The food was so good! The drinks were also. Our server gave us recommendations Abe explained some…read moreof the items we were unfamiliar with. The aesthetic is so fun and not what you would expect. So glad we bumped into this place!

Finally got an opportunity to dine here. Ive had the food catered before and this time I was able…read moreto try in house. The establishment itself is quite dated. The awning outside needs refurbishment and inside furniture is not updated. It's dark inside, almost like a night club. Perhaps it is sometimes. I did not like the decor, it was a little run down and honestly did not match up to the prices. The service was also disappointing. I felt that staff lacked a bit of professionalism and they rarely checked on us. The plates are huge. That is a plus. My partner ordered the goat and I tried the red snapper. I think one plate is big enough to share. I like the spinach, but everything needed a bit of salt. While the red snapper was coated in a lovely tomato and red pepper gravy, I felt it made the crispyness of the fried fish disappear and it was kind of soggy. Maybe you can ask for the gravy on the side. The food is not bad, but given the physical establishment and the service I wouldn't return.

If you know me, then you know I live for a good African restaurant with great food and even better…read morevibes--and The Continent never disappoints. From the moment we arrived, the hostess was warm and welcoming. She explained that Happy Hour was available in both sections of the restaurant and gave us the option of a quieter atmosphere on the left or music and energy on the right. Since it was my birthday, we obviously chose the side with the music! And let me tell you--their Happy Hour is amazing, with plenty of time to enjoy it. The only thing missing from the menu is a few more mocktail options. The décor is beautiful--stylish and elegant without feeling overdone. Everything feels intentional and inviting. Our waitress greeted us right away and took great care of us throughout the evening. We ordered the snapper with jollof rice and salad, plus a mocktail for me while my girls enjoyed cocktails. Everyone loved their drinks, and the food was absolutely delicious. The first time I visited, I only tried the jollof rice, but this visit confirmed that everything coming out of that kitchen is top-tier. The customer service was exceptional. Even when our waitress was busy, the owner stopped by to check on us, and other team members made sure we had everything we needed. To top it all off, they surprised me with a beautiful birthday dessert and sang to me, which made the celebration even more special. The vibes here are always unmatched. The DJ was keeping the energy going all night, and I've even seen him at other events around the city. Great food, great service, great music, and great energy--I'll definitely keep coming back. If you haven't checked out The Continent yet, do yourself a favor and go!

food - service - ambiance on 100%!…read more thank you GG for not only being stylish with her beautiful stacks of jewelry, but being so attentive with our table. thank you to the rest of the staff for your wonderful service :)

I ordered the half beef, half chicken suya plate with rice and spinach as my sides. The taste of…read morethe food was amazing. The Suya has a subtle but lingering spice. The place is Next to the CVS in a very active retail center, but the orders are filled quickly on site.

It's a cool spot, and customer service was great. Unfortunately, the food missed the mark. The…read moreplantains were undercooked, the steak Suya wasn't chopped into bite size pieces like usual, which made them difficult to eat, some pieces were also tough and chewy. The jollof rice was disappointing because it lacked flavor and was overcooked. The only thing that tasted good and was cooked decently were the lamb chops. When they first opened up, the quality of their food was much higher and you could feel the passion in the food they made, it seems that's no longer the case.

(This review is for a delivery order so does not include any detail on service / ambiance)…read more Delicious Ghanaian food in the heart of U Street! I've been wanting to try Ghanian food for the longest time, so when I saw Appioo on UberEats, I just knew I had to put in an order. I got their grilled red snapper with a side of fufu and banku (two traditional paste-like Ghanian dishes; fufu is a starchy dough made with cassava and plantains, while banku is a slightly sour fermented version made with cornmeal and cassava). The red snapper was perfectly grilled, with a delightful char on the outside and super crispy skin, but flaky, tender flesh. It was served with a light, refreshing tomato sauce, and shito / black pepper sauce. The shito was incredibly rich, with a great spicy, smoky, and umami flavor. The tender fish and flavorful sauces went wonderfully with the two sides, with the fufu serving as more of a blank canvas (and therefore a great way to let the natural flavors of the fish -- or the deep, smoky, spicy flavors of the shito -- shine). The banku was perfectly tangy and just the right amount of funky, and it was great with the fish on its own. Everything from Appioo was incredible! I can't wait to sample a few more of their dishes, hopefully from inside the actual restaurant.

With classic Ghanian dishes included and the vibe friendly enough for a good conversation, this…read moreestablishment had many options for every dish on the menu such as vegan, beef, chicken, fish, goat, and oxtail, ranging from $22 to $25 as standard price points. The food here is very authentic and has been approved by many of my West African friends living in the DMV area. My friends and I decided to order one kind of each dish along with one kind of each side so we can try a bit of each. The okra soup was a bit too spicy for my taste, but it contained a lot of flavor, which could be neutralized a bit by the fufu that I ordered. The peanut butter soup was very creamy and flavorful. The jollof was a bit plain, but since the spinach stew was flavorful, it was all good. The wings seemed like an outlier amongst everything else we had ordered, and they were a bit dry, but with two types of dipping sauces, they worked out just fine. Even though there are so many West African restaurants within the DMV area, I find this establishment to be one of the most authentic ones. Since Ghanian food itself is already fire in general, one can't go wrong with coming here.

Great food: from the Fante Fante fish, to the oxtail waakye, to the bofrot donuts for desert,…read moreeverything was heavenly. Excellent service Personable chef and sous-chef. Both came round to chat with us - nice touch.

A MUST when in The District! Space is quaint so Reservations…read moreare required. They do have an upstairs with a bar. Service is swift and personable, with well-informed staff to suggest items that surprise and delight you. We started with the Daddy Bofa drink. Strong and not for the faint of heart. Definitely worth it. Had a Mocktail Sobolo (Zobo). If you're of Caribbean descent, think Sorrel. The Kelewele is good for now and later. The spiced coating on the Plantains and lightly spiced peanuts do not overtake the sweet kiss of the fried Plantains, although, some will be more Tostones-flavored and textured. They are also good with the sauces that come with the Chofi. Chofi's fried turkey tails. Similar to Chicharron de Pollo but smaller and a tad fattier. Comes with three (3) sauces with different spice levels. Come with sweatpants or other LOOSE fits, make 'em fancy though because it's a sexy place. The Waakye gives three (3) large succulent Oxtail smothered in Gari. The Rice & Peas (Red Red) (Red Black Eyed Peas) and a Jollof-styled Rice (without the spice), which was good. The Red Red are DELISH. We're a legume family. The Elmina Spicy Chicken is really for two (2), A LOT! Stewed in a savory but spicy red pepper sauce. DIVINE. We added a side of Jollof, which honestly, it should automatically come with, considering the price. FANTASTIC dishes together! After all of that, no room for dessert, although we were gonna get the Malva cake. It does come with ice cream and we simply had no room. We took everything for leftovers because it's that much food. Amapiano usually plays overhead, giving a Motherland vibe. Once in a while, you'll hear GoGo beats to remind you that you're Stateside in The District. Overall, an immediate return!

I got the pleasure of learning about Calabash and experiencing their Ghanian cuisine on a Sunday…read moreafternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed. Calabash African Cuisine is an intimate and cute establishment that offers great customer service. And the food, the food was absolutely delicious! I ordered the Suya and Waakye, which took my tastebuds back to the delicious dishes my second family always cooked for festivities. I also got the opportunity to try my friend's entree, which was the Banku with the Peanut Soup. Needless to say, the food was flavored and cooked perfectly. Whenever, I'm craving some goodT Ghanian food, I'm glad that I now have a go to... Calabash.

Typing this while in emergency room with friend who has a severe peanut allergy. We asked the…read moreserver several times was there any peanuts in the seasoning and he said no. My friend started to react after eating the suya and I had to rush her to the emergency room. The only reason we found out about the peanuts was because I made the server go ask the chef about the peanuts after her reaction . This was something that could be avoided if they took the time to put her health and life first.

I was in town for the weekend Looking for live…read moreentertainment and stumbled upon Lydia's. Its a small cozy environment. 2nd Saturday is live music. FutureBandDC played and killed it. We sat directly in front of the band and speakers. Id suggest pushing tables back a bit. We ordered from the late night menu. Pls note after 10pm the menu is limited. We ordered the honey hot wing and fries as well as the jerk wings. I assumed the jerk was grilled and it wasn't. They were very spicy if you like spice. We didn't order cocktails. The jerk chicken sandwich was kinda small and Chicken thighs are used. The overall vibe was decent and the price wasn't bad at all. I would visit again

Gaslighting me about the machines being routinely cleaned is crazy when I went behind the bar…read moremyself to inspect it and found black mold. No thank you I will not be returning for a free visit because the lack of cleanliness is not worth the health risk. If this is the ice I can imagine what the kitchen looks like.

Everything was all I expected. Great service…read moreWaiter very attentive A/C was on high (a lil too cold for me) Overall experience "10"

Service was EXCELLENT. Our server was really really good. The food and in particular oxtail fell…read morewaybsirt of expectation. Was in a bit of a hurry and had to pack the rest to go. In consuming at my hotel room, realized that all of the pieces had really fought meat. Not the way oxtail falls off the bone if it jus well cooked and is soft. This had chards of fought pieces as if it were reheated over and over again. Spoleto who I believe was a manager the next day when they called and her lack lustre response left much to be desired. She stated "that's why the chef doesn't do take out" Well this was not take out. I was not able to consume all of the food at my sitting. She went over the cooking process. Great but that does not address the issue that the meat was tough. At our table I was very nice to the staff. I had a piece that was tough but thought nothing of it but did it expect ALL the rest packed to be this way. For the price point this is not the standard I expect. I have had this meal at Dogon before and it was much better than this last time.

Everything was phenomenal. Highly recommend this place. The Jollof with beef skewers knocked my…read moreshoes off. Amazinggggggggggggg. Also, try the Shrimp & Avocado salad best everrrr!!!

I'm a big person on trying different cuisines so when I saw "West African grill", I definitely…read morewanted to try it! I did takeout, which is the bottom part of the building. It's quite a small cozy takeout spot. I got the half chicken - you can choose which side you want so I got the attieke. I never had attieke - it's like a grain. A mixture of couscous and quinoa to me. The dish was great. I liked the onion salad mix that they put to the side with the chicken. The chicken was a bit dry, especially the white meat. But if you add it with some the onion mix, it'll be ok. Quite an interesting place. I could possibly come back and try their subs/sandwiches.

A Michelin restaurant serving Eritrean food, with a focus on breakfast and cafe style dishes. I…read moredropped by for a quick breakfast after a morning run. Ordered the Eggs Silsi with French bread. By default the dish had three eggs, but I asked for just two eggs. The dish was basically scrambled eggs with tomato sauce, green peppers, onion and berbere sauce. It was very fluffy, similar to a Sabzi kookoo. It tasted spicy, earthy and a bit smoky. Compared to Turksih Menemen, it was drier, spicier and earthier, and had no cheese. The French bread was nice and hot. Spreading some eggs silsi on the bread and it was heavenly! Moreover, the restaurant was small but very clean. The staff was friendly. Highly recommended if you want some African cafe food!

A friend and I made Keren Restaurant our first stop when we arrived in DC this weekend. I was…read morereally hungry and thrilled to finally be checking out this Eritrean restaurant that has been open in DC since 1987. 1987, y'all. That's almost 40 years, and that says a lot. The restaurant is casual and comfortable, with big front windows that keep the small but long restaurant light and bright. And the service was friendly throughout. But the food is why we were there. We each started with a cappuccino, which was great after our drive and with our brunch meal. And then - shockingly - we both ordered the same thing: Ful with eggs. Ful is a dish popular across parts of the Middle East and North Africa made from stewed fava beans. It's often eaten for breakfast. When I had Ful for the first time many years ago, I fell in love. And whenever I see it on a menu, I'm done with research and options - that's it, that's where I'm going, that's what I'm ordering. Keren's Ful is topped with fresh tomatoes, raw onion, raw jalapeno, creamy yogurt, and olive oil, and then you can choose to top the dish with eggs, tuna, or sardines, or served alongside a salad. The beans (made with Berbere spice) are the obvious star of the dish, and Keren's version of one of my favorite breakfasts was delicious, warm, comforting, filling... I loved it. It's a big bowl (and served with some great French rolls), so we weren't able to finish every last bite, which made me a little sad, because it was delicious. They have a full menu for breakfast (which they serve all day, every day) and then a full menu of other items (including combo platters). I loved my Ful, and I'd go back for that alone. But I'd also love to return to try more of their menu. Maybe with more than one friend next time so we can share and enjoy more of their Eritrean food and hospitality.