The vibe is right at this eatery serving every type of jollof rice

Several varieties of jollof – a spiced, tomato-infused rice dish found across much of West Africa – are the focus of the menu at Jollof Vibe. Ask chef and owner Evette Quoibia about the cultural debate between West African cultures called the “Jollof Wars”, and she’ll happily edify you. “Why don’t I just bring all the jollof rice in one place … and let [people] try for themselves?”

Quoibia might have been a diplomat, if not for previously running takeaway-centric establishments in Reservoir and Kensington. They had limited seating, and she decided it was time to open a bigger casual restaurant for jollof aficionados.

Owner and chef Evette Quoibia in her Flemington restaurant, Jollof Vibe.

The Jollof Wars are about friendly rivalry. The restaurant repertoire of various West African dishes comes, however, from Quoibia’s serial displacement due to armed conflicts in the region. By her 10th birthday, she had learnt to cook for her entire family out of both necessity and interest. After moving to Australia, she started cooking at community events, and people started rushing back for seconds.

“I saw the joy it brought to people,” Quoibia says. Her path was set, so she quit her job in an abattoir to work at a restaurant for the first time. Having opened in October, Jollof Vibe feels comfortable, with batik-adorned tables and unobtrusive Afrobeat tunes setting the mood.

Jollof rice dishes all share a base of tomato, spices, garlic and onions. Close to a dozen traditional regional or improvised variants result from differences in ingredients and technique.

We tried the Liberian version, made with the more attention-demanding jasmine rather than basmati rice used in other dishes. It comes with strips of deeply flavourful beef, fried plantains and a dressed salad. It’s a dish that carries complexity without worrying about subtlety, and it’s glorious.

Liberian jollof rice with beef, fried plantains and a dressed salad.

Patrons who decide to explore beyond the namesake dish will be rewarded. Communal eating is encouraged, and the fried chicken is easily shareable. The meat is seasoned and paired with a house-made red habanero sauce; ask for the green version if you want to ramp up the heat level.

A hibiscus drink is available if you need to cool off, and also comes as an ice slushie. Its flavour is as deep as its midnight purple hue, with the flower’s natural acidity balanced with sugar and accentuated with hints of cloves, pineapple and mint. It makes a lack of liquor licence seem irrelevant. The drink alone is reason enough for me to return.

An okra and fried trevally stew is hearty and skilfully avoids the vegetal sliminess that deters many from ordering okra a second time in life. Three types of capsicum add to the dish’s complexity; mix a spoonful with the accompanying white rice, and have a side plate handy to easily dispose of the marinated fish bones.

Egusi stew (right) with semolina fufu.

Egusi stew is a Nigerian dish that conceptually counts as surf and turf, but is an experience unto itself. Hulking cubes of tender beef sit in crayfish-based gravy with spinach, thickened by ground African melon seeds (the egusi). The gravy is crunchy, richly savoury and very much of the sea. I struggled to imagine how this would complement the meat – and quickly had my doubts dispelled with the next combined mouthful.

The stew comes with a side of yam or semolina fufu (you choose), made by pounding the carbohydrate until glutinous, resulting in a dome of what might be described as a giant, savoury, soft mochi. It is traditionally eaten with your hand, pinching off a little as a vehicle for gravy or to swaddle a bite-sized piece of meat. Cutlery is available for those who prefer it.

Quoibia says her calling to the hospitality industry in Melbourne was driven very much by her heart and not her head. “I could feel it, I could hear it,” she says.

The two words in the name Jollof Vibe, then, seem to capture the essence of her arc through life; the former reflecting her journey across many places, and the latter articulating her desire to create an opportunity for people to experience joy and unity with each other over food, be it in the restaurant, through her catering (discounted for students and charities), or simply some takeaway.

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