Amala Joint

I've been dipping my toes into the underrated cuisine of the African diaspora lately, so decided to make the drive to this unpretentious cafeteria-style Nigerian spot outside the loop. I think it's mostly frequented by regulars because the young lady behind the counter seemed a little surprised to see us walk in. There are no prices on the in-house menu, but the main plates range from $15-$20. Some of the flavors are certainly acquired tastes that will challenge unaccustomed palates, but overall I would give my experience a 3.5/5.Jollof Rice w/ Chicken - the prototypical West African rice dish which consists chewy granules stewed in a slightly spicy and sweet tomato broth. It was fragrant and mellow in taste. The chicken itself was well-cooked and juicy which some beautifully crispy skin.Egusi - a traditional soup made from ground melon seeds, stock, leafy vegetables, and meat. The taste of this dish was more challenging for me and featured funky, nutty, and earthy notes. There were off-cuts of meat and offal mixed in; the cow skin was chewy but didn't add much flavor and I'm just not a fan of tripe in general. I have had versions of egusi that I really liked, but this one wasn't my favorite. Goat Stew - this was probably my least favorite dish. The meat was overcooked to the point of being leathery, and the bone-to-meat ratio was less than ideal. The flavor itself was decent. Our "swallow" of choice with the above was fufu, or pounded fermented cassava, which was like a bouncier and milder form of mashed potatoes that clings to all the spicy sauces and stews. The staff took good care of us and I would definitely come back to try some of their other recommendations.

This has been the best Nigerian food I've food in Houston. The customer service was great and welcoming. Here are some things i tried: Egusi & FufuSuyaJollof rice w/chicken If you haven't tried Nigerian food. I would suggest you start here !

Good food, authentic ambiance, service was good better than avg Thanks !Suya and okoro was good

Ayyye my first try of Nigerian food and I'm thinking why did I wait so long?!?!??! The Egusi soup and fufu was dancing on my taste buds! It's quite delicious and spicy. I added goat which was an up charge, but the options were beef, tripe and fish(I believe).The restaurant was clean and they had a picture menu but no prices. My Egusi with goat meat and fufu was $24 I am not sure if that's market price but it was steep to me.However with that taste and the added health benefits (Egusi is high in fiber). I'm not mad at it and I will continue to explore the menu and cuisine.

I was traveling and found on yelp when search African food. Food great, fresh, wholesome. But they definitely need help with being polite to their customers. These days if hard to keep workers. But They got a crowd and instead of engaging with their clientele, it was like they ignored them. My group of three saw Some walk away angry. We just do happen to have time But even we thought for a moment they all went home. No one at counter for more than 5 -10 minutes at a time. I didn't mind the wait for such good food. But give me a clue I.e...like it will take so much time to fill this order. Or I will be right with you , etc

The restaurant is located in a little shopping plaza which looks a little sketch at first glance, but I'm giving 5 stars because Amala's joint was the perfect experience. I'm a fan of Nigerian food and have eaten at about 6 different Naija spots in the Houston area, but their service was by far the best. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how clean and tidy everything was. Sanitizer and hand soap at every table and they bring a bowl of water with your meal so you can clean your hands. Also, the dining room didn't smell heavily like food, which was nice since I had somewhere to be afterward. I had Efo with pounded yam and tilapia. Y'all!!! It was soooo good. Perfect level of spice for those that can't handle too much heat, but enough for those of us that really enjoy the kick of peppers. The tilapia was perfectly cooked. A little crisp on the outside, soft & flaky fish on the inside. The ladies that took care of us were absolutely sweet. If you're still reading stop and go to Amala's Joint for some bomb food!!

We've been wanting to try Fufu and gave this place a try. They were very helpful and suggested what entree we should try. We ended up getting Fufu,Egusi, Efo Riro with the tripe, the coconut rice with chicken, at the end the brought us suya to try and it was all flavorful! The flavor of the food was amazing! We will be coming back!!!

My first time here and first time trying Eugsi with fufu. One with goat meat and fish. First I was greeted so warmly!!! I was absolutely shy ordering because I didn't want to mispronounce the name but she knew what I wanted and helped me out making a choice. Racing home to try it, and goodness! I love it! I don't know what I was scared of but this is absolutely delicious! I will come back to try another dish, but I'm for sure getting Eugsi with Fufu to goooo! A must try! Thank you!!!!

This was my first time eating Nigerian food from a restaurant and it was delicious. The dishes are made to order so don't be turned off by the wait. Will definitely return to try other items on the menu.

I was really excited to try Amala Joint based on the reviews, but I should have paid attention to who was leaving the reviews and when the reviews were left. Sigh. My friend and I placed an order via UberEats on Sunday around 7pm. I got the jollof with fish, efo riro with fish and eba and she got ewedu with amala. We left notes about how we wanted our food and the restaurant called to confirm, which we appreciated. So again, I was hopeful this would be a great foodie experience. Our food got to us about an hour later and boy was I disappointed. The jollof didn't come with plantain (but the image on UberEats had plantain in it) and it was extremely spicy AND they used so much maggi. It was so disgusting that I threw it away. The fish wasn't seasoned well either so it was beyond a waste of money. The efo riro and the ewedu were good until we both got sick the next day. I'll assume we got the scraps after a busy day because there's no way this is what they serve on a daily to their customers.