Jowata African Licensed Restaurant

Honestly, I am reading all these comments and I wonder if there is a secret vendetta against the restaurant? I have eaten at the restuarant on many occassions and do not recognise it from these comments. The fact that the restaurant scored 10 out of 10 from people that know should be more trusted than several reviews from 'anonymous' people. These reviews highlight the downside to the internet when people can go on and slay at ease, with no means of corroborating their comments. This is a pleasant place to eat, my one reservation is it is understaffed but that adds to the intimacy but the food cannot be faulted. Oh and I think it's expensive as well but they all are in the centre of Manchester.
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Andrew Mountain
Monday, November 26, 2007

It is obvious that this person did not eat in Jowata but his/her hidden biases. What an untrue picture of this 15 year establishment.
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June Smithest
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Get the truth and try the Jowata for yourself as it is obvious that sad prejudice still exists in the wider population.
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Annonymous
Saturday, September 22, 2007

What can I say about this place. Extraordinary. When a beer exploded on our table and what was left was full of a strange sediment, getting it replaced proved an extremely intimidating experience. A new bottle was slammed on the table unopened, and when we asked for it to be opened the manageress threw a bottle opener on the table while cursing under her breath. At that point, having waited for half an hour for a drink in the first place, we decided we would leave without eating. We offered to pay for the drinks but objected when the exploding beer also appeared on the bill, and were verbally abused by the manageress as we left. Not a place we will be returning to, and not unusual judging by the other reviews.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

If you want to know what it is like to have your worst restaurant experience, go to Jowata. But bear in mind, the food is overpriced and there's a 12.5% service charge added. It will cost you about £60 for 2 people (2 mains and 2 drinks).

Here's the story of what happened to us when we went there on a Saturday night. We entered the door which was kept ajar by one of the chairs. We took a table opposite the door and feeling the draft, I went to close the door. The owner rudely scolded me for my actions and promptly returned the chair to the door.

Whilst reading through the menu, we noticed that it said "cash only". Having only cards on us, we pointed this out to the owner wanting to enquire whether there was a cash point nearby. She simply said "sorry, we only accept cash", turned her back and walked off without giving me a chance to finish my sentence. We were left speaking to her ass. This put us off wanting to sample the so called "fresh organic food" on offer, so we left.

We have not had such a rude and weird experience at a restaurant in the UK before. One wonders how this place keeps afloat in popular Deansgate. Everytime we pass there, the place is empty. Now we know why! If you want to learn about African hospitality and food, please do not go to Jowata to get your first impression. To us, this place did not represent african hospitality. It instead brought to mind the kind of treatment one is likely to receive at the hands of traffic cops in some African cities - pure rudeness, bad attitude and disrespect.
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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Vile slop swimming in grease, hideously overpriced, nasty atmosphere. Is this place a money laundering front?
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Joan Crawford
Wednesday, June 06, 2007

We hated our experience here. The food was awful and at times we felt threatened by the owner. Service was awful, and we felt bullied into writing positive feedback in the comments book!! We found this slightly ironic. PLease don't go here.
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Roy Twiddy
Saturday, May 26, 2007

When people are used to eating junk food it is a wonder they would resent the success of real organic African fare.

In the 21st Centuryno comment is no publicity but take it as the proof is in first hand experience.
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Anonymous
Friday, January 19, 2007

Totally overrated. I don't know how this place has survived in Manchester city centre. The food was bizarre. The prices were bizarre. The staff were bizarre. The place was freezing cold. Go there is you win the lottery and need to waste some of the money.
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NR
Sunday, December 17, 2006

I went to Jowata based on the fact it has come top in best food from this guide. The food did not live up to its expectation and the service was not that good - in fact sometimes bordering on rude. The prices are high but represents prices for a city centre restaurant however does not represent value for money. I cannot understand how this restauarant can have a 10/10 for food considering that the majority of the reviews for Jowata are negative. Am I missing something here?
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Ant
Wednesday, November 08, 2006