Tucked away in the affluent neighbourhood of East Legon is a restaurant and bar called Filli B’s. Make the right turn just beside Media Pharmacy and then take the second left turn. This leads you to the quaint eatery.
The owner obviously has a thing for safaris because the outdoor garden is packed with cane furniture all covered in an assortment of animal print fabrics. There are shrubs and small trees scattered in the enclosed space and if you happen to go there at night, you’ll find antique wick lanterns on every table.
There’s a sports bar ahead and to the left when you enter where you are most likely to find one or two football fans huddled around the flat screen tv which always has a match on.
Walk a few steps past the bar and you are entering the lounge area. The décor of the lounge is cluttered, still in the safari theme with stuffed safari animals perched at odd places. On the walls hang framed paintings and pictures of yet some more safari animals and also something that breaks the leitmotif – Marilyn Monroe as well as a few other old Hollywood faces. In keeping with the element of surprise, Ghana’s own Jackie Appiah also represents in the hodgepodge décor with her own framed photo. Perhaps the designer’s chosen theme was ‘Fish-out-of-Water’ and not ‘Safari’. The lounge also has a flat screen tv showing one football match or other.
The waiters are prompt and neatly dressed and courteous. They are not in the habit of writing down your order though, so they are most likely to come back and clarify your request. The menu is vast with everything from rice dishes to Mediterranean dishes and local food but you can be sure there will be something on there that they will not have available. I ordered the spring rolls for starters, a plate of spicy pork with a side of sautéed potatoes and home-made rum-raison ice-cream for dessert and to drink, a bottle of cider. They serve cocktails, hard liquor, soft drinks and fruit juices.
The spring rolls take a short while and come steaming hot with a dip of extra hot shitor. If you have a sensitive stomach, its best you stay away from the shitor. There are four rolls.
The spicy pork would have been perfectly delicious if it wasn’t a day old. The sautéed potatoes were a little over boiled before being sautéed in butter, this dulled the taste somewhat but the sauce smothering the pork was just right and helped the meal along nicely. It’s quite a sizeable helping; you are guaranteed a full stomach. Having also tried their chicken wrap once before and finding it pleasant, I recommend that instead.
The waiters never let an empty dish or glass stay on your table any longer than it should. I was informed that my rum-raison ice-cream was unavailable so I had to settle with good old vanilla ice cream. I consider myself an ice-cream connoisseur and I can usually tell what brand I’m eating and what they serve at Filli B’s is most definitely Fanice. It’s not exactly gourmet ice-cream but I’m a fan. It helped to cool me down seeing as the AC in the lounge struggled to keep the temperature below 25 degrees celcius. The garden would have offered a better cooling system.
All things considered, if you’re looking for peace and quiet and something out of the way from Tuesday to Sunday without missing your favourite team’s match, you should swing by Filli B’s.