 and premium steaks between ₦85,000 and ₦90,000. Larger kebab portions can cost considerably more.
Founder Hasan Yiğit was already an entrepreneur in Nigeria before entering hospitality.
The Turkish businessman founded Vento Furniture in Abuja in 2016 after a career in international exports. He has said his earlier work took him to more than 50 countries searching for business opportunities.
He later expanded into restaurants with Istanbul Café.
The two businesses target a similar segment. Whether selling furniture or a premium meal, Yiğit is competing for customers willing to pay more for an international product and presentation.
6. Gusto Abuja — Atef Fawaz and Fatme Fadlallah
Typical spend: ₦50,000 and above per person
Gusto combines Asian fusion dining with a social and entertainment-led restaurant experience in Wuse II.
Its menu has included dishes such as Parmigiano Wheel Pasta at about ₦25,000, Samurai Teppanyaki at ₦33,000 and Dragon Roll at ₦20,000. Average spending has been reported at ₦50,000 or more per person.
The restaurant was co-founded by Atef Fawaz and Fatme Fadlallah.
Fawaz’s main professional background is in healthcare, technology and large-scale programme management. He is executive director of eHealth Africa, where his work has included programmes connected to Nigeria’s polio response and emergency operations during Ebola and COVID-19.
Fadlallah is also a co-founder of the wider Gusto Group.
Gusto is designed as more than a place to eat. Rooftop entertainment, events and the social environment are central to what customers are paying for.
7. Marks at the Park — Ameena Indimi Dalhatu
Typical spend: ₦50,000 and above per person
Marks at the Park serves Japanese and Pan-Asian food from Twenty One Park in Wuse II.
A meal can cost ₦50,000 or more per person. Its offering also includes private dining, all-you-can-eat options and events.
Its owner, Ameena Indimi Dalhatu, spent much of her career in oil and gas before building the hospitality business.
Dalhatu is the daughter of Oriental Energy Resources founder Mohammed Indimi. She held senior positions at the company, including chief operating officer and executive director for assets, and has served on its board.
She later founded Twenty One Park, with Marks at the Park forming part of the development.
Her move into hospitality is an example of capital and management experience accumulated in an established Nigerian industry finding its way into premium consumer businesses.
8. Mai Shayi Coffee Roasters — Ibrahim Samande
Typical spend: ₦40,000 to ₦50,000 per person
Mai Shayi shows how far Abuja’s premium market has expanded beyond dinner.
Customers at its Asokoro operation have been estimated to spend between ₦40,000 and ₦50,000 per person on coffee, meals and extras. A fuller experience for two has been reported at as much as ₦135,000.
Founder Ibrahim Samande has built the company differently from a conventional café.
Mai Shayi says its business runs through coffee cultivation, processing, roasting, hospitality and retail. Its operations extend from Plateau State to Abuja and Lagos, and the company says it employs about 230 people.
Samande previously worked in advertising and design, including as creative director at Yerima Design and associate creative director at Prima Garnet Ogilvy.
The attraction of his model is control over more of the value chain. Rather than buying finished coffee and relying only on café sales, Mai Shayi is building commercial interests around the product before it reaches the cup.
