In this article, we’re taking a look at African restaurants and their locations in the United States of America. We know that one of the most difficult parts of moving away from your birthplace is changing and adapting to new foods.
For Africans in the diaspora, it could be a lot more difficult but thankfully, a lot of them have found a way around it. They have devised a means to be abroad but still enjoy their local delicacies. These 20 African restaurants in the United States were born out of the desires of Africans to keep up their traditions and local taste buds as well as those of others.
The criteria put in place for the choices of the restaurants range from taste to the ambiance, down to the service rendered and then how consistent they have been, so far. The list is however curated in no particular order.
25 Restaurants in the United States with African Roots
1. Buka
- Origin: Nigeria
- Location: Fulton Avenue, Clinton Hills, Brooklyn
- Founder: Chef Lukman Mashood
This Buka restaurant coordinated by Chef Lukman Mashood is a Nigerian-inspired cuisine-adopted restaurant. It is a restaurant and lounge which offers a lot of mouthwatering delicacies from the West African country of Nigeria.
Buka locally translates to a small local joint/eatery where all sorts of local meals can be gotten. Hence, Brooklyn’s Buka tries to represent this just as it is back home. Its services include a menu of Nigerian pepper soups, Eba and Egusi soup, and all sorts of mouthwatering meals that a typical Nigerian would love to have.
Its ambiance even gives off a modern taste but with a relaxed and cool aura. One that could get you to loosen your belt and tie just as is wont in Bukas located in Nigeria.
Buka restaurant on Fulton Avenue in Clinton Hills, Brooklyn, has been in operation for years.
2. Eko Kitchen
- Origin: Lagos, Nigeria
- Location: San Francisco
- Founder: Chef Simileoluwa Adebajo
This is the first African restaurant to have a place in San Francisco and it even offers virtual lessons on how to cook, for interested participants. On weekends, they cater to events and individuals as well as run delivery services.
One of their signature meals is the famous Eko Combo of Jollof rice, peppered chicken, and plantain. By 2021, the restaurant opened another branch in Los Angeles which means that they are well accepted.
3. Café Rue Dix
- Origin: Dakar (French-Senegalese)
- Location: 1451 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
- Founder: Lamine Diagne
This restaurant/café is co-owned by Lamine Diagne from Dakar and his wife, Nilea. It is a Senegalese-French eatery that offers Senegalese in the diaspora, a wide array of national dishes to feast on. Another thing this restaurant is widely known for is their signature hot sauce.
Prices of the available menu in this restaurant range from $6.00 to $20.000. Their menu is divided into segments comprising of salads, fish, meat, sandwiches, soups, and lots more.
4. Bati Ethiopian Kitchen
- Origin: Ethiopia
- Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
- Founder: Habist Legesse
Habist Legesse-owned Bati is an Ethiopian-inspired eatery that is small and welcoming. Reviews about the restaurant give its customer service a huge plus and applaud its authenticity.
Bati’s menu is basically filled with a lot of Ethiopian dishes despite being miles away from the African country. Ethiopian citizens living in the United States of America have this one restaurant to keep them reminded of their local meals from home.
5. Bala’s Bistro
- Origin: Africa
- Location: Memphis, Tennessee
- Founder: Bala Tounkara and Ryan Robertson
Bala Bistro is one of the few notable African restaurants in the United States that offer vegan food. Apart from the known African cuisines that Bala’s Bistro is known for, they also fuse continental dishes and something for vegans.
They have vegan kimchi wrap, beef stuffed pastry, and a full menu of assorted dishes. At a branch of the restaurant, there is the inclusion of DJs and African Karaoke which would admit only people dressed in African attire.
6. Café Songhai
- Origin: West Africa
- Location: Peachtree Corners, Atlanta, Georgia
- Founder: Matthew and Catherine Owusu (Married)
A typical West African would find it quite easy to adapt to a new life in Atlanta because of Café Songhai. This restaurant gives its customers and dinners a taste of meals from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast.
Their foods include traditional Egusi soup from Nigeria, Kelewele from Ghana, and specially prepared ground cassava from Ivory Coast.
7. Tolani Eatery & Wine
- Origin: South Africa
- Location: Upper West Manhattan
- Founder: Stanton du Toit T and Cesare ‘Chex’ De Chellis
Tolani is translated to ‘Too Good’, a slang from South Africa. It was founded by Stanton Du Toit and Cesare ‘Chex’ De Chellis. The former is a local of South Africa while ‘Chex’ is from Italy.
This restaurant offers a South African taste to meals found on its menu. Amazingly, the menu is an infusion of food from all over the world. It is not just peculiar to South African meals but lets the tastes of food have a South African thingy.
Finding things like Prawn Peri-Peri, Mealie Meal, and Seafood Potjiekos at Tolani’s eatery is not so difficult.
8. BlackStar Kebab
- Origin: Ghana
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Founder:Priestwick Sackeyfio
This restaurant offers traditionally made Ghanaian meals as was the vision of the owner, Priestwick Sackeyfio. The dishes available at Blackstar Kebab are Plantain, Jollof rice, lamb, beef, and chicken lamb.
Located in different locations around Seattle, the restaurant offers catering and partying services. They also pride themselves in making their food from organic, quality ingredients.
9. Accra Restaurant
- Origin: Ghana
- Location: Harlem, New York
- Founder: Ayesha Abdullah
Another Ghanaian treat can be gotten in Harlem from the prestigious Accra Restaurant. The restaurant is regarded as one of the oldest African-descent restaurants in New York. Established in 1986, Accra Restaurant is one of the best African restaurants you can find in the United States. It has come a long way and has grown in its menu, ambiance, and services.
Despite the growth of this restaurant, it hasn’t compromised on its richness when it comes to its Africanness. Accra restaurant boasts bursts of original African flavors and recipes infused in their meals.
10. Ponty Bistro
- Origin: Senegal
- Location: Manhattan and Harlem, New York
- Founder: Elhadji A. Cisse and Chekh Cisse
The owners of Ponty Bistro are cousins named Alhadji A. Cisse and Chekh Cisse. The former is a chef who, together with his cousin, has found a way to blend Senegalese and African traditional meals with those of modern-day French and Mediterranean cooking styles.
The result of the aforementioned blend of gourmet meals would leave one coming back. The co-owners of this restaurant have been conferred with the title of making the best types of macaroni and cheese.
Even more interesting is the fact that Chef A. and Chekh Cisse were the first African contestants and even finalists to make it to Chopped – a Food Network show.
11. Madiba
- Origin: South Africa
- Location: Dekalb Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn
- Founder: Mark and Jenny Henegan
The owners of this restaurant, Mark and Jenny Henegan won the award for ‘One of the Best African Restaurant’ during the New York African Restaurant Week. Upon hearing the name of this place, if you instantaneously thought about Nelson Mandela, then you have a great imagination. Madiba has a huge colorful picture of Mandela in it as it pays homage to the President.
The ambiance obviously gives off an S.A vibe and their dishes, and flavors are from the indigenous South African country.
12. Appioo Bar and Grill
- Origin: Ghana
- Location: 9th Street, Washington DC, New York
- Founder: Chef Prince Matey
This is a Ghanaian restaurant that mainly served a lot of native meals from Ghana. Some of the meals you can find at this place are jollof rice, egusi stew, and the two new dishes.
The new ones introduced are minced goat burgers and seafood okra stew which was included in the menu after the Covid-19 pandemic. This inclusion did not hamper the staple foods that the restaurant is known for, nonetheless.
13. Massawa
- Origin: Ethiopia/Eritrea
- Location: Upper Haight, and North Beach Neighborhood, San Francisco.
- Founder: Almaz Ghebrezgabher and Amanuel Tekeste
This restaurant is also one of the oldest ones you can find in the New York area of the United States. It was named after a city located on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Some of the Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines are inspired by ‘injera’ which is a traditional bread. It also offers dishes like Shiro Duba, Tsebhi Beghe, and Alitcha Beghe.
Its ambiance gives off the feel of being in Ethiopia with a touch of Eritrea vibes.
14. Farafina Café and Lounge
- Origin: Ivory Coast
- Location: 150th Sreet, Uptown, Manhattan Harlem
- Founder: Cisse Yacouba and Allex Boicel
Farafina Café and Lounge offers its visitors dishes such as Chicken Kedjenou, Seafood Maffe, Fish Yassa which are all Ivory Coast-African inspired. Although its ambiance does not give off the expected African feel probably because of the revamps over the years, it still is an African restaurant.
Steve Abrue, manager of Farafina Café and Lounge stated that their vision is to promote international music and performances. This, in its own way, compensates for the lack of Africanized décor in the lounge.
15. Queen of Sheba
- Origin: Ethiopia
- Location: 10th Avenue, 46th Street, Manhattan
- Founder: Philipos Mengistu
This eatery is said to be perfect for sharing traditional meals, stories, and culture from Ethiopia. It was founded by Philipos Mengistu who also serves as the Executive Chef.
The aim of the restaurant is to foster a sense of community living which fused with the tasty traditional Ethiopian meals, takes one back to their home.
People who dine at this restaurant do not fret or shame to use their hands to eat their local delicacies. This is also another way to keep Ethiopian traditions alive despite being in the United States.
16. Le Souk
- Origin: Morocco
- Location: New York
- Founder: Sam and Marcu (Brothers)
Le Souk is owned by two Egyptian brothers named Sam and Marcus. They have ample experience in the restaurant business and have been active for several years. These brothers offer an array of meals peculiar to the native people of the Mediterranean.
There are meals such as Tagines, Merguez, and Couscous Royal that also appeals to the customers there. With its fame in New York, Le Souk is one place to go and experience decades of intentional, local delicacies from Morocco.
17. Teranga Harem
- Origin: Africa
- Location: Manhattan, New York
- Founder: Pierre Thiam
This particular restaurant houses African meals for the pleasure of Africans living in New York who wants a taste of home. It was founded in 2019 by Senegalese restaurateur Pierre Thiam who is also a chef.
Meals found and gotten at Teranga Harem are very rich in African recipes and seasonings. As a result of this, visitors are always feeling a sense of Africa in America.
On the menu are dishes such as Grilled Chicken, Jollof Rice, and black-eyed pea salad. The ambiance at the restaurant further enhances the feel of Africa and its culture.
18. Nneji
![]("https://weafrique.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/<yoastmark)
- Origin: West African
- Location: Ave Astoria, New York City
- Founder: Beatrice Ajaero
Nneji making its way to this list of top African restaurants in the United States is quite interesting. The reason for this is that it hasn’t been around for so long as it was established in 2019. This was the period of the pandemic and somehow, ‘Nneji’ restaurant managed to grow.
Meals from this restaurant, just like with Teranga, aren’t peculiar to a particular country. It combines meals from several West African countries and gives all a sense of communal living.
Some of the dishes that Nneji offers to their customers are West African stews, salads, Okra and spinach, and Egusi soup. There is also the availability of Yassa which is served with cassava or acha (fonio) grains.
19. Lenox Saphire
- Origin: Senegal
- Location: Harlem, Manhattan
- Founder: Fara Fall
Famous for French pastries such as croissants, tarts, eclairs, crème Brulee, petit fours, and choux pastry, Fall Fara from Senegal’s aim is to create a hospitable environment for Africans in the diaspora to ‘feel at home’ in America.
In addition to the French pastries, Fara also provides a Senegalese national meal known as Ceebu Jen. The meal is indigenous to the Wolof tribe and it is rice and fish in layman’s understanding.
20. Taste of Nigeria
- Origin: Nigeria
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Founder: The Odewales
Based in Houston, ‘Taste of Nigeria’ is actually one of the few African restaurants you’d find in this part of the United States. Founders known as The Odewale’s are known to use mostly fresh ingredients in the preparation of the meals they serve.
On their menu, you would find indigenous Nigerian foods like Isi ewu and Banga soup. They also make use of ingredients such as crayfish to give their foods a unique Nigerian taste. In addition to their food menu, they also offer a wide variety of drink menus for their customers.
21. Brooklyn Suya
- Origin: Nigeria
- Location: Crown Heights, New York City
- Founder: Chef Folusho and Chef Hema Agwu (The Suya Guy)
People who know what ‘Suya’ is, would understand that this restaurant is dedicated to the preparation and sale of suya. Suya is indigenous to Nigeria and originated with the Northern Nigerian Hausa people. However, it is now widespread among the Nigerian people and then, West Africans.
Brooklyn Suya is a mixture of the Nigerian and Brooklyn cultures. One thing that is constant with the restaurant is that whatever they serve their guests, it always comes with suya spice.
Asides from the Suya they are known for, Brooklyn Suya also offers Nigerian cuisines.
22. Aduke Nigerian Cuisine
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-r__KCn3Xj/?hl=en
- Origin: Nigeria
- Location: Inglewood, California
- Founders: Aduke Oyetibo
This restaurant initially started as a catering service but eventually expanded. As the name suggests, it serves a wide menu of Nigerian delicacies, down to local ones. Asides from beef kebab, and suya, there is also Moin Moin served as one of its finest dishes.
You could also decide to enjoy your meals with assorted seafood. Aduke Nigerian Cuisine has a cool dining environment for its visitors.
23. Fannie’s West African Cuisine
- Origin: West Africa
- Location: Kansas City, Missouri
- Founder: Fannie Gibson
This restaurant is well known for being unique, authentic, and handcrafted. They are also very organic when it comes to the type of ingredients they use. They offer different meals for the entire time they open in a day.
Fannie’s offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner services. Another impressive feature about them is the fact that they spice people’s food according to the guest’s taste.
READ ALSO: Nyama Choma- How To Prepare And Best Way To Enjoy
24. Olaide’s Kitchen
- Origin: Nigeria
- Location: Parlin, New Jersey
- Founder: Chef Olaide
Just like with Aduke Nigerian Cuisine, Olaide started off as a catering business. It was a business that started in the comfort of the founder’s home before she broke out. In addition to their completely African-inspired meals, Olaide also offers great African art.
Some things you would find on their menu include Gizdodo and egusi soup.
25. B&B Restaurant Corporation
- Origin: West and North Africa
- Location: New York
- Founder: Joe Bastianich and Lidia Bastianich
The prestigious B&B restaurant is quite famous for feeding a large number of people since 2009. They provide meals from countries of North and West Africa that Africans living in the United States miss from home.
This restaurant keeps you in touch with African society with its scenery as well as the dishes available. Over the years, this restaurant corporation has provided top-notch African foods such as kebabs and varieties of chicken.
Discussion about this post