Friday night. The night's energy started early today. 6pm and already all genres of music were blaring from mounted speakers in the neighborhood. Osu is truly a marvel in her own multi-faceted predictable way. It has been a long week of cooking and being on my feet for more than six hours on most times and all I wanted was a good meal made by another chef and possibly catch a movie later on. Woman King was calling to me tonight. We shall see.

I remembered seeing a new restaurant signage in Labone recently during one of my daughter's morning school drops. Yaya restaurant, that was the name. With Believer by Imagine Dragons blasting through my Camrys speakers I drove steadily and thoughtfully through the usual traffic-less Labone road. I got to the restaurant with hunger pangs and an anticipated palate only to be informed that they would be opening next week. Bummer.

So here's me driving towards the area I dread driving through especially on a Friday night ; Labone Honeysuckle road. It's simply a nightmare looking for parking space in this area due to the explosion of restaurants on this single road. But God be praised! A parking spot just opposite No. X! Well I guess dinner it is at No. X.

I walked in to meet a podium a feet away from the door where a male host greeted me. He points out where I could find seating. Ideally, I should be walked to my seat to make sure I'm comfortable. I choose the less public spot, right behind the huge glowing unmissable marbled X in the middle of the dining area.

A well stocked bar stood majestically at the far end of the restaurant. Service was attentive perhaps with the light number of guests.

This week has been tough and I came out unscathed so let me indulge. a Coke and Jack Daniel's was my choice of drink.Did I mention I had a rough week? 😅 I was starving so I skipped right into the Mains and chose the Cassoulet a fancy name for a Chicken Casserole and a potato fondant as a side. It's a limited one page dinner menu with beef and even offered vegetarian selections on request.

As I waited for my meal I couldn't help but wonder about the meaning behind the X. What did it stand for? Perhaps X-rated. Or the owner is perhaps a fan of Professor X 😄. X has so many many meanings. It can stand for error ❌ or simply be sent out in a chat as a kiss 😘xxx. Oh wait it's actually No. X which means Number 10. X is the Roman numeral for 10 you numbskull 🤣🤣🤣🤣.

It's a low lighting moody atmosphere where the decor uttered constant tones of minimalism modernity. Private booths and individual seating dotted the space which isn't large creating a form of intimacy.

The cassoulet was accompanied by toasted bread sticks. Juicy and fall off bone chicken thighs yet with very little flavour which was quite disappointing. I sought a salt shaker and on second thought asked for a black pepper as well. Now I could eat! Casserole cooking takes patience and a lot of love for what you want to cook and usually a One-Pot dish. The chicken juices drenched the white beans and pork sausages leaving them moist, succulent and velvet soft as they should be. For GHC 75 for potato fondant I felt scammed. Not only was bland but this was NOT potato fondant but thinly sliced sautéed potatoes served in a fancy bowl. The charade of a fondant went unfinished unlike the cassoulet, quite unremarkable.

With a bill of GHC 400+ I didn't quite get my money's worth. Although I gave my feedback to the waiter, I didn't get any chef coming out to show any interest in what I had to say. But hey, that's okay 😃. If you are looking for a quiet dining experience with a pricey menu and not care about how your potato fondant looks, then go for it! 🥂