I went here upon a friend's recommendation. I refer to the shop name as 'Suya Joint' rather than…read moreAfrican Grill. Food: I ordered a side of plantains and Assorted Suya which came with 3 meats that they had available that day, in my case, it was chicken, beef, and goat. I also got to try the combo which comes with jollof rice, plantains, and salad. The combo comes with a generous amount of jollof rice. The seasoning in combination with the grill cook was like a delicious barbecue dance in your mouth. I didn't get to try the chicken but was told it is really good and is moist on the inside. The goat and beef had a chew to them but the flavours are 100%. I really enjoyed the goat meat. Service/atmosphere: The staff who took our order was courteous, gave positive customer service, and answered all my questions. There are tables for dining in, but everyone pretty much comes here to pick up, deliver, or take out. Throughout our time waiting for our food, there were customers coming in left and right. I will definitely be back again! They speak French here too.

It is the only place I know of that sells goat meat. The service is good, by the owners I presume…read more I'm not sure if they are still in business. new parking lot & no sign.

I called ahead to order the egusi stew with pounded yam and the goat platter for take away. When I…read morearrived a half hour later (when they said it would be ready), my food still wasn't ready. I had to wait another 20 minutes. I would say that the service is quite slow, though polite. I've never had egusi and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the pounded yam with the stew. However. The meats they put in the egusi were really dry and over cooked. There were a few chunks of beef which was sooo dry and hard, and also a piece of tripe. The tripe looked a bit questionable, and I didn't really feel comfortable trying it because it looked a little raw in the middle? We weren't sure but the middle texture looked off. For the goat platter, I didn't really enjoy that as much. The goat was also dry and definitely overcooked. The jollof rice tasted like smoke. I like a smokey flavour sometimes but it seems like they added artificial smoke flavour or something. It was very overpowering and it was the only flavour of the rice. It wasn't really spicy or anything. Also, I ordered a large platter but the portion wasn't that large. It was an ok amount I guess. I will definitely try more egusi stew in the future but I'm not sure that I'll be back here. For the price, I found the food a little bit underwhelming.

I got takeout at Suya Palace and it was great. This is one of the few Nigerian restaurants in…read moreOttawa. I got the large Chicken Suya Platter ($17.99) to share with my husband. The platter came with 3 pieces of chicken (a drumstick, a thigh, and a wing with a bit of breast meat attached), jollof rice, plantains, some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, a tiny container of coleslaw, and some extra spices to sprinkle on your meal if you want it spicier/hotter. The spice level was good. It had a definite kick to it. It wasn't super hot (but could be made so with the extra spices), but if you don't like spicy food, I probably wouldn't recommend this dish, lol. My husband and I loved the flavour and hotness of the chicken and the jollof rice. Flavour party in our mouths, lol. I found the rice a bit on the oily side, but it was still really good. The plantains were soft and sweet. The lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions were fresh and crisp. The coleslaw was mayo based and unremarkable, but ok. The combo platter came with a drink and I chose a can of Sprite. I ordered at the restaurant and service was efficient. I waited less than 15 minutes for my food. The dining room is pretty and quite large. They have their menu printed on large signs in front of the bar. They had no takeout menus so I just used the signs in front of the bar. If you dine-in they have regular menus. The restaurant is on the ground floor of a four-storey building. There's a parking behind the building (the entrance is off Bayswater). Street parking is also available.

We found makasi while touring Ottawa, in Gatineau, across the river. A very nice alternative to…read moreQuebec and Montreal, since it is French Canadian, and French is spoken freely and also English. Makasi has its focus on the food of the Congo, and it is stylishly decorated with a good vibe from the music videos playing in the background. the hostess was friendly and helpful, because we had no idea about the menu, but it was clearly different from Liberian or Nigerian, which we have been more familiar with. The food seems mostly nicely char grilled; the rice was hot and tasty, as were the sides we had: plantains and checkwangue (a fufu-like paste, shaped like a plantain). I would have liked to try the goat, but we settled on a tillapia braised and the poulet mayo (not sure what mayo means, but it was great). The tillapia was grilled and will take a bit of effort to get around the bones, but nice taste. Glad we tried it, no complaints.

Family owned restaurant. Simple but cozy interiors for about 20 seats. Meals are a true African…read moreexperience. The ginger juice is exquisite!

The worst customera service I ever experienced if it wasn't for the chicken I wouldn't come hereread more

YKO chicken offers amazing African BBQ in Ottawa. The restaurant does not offer seating; it's a…read moretake out only restaurant. The menu is focused on BBQ meat, so vegetarians and vegans, unless you want to eat mostly sides, this place isn't for you. The BBQ at YKO is out of this world; everything tastes of fragrant spices and charcoal BBQ. I was worried about the chicken being dry, but it was tender and wonderful. If you're a fan of goat or plantains, you HAVE to try them! The only reason I'm not giving this place 5 stars is because ordering and picking up is a disorganized mess. If you speak French, it may go easier, but expect to wait.

I am rarely down in Barrhaven, but was running a few errands there, so stopped by Moyo Grill for…read moresome takeout. Overall, the food was ok, but had too strong of a charcoal smell and taste for me. I ordered a half chicken meal with jollof rice and plantains ($20.99). The wait was about 30 minutes. They serve the food in styrofoam takeout containers (never my preference for both health and environmental reasons). The food was so hot, it melted and deformed the bottom of the container. Hope I didn't ingest too many carcinogens as a result o_O I got spicy for the chicken. It had some kick to it, but wasn't all that spicy. It smelled and tasted strongly of charcoal. Too much so for my liking. However, it was tender and juicy, not dry at all. The rice was spicier than the chicken, which I liked. However, I've had lots of jollof rice and this version had a spice in it that I had not tasted before in jollof rice and I didn't like it. It also had lots of huge dried bay leaves in it that I had to pick out. The plantains were great though. Soft and sweet with a nice caramelization to them. Staff were courteous. The restaurant is in a strip mall with lots of free parking.

We got takeout on a Friday night and was happy to see our food was prepared fresh and quickly. We…read moretried the half chicken with jollof rice and plantains and the goat suya. Admittedly this was my first time trying African cuisine but definitely an experience I have been looking forward to for a long time. We really loved the flavours and cooking of the meats. Excellent charcoal aroma, great seasoning and a skilled cooking of the chicken which had juicy chicken breast and tender dark meat. The goat wasn't too gamey or tough but has the signature bite on the bone pieces. I was expecting it to come super spicy but it was fine and came with a spicy sauce on the side that's addictive! It was my first time having jollof rice so I don't have a frame of reference but I found it to be tasty. The food was just a bit greasy but the flavours were worth it.

I introduced my parents to Somali food recently and they absolutely loved it, so one day I stopped…read moreby Sabaya Shack to grab us a few dishes for lunch. Everything was a big hit! I got the Lamb Meal with rice ($16.50), the Chicken and Beef Mix Suquaar plate with rice ($15.99) and the Chicken Sabaya Wrap ($10.50). The lamb was so tender, flavourful and a generous portion. It wasn't gamey at all. In fact, my mom and I who hate gamey meats loved the lamb. It came with some large pieces of potatoes and carrots. The rice was soft and fluffy and had good flavour. It had some fried onions sprinkled on top. The salad was extremely boring though. It was literally just iceberg lettuce with a creamy dressing. It's the only thing I didn't care for. My dad loved the suquaar. It was his favourite dish. I liked it, but I enjoyed the lamb and the wrap more. The suquaar was flavourful and had the slightest spicy kick to it. The green hot sauce was phenomenal and adding it to the suquaar gave it that fiery kick that I love. It suquaar had pieces of chicken, beef, potatoes, onions and carrots. The Sabaya Wrap was so good. Some places make Sabaya so oily and greasy, buy not at Sabaya Shack, theirs was soft, chewy and not oily/greasy at all. It's similar to chapati. The chicken was lean and full of flavour. The sauce was slightly sweet. There was lettuce and onions in the wrap too. Service was courteous and efficient. The guy even brought my food out to my car. The place is takeout only. There is no place to dine in. It's in an industrial park. There is limited parking in front of place shared by all units of the industrial park. Note that the unit is C7. So it's in Building C. Follow the signage. Each building has its own sign that tells you the layout of the numbered units. I saw lots of lost people (I think they were food couriers) looking for businesses within the industrial park, lol. A hidden gem worth the effort to find!!

I had lunch here with one of my girlfriends today and it was great…read more Jambo is a Kenyan restaurant, the only one that I know of in Ottawa. It is where the beloved Singapore Restaurant used to be before the owners retired and closed up shop. The space (a converted house) remains mostly unchanged except instead of Asian art adorning the walls, it is now African art. Service was incredibly courteous and welcoming. The ladies checked up on us multiple times, and asked us how we were enjoying the food. We both started off with a beef samosa each ($1.99 each - or 6 for $8.99). These were small but packed with ground beef, onions, and spices. The pastry was thin and crispy and even though they were deep fried they didn't taste too greasy. The accompanying dipping sauce was flavourful with a nice spicy kick. I got the Beef Brochettes with Plantains ($14.99) and my friend got the Chicken Brochettes with Rice ($13.99). My beef brochettes were alternating pieces of onion, bell pepper, and cubed beef. I got 2 skewers. The beef was flavourful and while not all that tender, it wasn't too tough. The plantains were cooked perfectly. Not too mushy but not too hard. They had a slightly sweet flavour, and I got a huge mound of them. The dish also came with a small side salad which was iceberg lettuce (I'm not the hugest fan of iceberg, but at least it was fresh and crispy), slices of baby cucumbers and a slice of tomato, with an Italian vinaigrette-like dressing on the side. The dish also came with a dipping sauce that was fantastic. It was full of flavour. My friend enjoyed her chicken brochettes, which looked like mine except they were chicken instead of beef. She got a huge amount of white rice and only managed to eat about a third of it. I'm so glad to see more culinary diversity in Ottawa's food scene. I was a bit disheartened to see that we were the only customers over the lunch hour on a Friday. I hope that they do well because the food and service were both excellent. I will certainly be returning. There's free parking in the back of the restaurant. Just be careful when entering or exiting because the laneway is only 1 car width, so watch out for possible oncoming traffic.

Good food, great service, amazing music for those looking to reminisce life back home in Kenya! I…read more highly recommend!

Does anyone miss the now defunct Fumi's African Caribbean Restaurant (was on Rochester St) and…read moreMugena Caribbean Cuisine (was on Richmond Rd)? If so, I learned that the owner of those 2 places is the owner of the newly opened OB&O Afro-Caribbean Restaurant! I missed out on eating at Fumi's and Mugena's, so was glad to be able to try OB&O. The food is delicious!! My husband and I shared the Jerk Chicken Platter ($16.99) and the Beef Roti and Salad (which was actually coleslaw) ($11.99). The Jerk Chicken Platter came with a chicken leg (drumstick with thigh attached), 4 pieces of plantains, and lots of rice and beans. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and so flavourful. It had a good amount of heat to it. So I wouldn't recommend it if you can't handle spice. It's not overly spicy, but definitely has some kick. I loved the chicken. The plantains were sweet and soft without being mushy. They were great. The rice was plentiful and spotted with red kidney beans. It also had a spicy kick to it. My only complaint is that it was a bit too oily for my tastes. However, it was still incredibly enjoyable. The Beef Roti was also delicious. The beef cubes, although not all that plentiful, were tender and lean. The potatoes and chickpeas were a good consistency, not too hard but not too mushy. Overall, very tasty, and not spicy at all. I was not a fan of the coleslaw, but I don't like coleslaw in general. It was a mayo-based coleslaw with cabbage, carrots and cucumbers. The latter is an ingredient I don't usually see in coleslaw, so props to them for that. It wasn't bad, I just don't like coleslaw. Overall, we both really enjoyed the food. I'm looking for to trying the African food there. We got takeout and the takeout boxes were styrofoam. I would have preferred cardboard boxes. I waited maybe 15-20 minutes for my food. They have some Jamaican patties in the warmer if you're looking for a quick grab and go snack. They are $2.99 each. The inside of the restaurant is very casual. The tables have plastic over them. OB&O is in the space that was formerly Mont Tacos. Street parking or parking in the strip mall lot, which is small.

I tried the Curried Chicken, Curried Goat and the Jerk Chicken. All were very good. The two…read morecurries were tasty but not spicy, the Jerk had some nice heat to it. The place is very clean and is setup in a fast food format. No table service and no liquor license. Grab your food at the counter and sit down. Or take out.

African Kitchen just opened up recently on March 25, 2022 where Istanbouli Shawarma House used to…read morebe. They serve Nigerian food. I got some takeout for my husband and I and the food was great, but I felt the plates could have had more variety (they were just meat and rice. Maybe they could give less rice and add a small salad and/or some pieces of plantain). I called in my order and was advised it would take 25 minutes. I arrived at 30 minutes and my food was ready. We got the Chicken and Jollof Rice plate ($14.99) and the Beef and Jollof Rice plate ($16.99) and shared both of them. You get a lot of rice with the plates. Fortunately, the rice is awesome! Easily one of the best jollof rice I've had. It was spicy and really addictive. It was a bit oily/greasy though. The chicken plate came with a drumstick with thigh attached. It's fried and was flavourful and tasty. The beef plate came with 4 large pieces of beef. The beef was lean and very well done. I liked it, but my husband found it a bit dry. He's a medium rare kinda guy, while I'm a medium well kinda girl. This was definitely very well done, nothing medium about it, lol. The beef had a crispy exterior which I liked. I won't deny that it was dry, but I don't mind dry. Like I mentioned earlier, if they updated their menu and added a small salad and some pieces of plantain to the rice plates the meal would be so much better. Just a suggestion. Service was neutral both on the phone and at pickup. Street parking only.

This is the 10th time I have ordered this ogbonno soup and if you don't explicitly add that there…read moreshould be soup in the plate, this is unfortunately what you get! Order at your own risk! And as soon as I opened the plate, the stale smell is so overwhelming!! Terrible terrible terrible! Save your money or spend It elsewhere! This is meant to be a $20 plate! If I could give zero stars, I would.