Massive food portions! The suya made me feel like I was home again And they are clean! This is rare at bukka style Nigerian restaurants in London where I frequent. Thank you for great meals, Empress!

I dined in here for a friend's birthday, as I am new in town, it was a perfect set to enjoy a traditional Nigerian recipe, with cool music in the background, courteous staff and different recipe in the menu to select from. I will visit again and will recommend to anyone trying to try out some Nigeria meal. We'll done guys

Food was terrible and disappointing. They sent me burnt yam fries, bad pepper soup with all the bottoms bits of the pot with uncleaned hairy meat in the dish and extremely weird tasting jollof rice. Also the suya tasted absolutely horrible (worst I have ever tried) and had almost no suya powder at all. Really regret trying this restaurant, wasted my money completely. Very disgraceful and disappointing food. Also very bad service, they do not pick up their phone and will constantly put you through to voicemail. Do not order here, there are much better quality Nigerian/African restaurants around that know how to properly deliver a service.

I recently visited this restaurant and unfortunately, my experience was quite disappointing. When my friend and I approached the bar to order, the woman behind it, who had a ponytail extension and was wearing a black outfit, didn't greet us or make us feel welcome. In fact, she seemed more interested in her own lunch and chatting with another customer than taking our order. When I asked her to take our order in person, she told me to use a QR code instead. I agreed, but later found out that the prices were higher on the QR code menu. When I brought this up, she reluctantly took my order but claimed that the price was the same and any extra would be deducted, which turned out to be false when I checked. To make matters worse, the food took almost an hour to arrive, despite being told it would take 20 minutes, and there were no updates provided during the wait. When it finally arrived, our 'smokey deluxe jollof rice' came in a smaller size tub than on previous visits. On a prior visit about a week ago, I ordered two 'smokey deluxe jollof rice', one with assorted meat, but it was both served with fried meat instead. Also, I asked for one 'puff puff' but was charged and served two, which I only discovered at home. While the food was decent, the poor customer service and lack of attentiveness from the staff left me feeling cheated and frustrated. As a Nigerian, I was disappointed with the poor service I received at this restaurant. Sadly, it seems like poor service is typical of many Nigerian joints, and it's important that we provide feedback to encourage improvements in service quality. It's not uncommon for us to expect better service at non-Nigerian or African restaurants, yet services from our African restaurants are often lacklustre and poor. This needs to change, as customers like myself deserve better treatment and attention, especially when paying for food. If the service at African restaurants continues to be subpar, then customers may opt to get their African food from other places with better services, and these places may end up making better financial returns off us. It's time for African restaurants to start taking customer service seriously and to deliver better experiences for their customers.

First of all, I think it’s commendable how affordable the food is. You get substantial quantity at a decent price. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and you could tell that a good deal of attention was paid to hygiene. In terms of taste, however, the food we had was average. We had Amala and Abula and while it was not horrible, it was not great either. If you’ve had proper abula before, you’d be very underwhelmed. It’s noteworthy that you get good quantity and a decent selection of assorted meat anyways. We also ordered fried yam(really good), stew (decent), meat pie(horrible) and goat meat pepper soup (average) to take home and it took a painfully long time for these to get ready. Overall I’d be generous to score them a 6/10. They really need to improve on the quality of their food and the waitress could at least pretend to be happy to be there.

I spoke to an extremely rude lady called Vivian and she was the most rude person I have ever spoken with. I placed an order for jollof rice and assorted beef but she sent me fish instead and when I called her to complain she placed me on hold for over 30mins and did nothing about the situation. She said she would not send my actual order to me. This was an extremely horrible service and I would not recommend this place to anyone. Despite the fact that we spoke to the lady very politely, she was rude and ended the call on

This is the first establishment I’ve ever given a 5star rating. THIS IS THE BEST NIGERIAN RESTAURANT IN BIRMINGHAM. I wrote in caps to emphasise how good they are from the food(oh I love the food so much) to the staff. The kitchen staff are amazing. It is good to know the food you are about to eat is being prepared with utmost hygiene as one could see from the window. I LOVE IT HERE

Bad costumers relationship, the slime girl that works at the front desk is rude and looks down on people. But the food is cool. But the environment is not that nice (inside the restaurant).

Ever been to a casino? No natural light filters onto its shiny floors. The electric lighting levels are kept the same all day. You could spend a whole day there and, without a watch, not work out what time of the day it was. Empress bar & grill has that same feel. There is even blue neon lighting that creates a beautiful hue, reminiscent of the lighting from the slot machines. It is perfect for indoor photography. Empress feels like one of those bars that has 2 modes of operation: chill and party till the wheels fall off. I wasn’t there late enough to see the righting-off happen. I was strictly visiting for lunch. Empress bar & grill is exactly that. Outdoor is the grill, inside is the bar. There are a few small tables inside. The tables primary purpose is to prop up Nigerian beer, not dishes of food. I do like the vibe. The Nigerian music channel shows the latest pop. The bartender is immerses in his phone. The chef spends time walking around. The staff were chatty, warm and caring. They were diligent to warn me of the spiciest dishes on the menu. The dishes felt pre-prepared. The soup, , which is like a stew, is slow cooked to bring out the flavour. It had bits of meat, bone and chunks of fat. Delicious. The soup was accompanied with the perfect side, the pounded yam. It was like a finely mashed potato. Food felt rustic, spicy and definitely hearty. Perfect for the colder months ahead.

The restaurant is 2 buses from Selly Oak where I stayed, I called and booked ahead but when I got there i still had to wait like 20mins or so before I could get my food. The food was well made and good tasting. The Egusi Soup tastes much like that of the eastern part of Nigeria (I prefer the that of the western part of Nigeria). The soup was supposed to come with assorted meat but it really wasn't the case. The restaurant is inconspicuously located and the atmosphere felt more like a dingy bar than a restaurant. Then again the egusi soup I ordered was supposed to be £11.99 but the lady at the counter charged me £12.99. In alI, I can say I have experienced better Nigerian/ African food and restaurants in Halifax, Canada.

See enh!!! I’ve missed Nigerian food in so long and coming here with my friends, the food 10/10, the Nigerian music mad!!! So happy and had a good time xxx

This restaurant is the best African restaurant in Birmingham, best customer service and amazing foods. Highly recommended to everyone that wants to try African foods.

Possibly the worst African restaurant I’ve ever been to. All I ordered was puff puff and suya and it took 1hr. I had to constantly ask how long only for them to start cooking when I prompted them. Don’t waste your time coming here

I got Abula from you guys, the taste wasn’t nice at all. The stew was most prominent I didn’t taste the effect of the other soup and the ginger in the stew was just too much

Omg this is the best place I’ve been to in Birmingham so far! The food is so nice, literally a reminder of home, the service is exceptional, especially from Tay, the jollof rice is delectable ( please try it), plus they allow you to choose your own music. If I start talking about their chicken I’d stay here but please, come here. Solid 10!

The abula at Empress Bar is as close to home as you get. It’s very fresh, tasty and a lot of meat. The Jollof rice is also very tasty. Real Party Jollof, very smoky. Ms Vivian is also a good host, passionate about her job and cares about her customers.

Close to 2hrs for jollof and Suya ready. Besides that, I find them very unprofessional as well. The rating would have gone higher if the food was nice at least but it’s the worst I’ve had in birmingham

Ordered on Uber eats. It took one hour for them to finally give it to the driver. They wasted 20 minutes of his time because I could see what time he arrived yet was just waiting. I tried calling the store to see why my Uber eats driver has been at their store for over 20 minutes and not been given my food but no one picked up the call and it went to voice mail twice. The food itself…not worth my money. The yam fries were way over salted, the jollof rice was not very tasty. The assorted meat was the best part and it was also nothing special, it was just not cooked badly like the other two. Safe to say I’ll never purchase from here again. Waste of money and people’s time, but not even tasty food to make up for it.

Authentic Nigerian food even the BCU fresh from Lagos students I delivered to agreed! Abula is tasty, very hot so be careful 😂, the TV Afrobeats is always incredible, only improvements I’d recommend is, Omo Naija, fresh tables and just some more fresh decor, love watching the catfish though. Toilets are clean Service w the ladies and man w the Ila in the face is always Incredible. Love my people Ese Gan

This was my first visit to Empress Bar and Grill . The location was ideal to me .The quality of the meal prepared reminded me that true chef’s cook from the heart with love . I enjoyed Efo-Riro , Abula , chicken and beef suya . If I could describe the the food in one word I would say succulent .You could taste the savory spices and distinct flavors that was prepared in our food .The Sous Chef Vivian also manage to come front the kitchen with a warm smile to acknowledge our table . Outstanding customer service and definitely would recommend to family or friends .

This is the best African food I've experienced. I went with my African wife and we think this was the most authentic food we have had in the UK. The restaurant had a continuous stream of take away customers mostly African which shows we are not the only ones. The staff were super kind and even gave my 1 year old baby girl a free meat pie. I can't recommend this more highly.

All the excitement I had of discovering a Nigerian restaurant turned to pain after waiting almost an hour while in the restaurant to get the food I had ordered. It finally came after several protests to the attendant. And the food itself was average at best. I hope they improve. Wish them well.

The Abula felt like home. Definitely left me wanting more. The Bar staff and the chef (Vivian) was absolutely lovely too🥰🥰

I have been eating in this restaurant for nearly 2 years and I can assure you that, everyday I receive good customer service. Staff are very friendly and makes you feel welcome. Empress bar and grill is like a home to me.

Bought takeway food of over £30 and also a regular customer. I wanted a very small pot of chilli to go with my meal, I was charged £1.99p. Not happy.

The Jollof rice reminded me of every burial, wedding and naming ceremony i ever attended in Nigeria. The Amala and ewedu will make you forget home

Poor service, got in there and there was nobody had to sit down for nearly 20mins without anyone attending to me, anyway they brought me the menu chose what I wanted, about 5mins the lady turned around and said they haven’t got what I needed, I’d already paid for it with my credit instead of refunding me my money straight away she took my bank details saying her boss will do me a transfer later and till now I’ve seen jack. Won’t recommend this for anyone. And this was just yesterday smh