This is probably the hardest food place to find. It takes courage to navigate all the conspicuous…read morealleyways to get to this location. First of all, this is a startup trying to fill the gap in the African food desert of Baltimore downtown. This place is not all that put together guessing by the local, but it does offer excellent surprises. The Jollof is taste and flavorful, the natural ingredients brings out the flavor in unique French Ivory Coast way. The meat is tender and chewy. The Oxtail was just an overpriced collection of fat and bones. There is a delivery option, highly recommended since finding this place can be confusing. Make sure to call ahead to confirm the menu items. For most foodies, this will satisfy but leaves you asking for better meat and better food experience. Inside seating is limited or non existence. It's a labor of love for the owner and passion for the cook.

I have tried this place a few times since my last review…read more Gotta say, definitely one of the best African food spots. They also have a nice Caribbean selection. The food is always seasoned to perfection, and the portions are reasonable. I would still say call before placing an order just to ensure they have what you want. This is definitely my boyfriend's favorite restaurant!!

My partner and I always order from DoorDash and the food has always been delicious. It tastes even…read morebetter dining in the restaurant! It was our first time eating inside and the service was great. It's a chill and welcoming environment. The staff was nice and attentive! We enjoyed watching Ethiopian music videos while waiting for our meal. We love all the sides that come with the Baltimore, especially the yellow split peas and cabbage with carrots and potatoes. The special tibs are always flavorful as well as the Alicha wot. We left fully satisfied with our meal and with food babies. I will always come back to my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Bmore.

Pretty solid Ethiopian food. Maybe not as good as some of the best places in Dc (Habesha is my…read morecurrent favorite) but decent for Baltimore. The Doro Wot was great and many of the lentil dishes were good as well. I wasn't a big fan of the Shiro but the other veggie dishes were decent.

NOW I UNDERSTAND y the chick below was singing AT LAAAAAAAAST!!!…read moreI was getting under the weather n needed spicy food and I always go african to find that... had been elsewhere days prior and food was totally bland but these folks had that standard nigerian party rice taste oh my geez i was floating and gloating. wanted to buy a carry out but cuz its so heavy and I struggled w/my seat buckle on my last flight................ yeah. SO. i had the jollof n plantain n beef and asked for extra side stew cause I can never eat rice dry regardless how tender it is. The plantain were PERFECTION... the meat uber pliable and I can taste it all coming back now. came back later for egusi n eba which is another plate I get when im getting ill for the greens n the fiber and the PEPPER. Think theyre probably one of the best authentic fares in the whole area cause I searched hi/low. Thank God I found em! As far as the wait time it really was average but when you come to these unique kind of places best bet is call ahead or ask upfront whats READY or what food they made for the day cause they never make everrrrything on the menu

Upon reading the reviews here, I saw how they're mixed up so I wanted to try this place out to see…read morehow it is. I walked in on a Saturday afternoon and found that the place is very spacious. Wooden booths and wooden tables with wooden chairs. Everything here is wooden. Not necessarily a bad thing. As I walked in, I was greeted by a woman. When I tried to ask her some questions, she didn't understand what I was trying to ask. So I just said "menu please" and she gave me a menu. The menu is small which I thought was great. I asked her if she had any recommendations. She pointed at the Jollof Rice dish and asked me what kind of meat do I like. I said the Goat and Tripe then told her either one is fine. She nodded her head and started to walk back to the kitchen but I stopped her and asked for another dish. She then pointed at the Okra dish. The Jollof rice dish comes with rice, plantains and a choice of meat and the Okra dish comes with Fufu (Solidified Mashed Potatoes used like bread.) and a choice of meat. Cool so I waited while watching the news on the tube. I checked in the restaurant first time and because of that, Yelp said I could get a 10% off of my first order there, yay! So I waited till she gave me my food and told her about the Yelp coupon. She smiled, shook her head and told me "no". I then asked her one more time because I'm sure Restaurants have to contact the company and advertise. I'm sure the company doesn't do the advertising for the restaurants... She again said "No, we don't do". I understand if the place is trying to get that money especially when it was empty when I came in but I found that to be a bit odd at the least. Then she gave me the receipt and come to find out, she charged me more than what the menu said. The menu said 13 bucks for each dish (The 2 dishes I got.) so including tax, it would have been around 27 bucks and some change. Instead the total was 33 bucks. Like I said above, I understand if they're trying to get money or survive but charging me hidden prices is terrible. If she had told me beforehand, I wouldn't have mind giving them extra money. It's not the amount of money that they took from me, it's the principle of their menu saying 1 price then charging me extra as if I wasn't going to find out. Anyways I paid it then left and when I got home I tasted the Jollof Rice dish. The rice had a distinct flavor to it which I liked and it came with Goat. The Goat was tasty and tender and the plantains were just plantains. I then had the Okra dish and the goat in that was very delicious. However, there were only 5 pieces in the dish. I then took some Fufu and laid it on my plate and got some Okra sauce and laid it on top of the Fufu. I took a bite and WOW it was terrible. You know how when you get too drunk and throw up, there's that after taste and burning sensation in your throat? It was EXACTLY like that. But oddly enough, the goat was good. The food was good aside from the Okra sauce and the service was horrendous. It wasn't about how long the food took, it was about the woman there lying to me about Yelp and charging me extra for the 2 dishes. According to the receipt, 5 pieces of goat equals 15 bucks. It doesn't say "Jollof Rice Dish" or anything of the sort. It's like she charged me A La Carte. I'm gonna stop by Nando's PERI PERI soon and hope they can better serve me without any hidden secrets.

We love it. We always enjoy a meal at Dukem before or after Baltimore Symphony concerts.read more

It has been a very long time since I have been to Dukem and it is one of my favorite Ethiopian…read morerestaurants in the city. We recently stopped in because I had tickets to see Trevor Noah and this location is close to the Lyric Opera House. We kept dinner simple, we did the Dukem Combo( combo with meat and lamb and various vegetables). This is perfect for sharing with a small group and the price point is always good here. The service is quick and efficient as well. This location stays packed as well. If you are in the Mount Vernon neighborhood make sure you stop in SYOY

The food's always good when I order. If you like stuffed wraps & getting your hands messy (in the…read morebest way), the chicken shawarma is great. I always love the matcha, especially with their new hibiscus flavor. Whoever's running the playlist sets a relaxing vibe

First time and it definitely won't be my last! I had a refreshing cucumber lemonade and an iced…read morewhite velvet latte with marshmallow cold foam! It was so unique and good! I was greeted very nicely by the owner and the space is beautiful with alot of greenery! I also tried their rainbow bagel breakfast sandwich that came with turkey bacon, egg and spicy mayo. 10/10!!! Highly recommend

Baltimore Review 7/Many: I was at this tiny Ethiopian spot for a light lunch as a bit of…read morehappenstance, since it was too early for the more popular Ethiopian spot a couple of doors down to be open, and it was near the pretty bad La Quinta Downtown. When I went in, there wasn't anyone else outside except for a friendly woman who was presumably the owner, but eventually a few other people came in, either to eat in or to take out. For food, I went with fir-fir, or fit-fit, a mixture of shredded injera and other ingredients. I thought about getting the $19.99 Kwanta Firfir, made with stewed beef and sun-dried beef, but instead went with the slightly cheaper Beef Firfir for $17.00, or spicy beef stew tossed with injera. The plate was pretty big, with the whole stew served on a large piece of that spongy, sour bread. Otherwise, the beef inside was pretty tender, and there were pieces of injera mixed with the stew along with some peppers. There was a nice mix of spices, and it was indeed moderately spicy, but not too overpowering. The injera helped soak up all the flavors and was good quality. Overall, I liked it a lot. Soon enough, I paid for the check and left.

Food was absolutely amazing!!! There was a bit of a wait for our food and that's because it's…read morecooked to order, and it was worth every second. The ingredients and seasonings were fresh. It had a kick but not so spicy I couldn't eat. The ambiance was giving very much Ethiopian as there music videos played in a television that made u wanna get up and dance. The restaurant was well kept and staff were so nice. There were so many options to choose from. Decently recommend this restaurant and dive here again.

Had been looking forward to trying this place out. Overall not bad…read more Came in around noon on a random weekday. The inside is simple, dimly lit, with a few tables and a fridge with drinks. It was empty except for the one woman running the place. She greeted me and asked what I would like. I asked her if there was a particular region of Africa that they specialized in (it is a huge continent after all). There seemed to be a language barrier, but it seems like the focus is on West African food (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc.). I said my knowledge is pretty limited - fufu and jollof rice and that's about it, so when I asked for a recommendation, she pointed to three different items on the menu, and I ended up ordering the Iyan Olodo and Egunsi soup. The lady asked if I would like some beef or fish with it and I said beef. While I waited, I noticed she didn't really have a cooking station. She went over to what looked like a deep freezer chest and pulled out a container and popped it in the microwave. I suppose being a small operation and offering as many choices that there are require lots of prior preparation and just reheating, but I was hoping something would be made fresh, you know? Took it to go. The soup was very good. Flavorful and the right amount of spice. The yam fufu was okay; I think I prefer the cassava kind, but it was nice for mopping up the sauce in the soup. The beef was kind of a letdown - dry and tough. Thankfully it absorbed a lot of the soup and was a bit more palatable that way. There are lots of malted drinks but also some mixed juice drinks, some aren't even labeled. When I asked the lady about them, she mostly said "oh, this one is good. That one is good too." She did say there was ginger in both. They were different; worth trying out. The prices aren't astronomical, but I wouldn't call this place cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure if I'll be back, but if so, it will probably just be a pickup order, which seems to be the crux of the business model. If you are curious to try some (West) African food, this is an okay place to start!

Food is overpriced for the portion and the place is filthy. If I had known, I would have not…read moreordered my food from here. It's not fair, please do better for the sake of customers who work hard to earn money to exchange at your establishment.

Ordered by phone for pickup and when I got there it was ready when the server came out. Street…read moreParking is awful tho. There are seats and the restaurant is fine. The food was flavorful and they give a lot of plaintains. The Jollof chicken meal and a drink was $25.

I ordered the Okra stew with fufu and the okra stew came cold/warm as if it was in the freezer and…read morethen warmed up. The meat in the stew was very tough. The bathroom was absolutely disgusting, a swarm of flies came out after I opened the door. I would not recommend this restaurant to a dog.