Bissap Baobab

Came here for a comedy special at 8pm. They were so accommodating and so nice and quick about it! The ambiance of this place was fantastic! Great place to host shows, get some drinks and chill. Vibe is on point

I haven't had much Senegalese food, so I was really excited to try this place. I was lucky enough to score the last order of the Ceebu Jen ($26), which is the national dish of Senegal.Just a warning that this fish has bones in it -- I'm used to eating fish like this, but some people may not be. The fish was super tender and the outside was nice and crispy. However, this dish was lacking lots of flavor. The fish didn't taste seasoned and there was no sauce to add anything additional.The jollof rice felt the same as it was lacking a lot of the tomato and spice flavor. My friend felt similarly about her dish being pretty bland too. Overall, I may be willing to go come back here again to try a different dish, but the place was lacking some of the flavors that I was expecting.

Amazing!!! Speechless :) Super small but cute interior, with extremely friendly waiters and delicious food. Food takes a little bit to come out, but very much well worth the wait!! Came with a large group and was able to try a bit of many dishes.FOOD:Fried Plantains (7/10) - Decent fried plantains, sweet and a great way to start the meal.Fufu (10/10) - Fufu here was BOMB! Went perfectly with everything here!!Yassa with Chicken (8/10) - Super delicious gravy and the chicken was cooked so tender and paired very well with the white riceMafe with Akara (8/10) - Akara was fun to try and the sauce paired really well with it. Drank up the sauce after too!Gombo Saff with Lamb (9/10) - Loved the Okra in this and the sauce and lamb were cooked beautifullySeafood Coco with Prawns (7/10) - Reminded me of a Thai coconut curry, but still overall very delicious!Ceebu Jen (9/10) - Delicious tender fish on top of jollof rice - both the rice and the fish were amazing!

Tonight we visited, ate dinner here & WOW was I pleasantly surprised. We chatted with the owner who was a friendly and a chill guy. We sat down and ordered pretty quickly bc the menu is small. Everything came out in a timely manner, all together. The food was most definitely tasty and super flavorful. Everything had seasoning, spice and depth of flavor. I was not super impressed with the fufu but everything else was so good. I will highly recommend this black owned business!

Y'know this wasn't the first time I tried the West African food served here. During the pandemic, I took advantage of the takeout food at the now-closed Little Baobab because I was a fan of the Afro Tacos and Tabouleh Salad. After missing my window for trying their Downtown Oakland location, I finally tried the main restaurant on Mission one evening when it wasn't too crowded.They were preparing for a show in the adjoining room because most of the staff was focused over there. I decided to start with a refreshing libation, the $10 Tatu (Hibiscus Margarita) which was served in a tall highball glass (photo: https://yelp.to/wwNXykbzWw). For my main, I went with one of their most popular dishes, the $18.75 Poulet DG (Chicken General Director), a Cameroonian dish that mixed tender chicken parts with mixed vegetables and plantain slices in a spicy curry sauce.Accompanied by rice, it was quite flavorful in a uniquely tropical way (photo: https://yelp.to/8MpyaCPYCh). I was pleased enough with my entree that I decided to go for dessert. I wanted something on the lighter side, and the $8.25 Tiakri did the trick. It was a tasty yogurt-based mix with quinoa, agave, and mixed baobab fruit (photo: https://yelp.to/aPQKCRI0Ua). It made for a refreshing end to my meal, and I'm glad they still serve the Afro Tacos here.FOOD - 4 stars...unique West African dishes with familiar flavors AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...tables a bit crowded together SERVICE - 4 stars...friendly and informative TOTAL - 4 stars...a nice change of pace in the MissionRELATED - Exploring the Mission? Here's my collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2NHtst6

Was excited to try this place since I heard so much about the food.Initially came here for DJ Purple's Dance Karaoke on Thursday nights. I came a little bit after 9 PM and the employee told me the kitchen was closed. I asked when the kitchen normally closes and the employee behind the counter just shrugged her shoulders at me, so...I guess it depends? In general, there seems to be a lack of communication amongst staff. Twice I've ordered and they told me something was not available, only to find out later that it was.Anyways, came back a second time during their normal dining hours and ordered the lamb dibi combo plate with jollof rice and yassa (onions marinated in Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and herbs). The lamb had a nice charred flavor but was overcooked based on how dry and how difficult it was to cut. The yassa was very flavorful and went well with the jollof rice. The portion sizes are on the smaller side, especially for a $20 platter. I ended up ordering a pizza elsewhere after (I'm such a pig). They have an interesting mix of alcoholic concoctions that feature their hibiscus, tamarind, and ginger juices, but definitely on the weak side. I think I've ordered two separate drinks here and haven't felt a thing. The staff also don't seem to be familiar with any other cocktails aside from what's on the menu. Even though the service is not that great, I love that Bissap Baobab provides a welcoming space for musicians of all backgrounds to perform. I'll continue to stop by on Thursday nights to support DJ Purple as it is a great space for dancing and music. I'll just stick with the non-alcoholic drinks.

Ambiance It's pretty loud and the tables are kinda crowded together. The decor is pretty simple but cute. ServiceAttentive enough, however, it was hard getting refills of water and they give you really small water glasses. Food My friends wanted to check out the karaoke, but we also wanted to try the food, since it seemed interesting, but I found the portions were really small for the price. I got the lamb mafe with jollof rice and a side of plantains. The plantains were great, soft and sweet and the dipping sauce was also nice. The lamb, however, was very dry and overcooked for my personal taste. The meat was chewy and kinda tough. The dish and the rice was flavorful, it was just the meat that i wasn't a fan of. KaraokeStarts at 9pm on Thursdays and it's so fun! The only issue i have is the bar. I think this place would really pick up if they had bartenders that know how to make decent drinks or all the basic ones. I've found the drinks are not only weak, but they're so sweet. You can have a couple of drinks and not only are you not drunk, but you've sunk a bunch of money on sugary, watery booze. Unfortunately, I end up drinking elsewhere, then coming here and maybe having one drink. I'd love to spend my money here, but i can't justify the price.

I recently went to Bissap Baobab with my beloved. I first experienced here at a recent Elite Yelp event and enjoyed it very much.First things first the service and hospitality is superb. You couldn't ask for more kind service and hospitality which really makes all the difference in dining out.The ambiance here is awesome. Bissap Baobab has a wonderful atmosphere and vibe overall.Now onto the food and drinks. I went with the ginger juice and enjoyed it very much. For the entrees we ordered the Yassa which is marinated onions in savory sauce with vegetables. We had it Akara which is tofu and plantains cooked together and a side of rice. We also ordered Mafe with Akara which is tofu and plantains cooked together and a side of couscous. The tofu was really good yet the respected curries were so so and could have been better. It seemed like we just were getting tofu and side of grains with a tiny bowl of curry. Decent yet could have been better with more veggies.Still solid and exceptional service along with hospitality. Terrific ambiance and the food could have been better.

The chicken with the fufu is amazing. Had the shrimp too and joloff on the side. The place is nice and if I would have came later it would have turned into a night club. I know it used to be on the other corner but this bigger place serves them well.

I was super pleasantly surprised here! I came without expecting much and the food was so good. Good: - The seafood with tilapia was amazing - I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did considering I'm not usually a fan of seafood, but the curry sauce + the jolof rice made a combo that I couldn't stop munching on! - Portion sizes were perfect for what I could finish in one sitting - The staff were nice! Bad: - Pretty noisy place, still good for catchups with people- Took some time for the food to arriveOverall I enjoyed the food here a lot, the ambiance not so much but I'd come back just to try out something else!