Whispers of Home, Explosions of Flavor: A Night at Dept of Culture

Last night, I fulfilled a long-awaited desire to dine at the Dept of Culture, the Nigerian restaurant in Bedford-Stuyvesant that made James Beard's semifinalist list for Best New Chef.

Upon entering the restaurant, diners receive a parchment paper menu describing each course in a vignette-memoir written as chapters. The Dept of Culture invites guests to settle in for an intimate evening that reimagines what dinner might be like at Chef Ayo Balogun's family home in Kwara, Nigeria. At the start of each course, he enters the dining area to share a childhood anecdote about the dish being plated. 

Chef Ayo hopes to challenge the status quo of fine dining with his communal dining experience. He believes the restaurant experience needs an intervention, a deconstruction that removes the isolation of tables, replaces it with the community, and celebrates conversation over a shared meal. 

A solo diner, I was seated next to two pairs of friends at the large square table at the center of the storefront. Initially, it was a bit awkward, and then one of the women sitting across from me offered up a glass of wine, which sparked a toast with one of the men to my left, celebrating a birthday. The five of us connected throughout the meal through our stories, revealing common interests and aspirations. We communicated the revelry of our tastebuds interacting with new flavors, from the fiery goat pepper soup to the comfort of Abula beans and the unexpected smokiness of the Amala and texture of the Wara cheese. 

The sounds of Nigerian musicians complement the meal. The decor features a minimalist aesthetic. The gentle swaying of the constellation chandelier by Townsend Design adds to the overall vibe. 

Dept of Culture offers two seatings, at 6 PM and 8:30 PM, and it's BYOB. The menu changes every three weeks. 

Chef Ayo recently opened a second restaurant, Radio Kwara, in Clinton Hill.