Grandmother's recipes, Abuja's table
Yusta started as a promise to my grandmother in Beirut — that her food would travel, that the recipes wouldn't stay in notebooks. When I arrived in Abuja, I brought her hummus, her kafta, her way of setting a table where everyone eats from the same plate.
The name Yusta is what we called her at home. The long wooden tables, the low light, the bread that arrives without asking — it's all her idea. I just found the building.
We cook dinner Wednesday through Sunday, and nothing is pre-made. The mezze is for the middle of the table. The grill fires up around six. The bread goes in the oven at five.
What we care about
Real recipes, no shortcuts
Nothing comes from a packet. The hummus is blended each service. The kafta is mixed that morning. The bread dough proves from noon. It takes longer. That's not something we're trying to fix.
The table as a shared thing
Lebanese food was never designed to be eaten alone. The mezze is for the middle. The bread is for everyone. A table at Yusta is a table you share — with the people you came with, and sometimes the ones beside you.
Sourcing what we can, locally
Most of our vegetables come from farms within the FCT. Some things — good tahini, pomegranate molasses, the right allspice — come from Beirut, carried in luggage. We don't apologise for that.
How we got here
- BeirutWhere it began
My grandmother Yusta ran her table the same way every Thursday — mezze first, grill after, sweets when everyone thought they were full. I sat at that table every week until I was twenty-three.
- 2021Landed in Abuja
Arrived without a restaurant plan but with a notebook of recipes and the conviction that Lebanese food done properly didn't exist here yet. Spent the first year cooking for friends, then friends of friends.
- 2023Opened the doors
Found the space in Maitama, put in long wooden tables, installed a charcoal grill, and opened on a Wednesday with eleven covers and a full bread basket.
- NowWednesday through Sunday, every evening
We fill most nights. The menu changes with the season. The bread is still baked at 5pm. The hummus is still warm.
