The second you open the swinging doors of ChopnBlok, you are instantly greeted by the warm, comforting aroma of fresh spices and grilled food. As you make your way to one of the many different places to sit, you realize that the restaurant is quiet enough to eat your food in peace, but has just enough life that you don’t feel like you’re dining alone. Located on Westheimer near Montrose, ChopnBlok, a restaurant that takes a modern spin on classic West African dishes and flavors, does not disappoint, both in atmosphere and in taste.
The walls of the restaurant are decorated with African themed book covers and African inspired art pieces, such as painting and posters. The food matches the interior: flavorful and pleasing to consume, but not overwhelming or overdone. It is also a very inclusive restaurant in terms of dietary options, as all of their meat is halal, they don’t serve any pork and there are no dairy products in any of their food.
I had heard many good things about ChopnBlok from extended family and friends, so I was excited to try it. I would recommend going to the restaurant during happy hour for reduced prices and individual portion sizes. Despite the “small” portions of the food, it was very filling and fairly satisfying, especially after a long Friday of testing at CVHS.
My family and I decided to go on a Friday after school, and that time happened to be Happy Hour at the restaurant. Happy Hour features the restaurant’s more popular appetizers and entrees in smaller portions at reduced prices. We decided to order from the Happy Hour menu in order to sample as many dishes as possible.
The first appetizer we tried were the Minnie Patties. For those who have never had a patty before, they are essentially meat or vegetable stuffed pizza pockets, not unlike an empañada, that are popular in both African and Caribbean cuisine. They had both meat and vegetable ones available, so I tasted both.
The vegetable one was filled with mostly potatoes and carrots. It had good flavor, the pastry part was buttery and very flaky, and the potatoes were not too soft. The beef patty’s meat filling was definitely more wet, but it had a bit more spice to it. I enjoyed both, and I would recommend either one.
The next appetizer was the plantain chips and dip, which was much different than I expected. The dip was a mix of cooked greens chopped very finely that had a sweet, yet slightly tangy flavor that paired well with the chips. Unlike the plantain chips most people are used to, these ones were not sweet at all, but were instead more starchy like a potato chip. The lack of sweetness actually worked very well with the dip, and they were not greasy, which I appreciated. This appetizer, like a few other dishes, was vegetarian, which was good to see and shows the restaurant is able to adapt to different food preferences.
The third appetizer we had was the Polo Club Beef Suya, which were grilled beef skewers, similar to kebabs, but with a thinner, cut piece of meat. Anyone who needs to know in advance, these were quite spicy, so be warned! I really enjoyed the charred, grilled flavor, and the meat was well-done and there were no pink parts. However, some parts were a little on the tough side and required some extra chewing to break down the meat. I still enjoyed it, especially when I ate it with the pickled red onions that were served on the side.
The last appetizer I had was the coconut chicken bites. These ones may have been my least favorite, not because they did not suit my taste. They were delicious, but there were distinct parallels between them and traditional chicken nuggets. The coconut breading did come through, but it wasn’t enough to make it distinct from your typical fried chicken nuggets.
ChopnBlok is a restaurant that mainly specializes in vibrantly-flavored bowls full of rice, veggies, and meat in some. Their most popular bowl, according to the staff and Yelp, is the Golden Bowl. Luckily for me, they had a mini version of the main menu on the happy hour menu! The Golden Bowl includes a base of smokey jollof rice full of spicy peppers and a flavorful, bright yellow coconut milk-based curry. It is topped with slices of grilled chicken, chunks of sweet plantains, and roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts.
The jollof rice was absolutely amazing. It had a deep, smokey flavor, was adorned with small chunks of spicy peppers, and was not greasy at all. The coconut curry was slightly spicy, but had bright, almost citrusy notes, but was perfectly creamy and had a smooth, balanced flavor. The roasted vegetables and chunks of sweet plantains paired well with the base components of the dish, and I really enjoyed it. However, if you have a low spice tolerance, this may not be the best dish to have. If you do decide to have it, definitely mix everything together instead of eating each component separately, which cuts down on the heat tremendously.
On the whole, I really enjoyed the restaurant. I have not been exposed to west African cuisine to a great degree, so this was a fun experience for me. It is definitely a great place for families, or somewhere to go after school for some delicious dinner foods. The appetizers are filling enough to create a whole meal without spending too much money.
Overall, I would recommend the restaurant and give it a 9.2/10. I took some points off mainly because the spice level for certain dishes may not be tolerable for everyone’s taste, but the dishes that are not spicy are extremely flavorful and anyone would love them.
I also would have preferred a wider range of desserts, as there was only one on the menu that I did not try, though I understand that desserts do take a different skill set to prepare compared to full meals. I do hope they expand their dessert menu selection in the future, as the location I went to recently opened in October 2024. Other than that, ChopnBlok was a delicious and memorable experience, and I will be returning as soon as possible.
