I haven't had much West African food in the past so when we were looking for some new food to try…read moreout over the weekend, we came across Bantaba. As other reviews state, this is kind of a strange restaurant that seems more like it's for regulars rather than new customers. There's no actual printed menu other than hints of a menu on the signboard above the register (and we confirmed this with the cashier). I guess this is to save on cost, which coincidentally also allows them to adjust pricing on the fly? There are photos posted of the menu from 2024, but my guess is those are of an old pre-COVID menu, given that the prices increased over 50% at this point. Per other reviews, dine-in orders are also packaged in takeout boxes and can take a variable amount of time to cook. We don't usually get takeout much, but decided to call in an order for this visit. This was at around 5PM on Saturday and we were promised a 30 minute wait. We arrived 30 minutes later, paid for the order, and it ended up taking about another 10 minutes. Not too bad. Benechin Beef ($18.99) - As I learned, benechin is essentially a different term for the more commonly known (at least in the US) jollof rice. In this case, the rice has a deep tomato and spiced umami that combines a pleasant saltiness with a heat level that builds and builds. It's topped with a small side of cabbage that seems to be stewed in the same spices as the rice. There's then a piece of yucca root, stewed but still rather toothsome with fiber strands all in one direction like muscle grains. For the beef, they include four pieces of thinly sliced barbecued meat. The meat is extremely flavorful with what seems to be a black pepper and allium based spice mixture. In terms of texture, it's quite tough and chewy, almost to the level of beef jerky. (4/5) Afra Lamb ($20.99) - This dish comes with a choice of rice or salad, not both as the older menu states. We went with the rice which comes in a smaller container and is a long grain rice cooked until perfectly fluffy. It's cooked with salt, which is something that I'm not used to. The larger container includes a mound of bone-in lamb meat doused in a savory and tangy mustard based sauce. The meat is a very interesting mixture of off-cuts, a combination of cross-cut ribs, shanks, lamb chops, and some random other cuts. The lamb is mostly bone in and there are tons of small bone shards all over the meat, making it a bit of a pain to eat. The meat isn't very gamey and all and is much more tender as compared to the beef jerky in the benechin. On top of the lamb, they include mustard infused softened onions and whole quick-charred onion rings, resulting in a still crunchy texture. They include some powdered dried chilis is a small pile hidden under the onions. Be careful - it's starts out smoky like paprika to start and the heat only starts to build after a couple of seconds. (4/5) Bantaba is a great place to try some new food. While it's not the most beginner friendly restaurant, it offers some flavors and dishes that are hard to find around Seattle. Bathrooms - Single unisex room

Just updated with pictures of food and front of the restaurant for pictures of some ambiance. The…read moreowners and staff are fantastic. You hear lots of French here from staff and customers interacting.

Dijah's Kitchen in Lynnwood is our fourth West African restaurant. We continue to enjoy this…read moreregion's seasonings and flavors and find tonight's food delicious and enjoyable. By now, we are minor 'pros' and know to bring some patience to West African restaurants. Entrees generally take about 30 minutes. To fill the gap, we order an appetizer. Service was "shy". The server approached cautiously always with a big smile. English was good enough but don't expect deep detail replies. Luckily, we are familiar with the food. The restaurant is modest in décor and narrow in shape. A cluster of tables in the back can sit a large group. The Food: Shrimp Pies, $8.99 - 5 Stars This is the only restaurant out of four that offers a shrimp version of the meat pie. Perfectly fried, these were really good! The server said this is his favorite amongst the pies. Lamb Dibi, $21.99 - 4.5 Stars Well-seasoned lamb pieces are well grilled. It comes with a choice of starch; the plantain was great. A surprising delight is the dressing on the onions. Yummy. Grilled Branzino, $25 - 4.5 Stars Not for the faint of heart, this is a whole fish grilled. Honestly, I think the rest of world eats whole fish while US and Canada eat filets only. They made sure to give us the two inches of tail that had broken off. I have to admit I was amused. Perfectly cooked, hubby picked this fish clean. The sweet potato fries are also very good. Jollof Rice with Chicken, $18 - 5 Stars Ever since I learned jollof rice is every family's own recipe from our first W. African restaurant, I have ordered it from all others to try each variant. The Dijah version has a good chewy rice that is superbly well seasoned. The chicken is also very well prepared and flavored. Theirs might be my new favorite. I ordered it to go and sampled a bit at the restaurant. The 5 Stars overall rating is focused on the food. Don't expect fine dining 'ambiance'.

Came in for an early dinner…read more Hibiscus Drink: A refreshing drink that tastes similar cranberry. Jollof Rice with Chicken: Very well seasoned spread. Quite pricey for how little protein you're getting but you're paying more for the Jollof rice. Onions had an incredible zang and spice to it. Service was adequate. Took a bit for someone to come out after I rang the bell. I'll definitely be coming back when I'm in a chicken afra carving.

Food safety should be the number one priority for any food business, and Jollof Hub failed to…read moredemonstrate that. Don't get me wrong, the food tasted amazing, the portion sizes are great, and the price was justified. However, the negatives outweigh the positives for this restaurant. Me and 3 other people came in, and the store was empty. We ordered 3 okra soups, 1 with chicken, 2 with lamb, and 1 jollof rice chicken plate. The first plate took about 40 minutes to come out, which was an egusi soup to which we had not ordered. We still had to wait longer for all of our food to come out. Upon my food arriving, I noticed there was a hair in the Saran Wrap of the fufu, making contact with my food. Because we had already waited so long for our food to come out, I didn't bother to mention it to the worker. Comparing Jollof Hub to Pass D Jollof, this place has better portion sizes and better pricing. It was $26 for okra soup that includes protein and 2 portions of fufu whilst PDJ charges $34 for okra soup, you have to pay extra for protein, and 1 portion of fufu. That said, I don't think I'd come back here due to the food safety issue.

Rating: 3.5 Stars. Rounding up to support a small business…read more Jollof Hub West African Cuisines in Shoreline is the third west Africa restaurant in our area that we visited. It ranks the third out of the three (sorry). They focus on Gambia, Senegal, and Nigeria. The west Africa region has their own set of spices that are uniquely flavored and so delicious. Their meats are perhaps cut traditionally - coarsely butchered with lots of bones (again, sorry). The interior of the restaurant is modestly decorated with tables that can support a group. The service is very kind though his English is limited; I did more googling afterwards to answer my questions. Business was very slow, not much take-out orders, either. One server covered two tables plus two takeouts during the time we were there on a Saturday night. I hope business picks up. They have their own parking lot with more spaces in the back. The Food: Lamb Afar, with vermicelli, $23.99 - 4 Stars The meat is very well seasoned and tender. It is difficult to sort the meat from the bones. Just be aware this is more of a hands-on dish vs a fork and knife dish. Serving size is so gigantic that hubby didn't finish, which is a rare phenomenon. This may have been a 3.5 Stars dish, but due to the portion, rounded up. Benachin (Jollof rice), $22.99 - 2.5 Stars I asked the server which is his favorite dish, and he named this one. The Jollof rice recipe is commonly the focus and signature of a restaurant or of a household. Both their rice and the meat are drier than I expected. We have had better versions of the Jollof rice elsewhere. I would have preferred more tender meat also. Most of this went home to be modified (which turned out great!). Meat Pies, $7 - 4.5 Stars I have found meat pies at West African and at soul food restaurants. I personally enjoy the seasonings used in the West African versions better. These are impeccably seasoned with a kick and perfectly fried. I preferred this dish over my entrée for sure.

It took me a while, but I started loving Ethiopian food a lot more and started appreciating the…read morecuisine the more I had it. It's hard for me to compare Ethiopian restaurants here just yet since the cuisine isn't something I have to often still, but it's definitely been quite good the time I've had it. This is no exception either. The platter was quite large and I enjoyed almost every thing on it. I don't know the names of everything still, so sorry for my ignorance, but both the meat and veggie items on the platter were very good. There's nothing special about the egg, but for some reason, it hits different with that sauce here. So freaking good! Service was friendly, but the place was pretty dark and dreary. Definitely has more of a night scene vibe or just a dive bar kinda vibe. There is a bar attached in another room close to the back. So maybe it use to be a bar and the design of the place just hasn't changed. The restaurant did feel very wide and spacious. Possibly for a dance floor or something. Anyways I had a good time and food was delicious.

We decided to try this place out when we visited Seattle as we were craving Ethiopian. The ambience…read morewas not great, the lights were full and not crowded for a Saturday. Veggie combo (4 stars): There were at least six delicious sides to the injera. The lentils were fresh and delicious. Loved the authentic food. I wish they let us replace a few veggie options with meat options.

Great food, decent prices!…read more I was seeking something beyond the typical food offerings while on my way to the airport, and this was my chosen spot. I'm not very familiar with African food, and the menu items were mostly unfamiliar to me. Even so, I'm thoroughly pleased with my take-out order (ugali with beef that also came with a couple sides: a little salad and lentils with cooked greens of some sort)! It was maybe a 15 min wait for my food to be prepared after ordering, but it came out hot and flavorful! I look forward to coming back again.

The food here was awesome. Friendly service answered my questions because I didn't know what to…read moreorder. The lamb shank was delish. I came here for lunch not knowing what to expect. Very chill atmosphere. Not many people here for lunch on a Thursday. Honestly I will be back next time I'm out in the area for work! The coffee is also decent and cheap compared to what you'd get in Seattle. The beans are ground fresh which was a plus. Big portions as well. Almost didn't finish everything on my own.

Got takeout- sports meat combo goat and lamb with rice and pasta. HOLY what a value. Fed 4 of us…read moreCOMFORTABLY with plenty of sides for leftovers throughout the week. DELICIOUS meat, loved the goat and it was my first time having it. So so good and am already craving it again. Takeout was only like a 15-30 minute wait which is so quick for the amount they gave us. Can't comment on inside because I didnt sit in but will one day!

Very halal delicious food very friendly people very nice and clean place. The prices is very…read morereasonable I am really enjoy eating food in this place.

Oxtail Stew is amazing! A sweet taste of home. The garlic steak is also superb and cooked to…read moreperfection. It is so rare to find South African food and flavors in the states, and Ubuntu did not disappoint. Couldn't recommend this place more! The staff are very friendly and their food recommendations are spot on. We'll absolutely be back!

My cousin was visiting from Scottsdale, Arizona, and since we're both huge foodies, I wanted to…read morefind something memorable before she flew out of Paine Field. I'm not super familiar with the Everett restaurant scene, so I sent her a handful of options--and we landed on the most delightful little find: a beautiful African restaurant just minutes from the airport. From the moment we walked in, we were impressed. The ambience was perfect--modern and clean with stunning African art that made the space feel both welcoming and special. It even felt a little upscale, but still family-friendly (they had a couple of high chairs, which was perfect since I had my kids with me). I instantly thought, I'm coming back here with my husband for date night. We ordered the peri chicken thighs and the oxtail stew, and I'm telling you--both dishes were above and beyond anything I've ever had. The chicken was unbelievably juicy with layers of bold, rich flavor. The oxtail? Fall-off-the-bone tender, deeply savory, and so comforting I practically melted into my seat. To top it off, they surprised us with cinnamon-seared pineapple--sweet, warm, and just the right hint of spice. Every bite we had was truly out-of-this-world delicious. I honestly cannot wait to come back. This place is a gem, whether you're catching a flight, on a date night, or just craving food that will absolutely wow you.

Safari Njema is an awesome spot in Columbia City that produced the most memorable meal that I've…read morehad in recent memory. The restaurant is a short walk from the lightrail station, tucked into a small row of restaurants just off the main drag. What I'd recommend you do is to either come at a very off-peak hour, or call ahead and place your order when you're on your way in. This is very much one woman's passion project, and so there is pretty much one woman cooking in the kitchen at any given time, even when it is busy. So, if you just roll up at peak dining hours, you will end up waiting quite a while for your food. It just is what it is. I don't have much patience for waiting, and I am supremely prone to hanger, so why then do I still really like this place? Because all that passion and love that she puts into her cooking -- you can taste it. It's been weeks since my visit and I am still daydreaming about the meal I had there -- a whole fried fish which was reduced to a pile of sucked-clean bones by the time I finished with it, the silkiest collards I've ever had, and the mountain of savory rice, all sprinkled with the tangy, mouth-watering house made hot sauce. I don't know what she seasons that fish with but I licked it off my fingers shamelessly. I visited with a friend who is a regular there, and so I got to visit the kitchen and chat with the owner after our meal. You can tell how much she cares about using food to bring people happiness and show people how good Kenyan food is.

One of my favorite meals of the year!…read more My partner and I wanted to try something we haven't before and we were lucky enough to be in south Seattle where we don't get to visit often. We decided on trying Kenyan food which we had never tried before. We were really glad we made this stop! Before getting there we were really set on the Samaki and we decided on getting it wet fried when we realized that was an option. The service was incredibly kind and we could tell that each dish was made to order with care. The samaki came with two sides and it was completely shareable which made it very affordable too. We were really happy we got the wet fry option because The curry that it came with was amazing. We were so happy with all the rich and colorful flavors. The restaurant itself is pretty small but offers a good number a seats. We will happily be back soon.

I was headed to Applebees for a burger and saw this truck. I got the beef Naija Jollof. OMG…read more.. absolutely delicious. So flavorful. There was enough for dinner that night and lunch the next day. I will definitely be back.

Saw this food truck at the Des Moines Mid Winter Festival, and had to try. We had the Naija version…read morewith beef and it was great!