African Restaurant

I give three stars because the egusi is very different than what I'm use to with the Nigerian egusi made with palm oil and different types of meat. The presentation of the fufu was lacking. I cut them some slack because they made it quickly and poured it into the plate before it had time to thicken. They also use something other than the white fufu I'm use to. The wait was very long. (Althouth they were very courteous and kept apologizing). The egusi has a very VERY different flavor than Nigerian Egusi. It gas a smokey bitter flavor. They also mix in different types of greens and other things. Although it was still good. I had to pick a lot of the meat out because as I mentioned in the photos I uploaded I couldnt tell what I was eating and the meat had a weird texture and the parts they used were strange. I swear I got part of the anus or genitalia. Just review my pictures. I also give three stars because none of the workers had masks. This place is literally a Covid-19 Hotspot. They had their children and teens in there lounging around the place (its family owned I believe) and they were coughing with the dry coughs (with no one covering their mouths) and the dry coughs are a hallmark of having covid. I was double masked and the place was warm on the inside as they had no fans or a/c and they had the door closed. I couldnt understand why no one had on a mask. So weird. Especially given the amount of coughing going on. I was so thirsty at the restaurant but they didnt have a drink machine or sodas or even bottled water. They had nothing but large jugs of what appeared to be a powdered drink in gallon jugs (the powder had settled to the bottom of the jugs and it was a lot). They had good customer service. Although it wasn't the customer service we are use to in the U.S. The young woman tending the counter was cordial and friendly. But when I called the restaurant before I came she answered the phone with a sleepy "Hello". I thought I had reached someone's home at first. I didnt know what to expect. I sort of thought someone may have been cooking out of their home because the rest of the conversation was very relaxed and nonchalant and she was like "yeah, we have this or that" and did not elaborate. It's just not what I'm use to dealing with American businesses and American style customer service. Overall, I will never order fufu or egusi from here again. I may return to check out their fish dishes. The Senegalese are exceptionally good at preparing those and I saw some of the meals they made with fish and they were very appealing. My suggestion to them would be to perk up when customers call and sound like more of a business. Season the meat in the egusi more and stop using parts of the animal that most would throw away. Also, run some fans on the inside or the a/c. Or open the door and leave it open. It was stifingly hot on the inside. There was no air whatsoever. Also, please mandate masks. People were coughing, there was no ventilation, it was hot, the air was still and that's not good. Last, offer guests a drink. Even a drink of water. I was so thirsty while there and there were no single serve drinks to even purchase. All that was available were gallon jugs of a powdered drink.In closing I ended up throwing out the Egusi and FuFu after a few bites. The fufu never turned solid. It stayed very mushy and sticky. It clung to my fingers like gum. The meat in the Egusi, as mentioned above, was not seasoned at all. The Nigerians season their meat and slow cook it in additional seasonings so the seasonings are well infused in the meat. These people seasoned the greens and I believe they simply put in unseasoned meat. The seasoning did not stick to the meat. The meat was flavorless. Also strange textured. At times I didn't know what I was eating.On my way home from the African Restaurant I had a serious case of anxiety because of how many ppl were coughing in there who were not wearing masks and how poorly ventilated the place was. Here it is a day later and I'm still having anxiety attacks over sitting there. I should have walked out.

Always a pleasure, the food is excellent. I really miss the beef muffatta, but everything else is worth the trade.

Bomb af. Love their attieke, bissap, and chiep ! Attieke isn't on the menu but they do serve. Good authentic Senegalese food. Only issue would be I came up 2 hours after they open and they hadn't prepared all the food so we had to come back. Prices are fair for the quality and amounts. One my favorite restaurants in the country! Food is very good but they're extremely unprofessional. They say the open at 11 but they don't. They don't have the foods ready and you have to wait or come back hours later. This is america and certain standards of costumer service is expected. You can run business like they do back home because it's not how it works here. The restaurant could be cleaner too. I love the food but horrible costumer service. You gotta understand that not all your costumers are Senegalese and not all speak French. Some of the costumers are American and from other african counties. You gotta be cater to everyone or you miss out on a lotta money. Food is very good,but you need to be more professional. Bad costumer service makes people not want to come back to your establishment. My money spends anywhere.

This is a good restaurant they make some great food I want people to check them out when you get a chance

I decided to grab dinner at a place that I've never been to before. After thinking about it, I decided to satisfy my curiosity by going to another African themed restaurant, Africa Restaurant (the name of the restaurant used to be Kaloum, but for some ridiculous reason, the owner changed the name to something that is ridiculously generic and, in my opinion, unimaginative from a marketing standpoint). After the experiences I had at Gereny, which was negative, and Abyssinia, which was positive, I went to "Africa" with absolutely no expectations. When I arrived there, it was a little after the restaurant's 8:00 P.M. closing time, and most of the people who apparently work there were leaving. After going inside, I noticed that there was only one person working behind the counter, and nobody in the kitchen, as far as I could tell from the lack of noise. Before I could place my order, the man working the counter told me all that was left was lamb, and I knew right then that I was in for another "Gereny" experience in not getting to choose what I want from a menu. Not in the mood for searching somewhere else to eat, I accepted what the restaurant was serving, which was lamb spare ribs (I think) and onions doused in a yellow sauce. Even though I wanted to eat there, my order was placed in a "to-go" box. Maybe I should have insisted on dining there, but if I wasn't going to get good service due to a lack of waitstaff, it was better for me to eat at home.As for the meal itself, it was okay. Given that the food was already cooked before I arrived at the restaurant, I got the sense that I was eating "leftovers" from earlier in the evening. That said, the spare ribs were a bit dry and had a seasoned, salty taste. The onions, doused in the yellow sauce, had a vinegar flavor with a little bit of an onion aftertaste. Overall, on a scale of one to ten, I would give the food a "6" because of the uniqueness of the onions and the "so-so" taste of the lamb spare ribs, and would give the service a "3" because of the meal being essentially "leftovers" which didn't go over well with me.After my experience at "Africa," I'm not sure that I wanted to go back.For my second visit that occurred on May 17, 2011, I arrived a little before noon. As I was walking through the door that was propped open (letting in flies that was an annoyance later on) I noticed a barbecue grill, apparently a sign that the food (at the very least, the meat) will be fresh. When I went inside, there wasn't anyone dining there, just like my first visit. After walking over to the counter to review the menu, I told the man working it what I wanted, which was the Lamb Mafe, but he told me to get the Saga Saga, a cassava leaf soup. Not in the mood for soup and feeling as though I was getting the "Gereny" treatment again, I thought about walking away and having lunch elsewhere, but I decided to give one more shot at ordering from the menu. I eventually went with the Thiebu Djeun (Djol of Rice), which is tilapia stewed in tomato sauce and served with cassava (the root, not the leaves), cabbage and a carrot strewn over a bed of "exotic" rice. It comes with a side of habanero pepper sauce, which is EXTREMELY HOT, so it wouldn't be smart to spread the entire cup over the entrée unless you have the stamina to handle it. It took a little over five minutes after placing the order that I got my food, which was a LOT (so much so that the "fullness" of the meal carried over to the next day)! In getting this fish entrée, I didn't remember to ask if it was a filet (i.e. boneless), meaning that I was stuck with the head of a tilapia that had a lot of bones in it that I had to remove. Although removing the bones was irritating, the reward was well worth it. The fish was tender and a little spicy, likely seasoned in something foreign to me but tasted great. The rice had a nice seasoned flavor as well that perfectly complemented the tilapia, and a little bit of the habanero pepper sauce made it even better. The vegetables that I had were decent, including the cassava which was my first experience in eating. At first, I thought it was a banana, but after biting into it, the taste resembled more of a potato and it was pretty good. Overall, I enjoyed it, despite a pesky fly that flew around my plate during the meal.After my second visit, which was much more enjoyable, I came to the conclusion that African restaurants in general, and by extension, African culture, is something different that is foreign to Americans and others unfamiliar with the laissez-faire way that Africans approach life. As it applies to operating a restaurant, they don't always follow protocol in offering their entire menu (in the case of Gereny, no menu at all), but rather cooking up whatever they presently have. From my perspective, this isn't something that I could get use to, for I like consistency in the places I dine at, but I can respect and even indulge it on occasion. After all, it is what it is.

I will NOT go there again. Not sure if the mgmt is the same or not. I usually one thing, cassava leaves. I don't know if they think all Americans are stupid, but I received spinach instead of cassava leaves (saga saga). I also ordered the Debe(lamb& couscous) the lamb was so tough, I couldn't eat it. I actually added Palm oil maggi and roasted red peppers to tweak the spinach (efo) & I diced up the tough mutton, boiled it and made a stew with it. So it wasn't a total waste. Only because I hate to waste my money & food. I was very disappointed. Never again. I'll just cook them myself. No one else was making it.

It's a different taste than what I'm use too, its not good or flavor Plum oil wasn't use. in the greens wasn't good it's not it. my family would be dissatisfied

Eating the Thiebou Dien with Joloff rice along with the Bissap drink was like tasting a bit of paradise! While I have never been to the Motherland, I felt so blessed to be able to partake of delicious flavorful foods prepared by my native family! While I can not speak in the native tongue, please accept my sincere appreciation and thanks! Absolutely Outstanding!

It doesn't look like much, but I just found this place and ordered the lamb in peanut sauce...sooo delicious! I'll be back again for sure!

Good service, great help with "translating" the menu into what your personal preferences (i.e., is it hot, spicy?) I have tried the spinach leaf and the kassa chicken.The seasoning is great. The chicken is grilled out front and I can say that when I want to patronize a restaurant this is the first place I think of...adult African women who have probably been cooking since they were young...not some teenagers standing behind a hot grill (I'm sure you understand what I'm saying).Try it. I am a regular at least 1-2×/ month.