Nativ Cuisine in Bournemouth

I was recommended this place by a work colleague and decided to try it for my birthday. During the reservation process they asked if it was a special occasion (there is no point of this as nothing happens). Our reservation was at 7:30pm we were 10 minutes late (tried to call but there was no answer). Our table was not ready so we had to wait another 20 minutes before we were seated. We were an hour and 15 minutes into the night before we got 1 drink despite ordering 2. It was an hour and 45 minutes before we got our food. The pepper goat despite being asked to be mild (as it states on the menu to specify the heat level) was inedible for my partner. The okro soup was ordered with both meat and fish and came with fish alone. Overall it was very poor service as we sat there watching dozens of online orders being filled wondering if we were going to eat tonight. The whole ordeal (on my birthday no less) was disappointing and there was no remorse from staff for the unacceptable waiting time and substandard service.

A bit slow on service but the food was good

Delicious food, but the restaurant is small

I’m a harsh critic at the best of times but I have to say I have been blown away. Absolutely delicious food. The amount of flavour in the chicken suya is out of this world. Maybe could’ve asked for a fresher bbq sauce so that could have been better as was a bit luke warm but overall very tasty and good value for money. I will be back

I never received my order, and I was charged. I ordered pepper soup, jollof rice, and Edika-ikong soup yesterday via Just-Eat. I waited and waited for the order, only for me to see the order updated to ‘Delivered’. Now, I am replying to the restaurant's below. What do you mean by "I have seen you as a soft target" when I clearly didn't receive my order? Would I have ordered food from you if I didn't have a good motive??

I've visited 3 times. The food is brilliant, but I felt that I needed to revise my previous review that couldn't have been more complimentary. The service is extremely variable - ranging from excellent to shocking. On my most recent visit, I had to take a deep breath and simply see the funny side (my partner was craving their food, else I'd have walked out). The service was potentially the most incompetent that I've ever seen in a restaurant. I simply wanted to know what the "dishes of the week", referenced on the menu, were. This turned out to be a remarkable ordeal, with trips to the kitchen to check, my having to politely phrase the question in as many fashions as I possibly could, along with eventually speaking to another waitress. This really rather soured the experience, and I would probably not return, despite the tasty food

Food and atmosphere was amazing thanks you we will be back

It’s been almost 2 weeks .Thank you Nativ for great food Taste was super and serving was good Chef sai is very nice Indian but the way he cooked is amazing enough food. Good taste

Don’t bother coming here if you want any service. Sat for 20 minutes and wasn’t even offered a drink or offered to take our order, on a quiet Saturday night. They seemed more interested in takeaway orders. We walked out

Don't bother coming if you want to actually eat. Waited 20 minutes for someone to even acknowledge us when we'd sat down. Instead I went to the bar to ask if I had to order there, as no one had bothered to come to take our drinks order, food order, even say that they will be with us in a minute. When i asked I was told they would be down, waited longer and still nothing. Walked out and went to one of the many other restaurants on Old Christchurch Road. Don't waste your money on people who don't even have manners, when you're looking to spend money with them.

Service was very good and food came on time I ordered goat curry,goat soup Thanks to nativ..

Ignore all the negative reviews!! This place serves really authentic West African home style food. The Husband and Wife team Prince and Dorothy are such lovely people with exceptional knowledge of their culinary roots right down to the drinks. Don't expect a posh restaurant,this is not what this place is about. Its about the food,proper West African food like they would eat at home with their family. The lighting was perfect around the booths at the end of the restaurant with authentic trible face masks wall decor. There are dishes on the magnanimous menu of which I had never heard of before aswelll as popular meaty goat curry's on the bone and Jerk chicken etc. The price is very reasonable and we will definitely be going back soon. Thankyou for a wonderful late lunch.

I am not going to lie , this is one of the best Nigerian/ African restaurant in the area, quality of food is outstanding, delicious and you can feel the vibe that you are somehow in a African atmosphere, good music, excellent tasty dishes combined with attentive service makes it perfect. Big credit to The owners of the restaurant! Plus nhs , student and emergency services discount! One tip thou , if you are thinking of dining or ordering a take away , pre order the food , the African delicacy will just flow smoothly !

Best African restaurant I have been to. Highly recommended 👌

Thought of trying some different and ended up booking a table here. The interiors and music are nice and gives out an African vibe, but the service was a let down. The food was brilliant, meat was perfectly cooked and the goat curry is heavenly. The restaurant was empty but still our food took upwards of half an hour to arrive and was not hot. We had the jerk chicken, salmon, goat curry, jollof rice and plantain which was all delicious, shame the service and food temp was a let down. Might be a one off and will definitely visit again.

really tasty and authentic food. portions are huge so the price reasonable. service was slightly slow but worth the wait so I will defo be coming back

Very good price and Atmosphere!

The food is fantastic! The staff are a bit more variable. Some are an absolute delight and really friendly and helpful, for others you need to hunt them down to get them to give you a menu or clear the table. But the food definitely makes it worth it.

A great little place to enjoy good, freshly cooked food. Nativ gives the impression it's family run, and the staff are happy and smiley. The menu is good. I had a burger and a vegetarian suya, and they were both delicious. Great music in the background. I felt transported to Africa. Very reasonable prices, including drinks. Recommended.

A lovely hidden gem. The goat curry is phenomenal! Pedro greets us with a smile and exceptional service every time, and is probably laughing if he's reading this because my girlfriend and I have eaten roughly our body weight in goat curry over the last year.

Massively upset asked multiple times for an allergen menu as I have a severe Gluten allergy I was very very anxious going in as the lady reassured me multiple times it was safe and fine ! It was not ! Had caused severe pain and no allergen menu was ever provided and lost a days money at work due to the trouble this caused ! So upset as I was filming a content video for Deliveroo to showcase some small restaurant’s that are gluten free and no way I can put them in this content wasn’t even able to advocate this company beyond upset

Very disappointed that they don’t offer any vegetarian lunch deal. They do a £7.50 chicken rice etc but no veggie one. I asked if they’d reduce the deal with no chicken. They refused. I asked if they could add some plantains and I pay £7.50 they refused. Nowadays so many are offering a veggie option, they do need to jump on board or they will lose customers.

Lovely flavourful food! Will certainly be ordering again. The tiliapia fish was so nice

Authentic African food. Great weekly lunchtime offers

We visited Nativ during our 4 day stay in Bournemouth. Both of us had the lunch time special which was very tasty, filling and was reasonably priced. The service was also good, we received our drinks ahead of the meal which followed soon afterwards. The decor represents the origin of food they serve, this restaurant is well worth a visit.

I came here on holiday and thought to try some African food since it had been awhile and the server was first of all slow,she took more than 15mins to come and take our drink order and it’s not like the place was busy,.there were only 2 other tables besides us,anyways we asked for a spicy egusi soup and a non spicy one but we ended up getting 2 very spicy soups and was charged for the extra soup that they claimed was not spicy!! My worst experience ever in an African restaurant!! I wouldn’t recommend them for anything and the prices are preposterous! -5

I enjoy cooking, so i know good food when I taste one. I visited Nativ today with my family and really enjoyed the service and food. Outside naija, these guys will take you back home with delicacy!!!

Fantastic food, great service from pedro who made some great cocktails and a really fun vibe! Definitely one of our favourite african restaurants and we will be going again!

Went for the lunch deal yesterday and...wow! The Jerk and stew sauces mixed is an absolute must.

Food…… I literally taste the vibes! As for the service well big up my G Pedro!!! Nice bloke he was a pleasure. 👍👍🙌🏼❤️

Yesterday I visited Native African restaurant in Bournemouth. I ordered Goat curry with rice and pepper fried goat meat .The both dishes was awesome and also food was very hot .And staff was very kindly and friendly. Thank you Native for providing great taste 😍

This used to be a good restaurant, but not anymore. Today we ate in and ordered okro soup and requested for our meals to be mild, but instead the food was extremely spicy. I took one bite and was so shocked, I could not touch the food as it was inedible to me. My boyfriend likes very spicy food so we asked for a takeaway container and took the food home so he can eat it later. We also ordered two cocktails (rum punch) as it was advertised that cocktails were 2 for the price of 1. The colour seemed odd, I could not understand why it was pink instead of yellow if it's made of pinapple and mango juice. I could not taste any alcohol so I thought I was given mocktails by mistake. They tasted very nice so we ordered one more. This time the cocktail was different, again without alcohol but had a ridiculous amount of strawberry syrup. It tasted completely different and sickly sweet so we could not drink it and left it. The service was very poor as staff didn't seem to speak or understand English well, did not approach to check if we were happy with the food or drinks. They were not bothered at all that I did not have anything to eat. They did not even care to apologize or offer another meal or a refund after being told that it was too spicy for me to eat. I asked for my receipt so I could know why I paid nearly £60 for two soups and juice, but they failed to give a receipt and seemed that they did not understand I asked for it due to the language barrier. I really wanted to politely complain and request for a partial refund, but we did not want to make a big fuss and waste our times with staff who struggle with English. I was hoping they'd at least not charge us for the last drink to make up for their mistakes, however they wanted to make sure we paid for it before leaving as the rest was already paid before we got the food and drinks. It is such a shame that the service is so poor and my experience today felt like I got scammed. I don't plan to ever come again and will warn anyone I know. Edit: Just read another negative review from last month with similar experience of a child taking the order and serving alcohol that tasted like juice. Same haplened to me. I would happily attach a photo of myself in the restaurant if I could find the option to add it before I get accused of writting a "false review".

Couple Dinner My husband and I went for dinner yesterday night here and really enjoyed the atmosphere. The food was fresh and delicious and staff went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and they took care of everything till we finish We were delighted.” Definitely will return😍

Awesome Food. The ambiance was really authentic, and staff was very kind and friendly, highly recommended…..

If you order delivery you will wait ages to get it 🤮

Excellent food and service. Definitely going back.

It’s really a nice restaurant, cool staffs and good environment. I recommend native restaurant if you want to quench your taste

I guess fair enuf to say that I'm not used to this food and no comparison cos this is first time I tried. Pedro was very nice n patience to introduce the food and also caution me of the taste. Environment : Abit too dim.

A very warm place to have african delicacy

I'm afraid to say they have rats. I was waiting for my bus at half seven in morning and as I looked across I saw this huge rat running along the table and down onto the floor right where the window is. Couldn't be more repulsived. Sort it out guys

Loved it! Authentic west African flavours and friendly, lovely service with traditional music playing in the background. I knew it was the real deal because I spotted African patrons there enjoying the dishes. And there was a nice mixture of clientele. The jollof in particular may have been the best I’ve tasted in a very long time. Great experiences

A gem of a ethnic food restaurant. Knowledgeable staff and very friendly service. Excellent food and cocktails

Overall 1 if I could do less I would. The whole image from the outset looks lovely. This review is hard for me because I am African and giving a bad review feels wrong, but I must address this to everyone. All theses points below is what I experienced and was appalled. *Underage child serving alcohol. The young man looked at least 14 years. My friend an alcohol licence officer addressed this with the manager and gave a warning. *Server had no hospitality training plate was held with hand touching the food. * Waited upto 45min for plantain and rice, whereas my husband chicken and rice took less of the time. Vert confusing. * My guests menus were mixed up and people were given different dishes. * Due to a child serving alcohol the cocktails tasted like juice. *Main dish portions was fit for a toddler. Shame shame shame

Good, great service and nice atmosphere.

Pedro the waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive. Great recomendations. The curry is the beat I ever tasted.

Went here for food after being let down by another restaurant prior. I was super excited to try the cultural mix of food, Jamaican and Nigerian I'm thinking. Ordered my food and end up waiting nearly an hour. When I received my food there was some issue with my other I went and spoke to the cook and manager who polity address the situation and listen to my concern. They then provided me with more than I asked for which I was more than grateful for. All staff handled the situation professionally even when I was upset. Even though I had an issue, they resolved it and the food was delicious too.

This place has gone so downhill! Nothing like it was when it was run by family. The toilet stinks the whole restaurant out it’s so vile and the food quality has changed massively, the taste is not the same at all! So sad as I used to love this place

1 Stern ist noch zuviel! Extrem dreckig, es gab viele Speisen von der Karte viele Speisen nicht. Die Vorspeisen waren total trocken und verbrannt. Hauptspeisen war nicht wirklich gut. Aber am schlimmsten war das WC …. Noch nie so was eckelhaftes gesehen.

Went there with my family for a Saturday night out as the children are young don't go out much but loved it can't wait to go again food I've eaten all over the world food can compete with anything I've eaten see you guys soon thanks for an amazing evening

Superb service. You have to specially ask for extra pepper if you like your food the West African way - hot hot ;)

We waited 50 minutes for our food without even getting any drinks to the table. After half an hour we went to check on the order and the chef said: one moment and it’s out. Well, after 20 minutes we just walked out without eating or drinking anything. This never happened in my life. I will never go back there again.

Very dirty restaurant. I made a phone order and got told it will be 15 minutes. In the end I waited for an hour after driving 20 minutes to get there. Very unprofessional and I wouldn’t recommend this place. Food is abysmal.

Lunch time meal deal, Jerk chicken for me, Barbecue chicken for my wife. Great value for money and a great way to try something new, Looking forward to more

The service was good, and food was ok.

Dreadful had to wait 30 mins for food then when it came it was smaller then the plate and tasted like rubber

The meal was superb . it taste like home away from time

The food was good, not outstanding or anything. I expected a bigger portion because of the price. Was surprised by the small portion size. Nice decor but it was cold inside. Should have kept my jacket on haha.

Dined here: Friday, November 18th. Haven’t had an African cuisine for a long time so wanted to eat here . We had the sharing platter for 4. The food was great and good portion. But the customer service was terrible! The lady staff who served us felt like she was either uninterested in serving us or she just hates her job. Not very helpful in providing us which sides we could choose and some of the dishes didn’t come out - so we had to chase for them. The food took ages to come out too! If you want customers to re-visit a restaurant , a good customer service is needed.

Talk of African foods, sorry Nigerian foods in the city of Bournemouth, Omo they serve everything, the first day I discovered them, I was like wow! From nkwobi, to jollof rice to white rice, to pounded yam, name it they have it all. Nativ indeed

The restaurant barely pass average for an African cuisine and restaurants

The egusi soup is actually so unedible its so spicy and the meat bits in there were extremely tough . If you have a death wish and are suicidal order from here

Very slow service and staff weren’t very attentive or friendly. I waited over 45 minutes for my order. It wasn’t very busy inside the restaurant as it was still early evening around 430pm but they had a lot of online orders to deal with. I could see that other customers were disappointed with the long wait. I went here for the dinner buffet meal with my partner. The dumplings/plantain were missing in both our dishes. I asked them about it but they just ignored me and didn’t bother giving us what we supposedly paid for. The jollof rice tasted ok, nothing special or authentic. The chicken leg was quite small. I probably wouldn’t come here again as the long wait wasn’t worth it for the quality of food.

Very good cost benefit. It’s a nice environment, good background music and good amount of food considering the price payed.

Went to Nativ restaurant a couple of nights ago. I am definitely no going back. Sticky dirty menu and tables and the waitress was not helpful at all. I asked information regarding a couple of dishes and she wasn’t able to explain what it was. I have ordered a starter and a main course, both dishes tasted the same all you can taste its chillies 🌶 Also when the waitress took the dishes to our table she didn’t bring any plates, we had to call her a couple of time to get a side plate as the main course came in a hot pan straight from the over.

My wedding food was supplied by this restaurant. I must say that he went far and beyond to deliver on the agreed menu and service and he did it right at the appointed time. Everyone that attended loved the food and there was enough to eat and take home.

Felt like home… real 9ja food… cool music and nice reception .

Nice, ambient environment, with caring service and warm staff, always coming over to ensure we're being served & having a good time. Good food, good price, nice environment, fab locality.

Superb meal, goat curry is again simply superb. Service friendly, excellent,takes a while to prepare your food. But when its this good idont mind. Great tobe back.

Service was bad. Had to flag down the waitress who seemed unbothered, she took our order with no pen or paper. After 20 minutes we had to ask if we could Atleast get our drinks which came in cans, no glass no ice. Our food arrived, one order was wrong. My order was tasty but meal came Looking empty. Curry and rice is literally what it is, no side salad only the sides you pay for. Food was ok, wont be going back.

Amazing food! Amazing service! Amazing drinks! Amazing music! Amazing decor! Amazing price! Will definitely be back next time we’re in the area! 100% recommend!

Went here for lunchtime deal. Food was out of this world and absolutely delicious! Only reason why it's not being given 5 stars is the music was so loud we couldn't hear ourselves talk and it was so hot in there, a fan or air con in the hot weather would have been lovely to make it a bit more comfortable.

decided to take ayamase to go the wait time was long but i didn’t mind, the stew was really wet and lacked a lot of flavour. it wasn’t as nice as i had hoped, would not recommend it

Ngl pictures of the food on online reviews sent me there salivating. The food I received was a different story. I genuinely think if the owners aren’t around don’t try and order any freshly made chicken or meals. You will regret it like I did. Food tasted like they couldn’t be asked to be there. I met another customer eating in there who told me when the owners aren’t there he only goes for the already made meals by the owners like the jollof. Hmm. Idk if I will go back though. First impression is everything for a consumer like me.

Takeaway lunchtime buffet, shocked its gone up £2.30 a meal. Cost of living must be hitting hard...2nd time in a row I paid for a dumpling and they didn't put it in the bag. I even asked if she's out the dumpling in because of the previous time as I didn't see her do it this time and she flat out lied to me and said yes the dumplings in the bag....shame good food ruined by awful service. Also was given the the smallest chicken leg with barely any meat on.

Unfortunately I think 2 stars is being generous. The place was empty yet we waiting 20 mins for our drink. The wraps were OK but the chips were extremely greasy and "old". I had to ask for cutlery and napkins which took a while too. Also it would be nice if the person serving actually smiled for once. She just looked like she did not want to be working.

Awful, slow service and very basic food.

The food service was awful, we waited over an hour for chicken and rice and there were 3 chefs in a very quiet restaurant. The worst was we saw 5 cockroaches on the seating, walls and kitchen counter. I feel sick, I won’t be coming here again…

Had to wait 50 mins for food because they were prioritising takeaways from just eat Good food but honestly the jollof isn’t good, it needs to be changed

Hit up Bournemouth today. Had to revisit this gem. As ever, great service, great music and great food. Love this spot.

Absolutely fabulous Jerk food. Highly recommend 😊 You'll need to ask for the spicy sauce if you've ordered Jerk chicken, but the Jollof rice and goat curry was the best I've had in years. A great find which I shall frequent at every given opportunity

Lovely Nigerian food in Bournemouth UK. Great staff

You know i am surprised not many people know about native. Well you could easy passby without noticing to be fair because its located amidst other stores in a busy area of Bournemouth. Their meal is out of this world, just give it a try and thank me later.

The sadly didnt have a couple of the things on the menu, but what i had was delicious.

Taste was good, Jollof rice and Goat curry was delicious.

Nice meal. Had Edikaikong with Poundo. It was on point.

I got there with my partner and experience was very poor I must say. Sharer for 2 people which cost £20. You get one peace of chicken (small) one peace of salmon (small) little pot of curry 3 salad leafs and two sides in my case it was chips and coleslaw both been not more then for one person. They call it 2 people sharer and when we got this one plate we got pretty surprised. After food I went to toilet to wash my hands, tap was just dripping so it took me a while to just do that, didn't even want to touch anything how dirty was inside the toilet. Wouldn't come back or recommend to anyone.

Food is slow to come but it’s definitely worth the wait!

Exceptional place for Nigerian food. This place is Better than Enish in London. I recommend their Suya and cocktails.

Authentic African cuisine with decent portions of meat.

The food was great and the staffs were very helpful 👌 👍🏾

The beef stow was a bit too chewy, but tastes great, especially with beer.

Lovely place, good food and a place that encourage African culture.💕💕

I liked the egusi soup with pounded yam. It was nice and fresh.

Really nice place and central very close to the Bournemouth beach. Their food is quite fresh but need more vegetables in their soup 😁😁 nice African decor

I was missing Nigerian delicacies, so I checked Google Maps for recommendations for places with African foods in Bournemouth. Nativ came out and I decided to give them a try. I went to the restaurant and ordered Nigerian Jollof and Fish peppersoup. They tasted great!

The food was great staff friendly and helpful I can’t fault it great atmosphere Large choice on menu plenty of smiles all round

My chilli whole tilapia was honestly the best whole fish dish I have eaten. Stunningly rich and tasty and reasonably priced

RIP OFF! Good food, pleasant staff and ok location. We have to say the food was most enjoyable and full of flavour. Amongst our drinks we had 3 double vodkas at £7 each in small glasses. The drink menu showed under the spirits, plus a ’mixer' 50p. Also on the drinks menu a can of coke was £1.50. When the bill came we had been charged for 3 X £1.50 on top of the 3 large vodkas! When we queried this, the girl said they charge for a can of coke each time. She couldn't explain the reasoning and why they didn't charge as per menu 'mixer'? One can of coke would have been more than adequate and had loads left. The lack of logic and explanation spoiled the night. So we can only deduce it is a RIP OFF approach. Very disappointing!

Nativ used to be the place to go for Authentic African food in Bournemouth, now they have evidently cut costs with tiny chicken portions, new chefs who have clearly just been given a recipe rather than having experience cooking authentic food, and a dead atmosphere. the place used to be heaving every lunchtime, now at most you will have a few people, which really just shows how downhill this place has gone. A once amazing restaurant, ruined by poor ownership choices.

First time in this restaurant with my hubby and a couple of friends. The food was excellent! Service à bit slow, due to possibly a lot of on line-order. However the lady who served us was always polite, friendly and with a smile, even though she was running around! Resonably priced, I will definitely be back though. Thanks