Our Story

Quietly building the future of African hospitality.

We started in one small dining room. We are building a hospitality group with the operational discipline of a great hotel and the heart of a family table.

A De Buka communal table

De Buka means “the eating place.” The room where everything important happens.

We exist to elevate African food experiences — not by abandoning tradition, but by holding it to the standards of the best hospitality groups in the world. Our motto is simple: Creating experiences, one meal at a time.

We are a hospitality group, a technology company, and an operational engine. We move quietly because the food and the room deserve the loudness, not us.

Milestones

A short timeline. A long road ahead.

  1. 2019

    First Buka opens

    A 28-seat dining room in Lagos with a single chef and a stubborn belief.

  2. 2021

    Catering arm launches

    Corporate clients begin asking. We say yes — quietly, and well.

  3. 2023

    MealPass pilot

    Two universities, eighty students. We start engineering the operations stack.

  4. 2025

    Five locations

    Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan. A real ecosystem begins to emerge.

  5. Next

    African franchise model

    An operational playbook we can hand off, without losing the craft.

07 — In Their Words

Not testimonials. Letters from the table.

Portrait of Adaeze O.
It is the only place in Lagos I'll bring international guests without overthinking it. The food, the room, the rhythm — all in tune.

Adaeze O.

Creative director, Lagos

Portrait of Tunde A.
Their corporate catering became our quiet competitive edge. Clients remember the room because they remember the food.

Tunde A.

Founder, Abuja

Portrait of Chinonso E.
My parents pay once. I eat well every day. I didn't realize how much mental space that gave me back until it was gone.

Chinonso E.

MealPass student, Ibadan

08 — Manifesto

We are not just a restaurant. We are building the architecture of African hospitality.

“Our mission is to honor the hands that grew the food, the hands that prepared it, and the community that shares it.”