Berber Street Food
Berber Street Food was established in 2018, and located in West Village. The restaurant touts itself as based “ on the principle of traditional Africanized cuisine – the focus is simple and wholesome.” The theme around the establishment is cozy, intimate, and gives a homely ambiance.
At Berber Street Food, you can find a wide variety of West African dishes such as Nigerian and Ghanaian national dish like the jollof rice, goat pepper soup, and other spicy foods. You can also expect a national dish for Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco. Some of the dishes being infused with a flair of French and Asia. Yes, you can also get a fusion between North African cuisines and a little bit of the Caribbean.
Some of the outstanding dishes in their menu include the Camel burger made out of grilled ground Camel meat mixed with herbs and Berber spices. For bitings, you get food bites such as tapas, afro-fusion bowls, and sandwiches served with house specialties. There is also the chicken empanadas.
For drinks, you can try out their ginger lemongrass juice special. A ‘zingy’ and refreshing drink you can seep down slowly before or after your meal, and it feels therapeutic going down.
The restaurant was founded by a Mauritanian national with a Berbers root from her mother’s side and Sarakhole roots from her father’s side. She is, therefore, a matchup of Senegalese and Mauritanian culture, something she readily brings with her in the choices of African dishes served at the restaurant.
B&B Restaurant Corporation
B&B Restaurant Corporation is a family-run restaurant established in 2009 with a mission of serving New Yorkers to authentic West African and Jamaican cuisines. While at the establishment, you don’t need a menu as everything is served in a buffet-style and you can get just about every dish for $6.99 per pound. You simply walk in, take a plate, and fill it with whatever you want from the buffet, and pay by the pound.
What makes B&B Restaurant Corporation one of the outstanding African restaurants in New York are the dishes popular with African American. These dishes include jerk chicken, fried chicken, baked chicken, mac & cheese, goat pepper soup, and beef stew. The meat is seasoned to be so tender, some reviewers say ‘it falls right off the bone.’
Although the establishment is set up as a take-out for fast food or a quick dine restaurant. Where you go pick your take-out or sit by your table for a quick biting. It might not be the right establishment if you are looking for an ambiance where you can stay for long; perhaps working on your laptop.
Awash Ethiopian Restaurant
Ethiopian foods are well recognized across the world and the Awash Ethiopian Restaurant was among the earliest to bring these cuisines to the New York boroughs. The restaurant was opened in 1994 with the simple idea of showcasing Ethiopian national dish to the American public.
The dishes are holistically Ethiopian. Starting with the millenniums-old Ethiopian cooking technique and servings. The restaurant was inspired by the lack of enough representation of Ethiopian foods in New York City restaurant at the time of its establishment. It has since become one of the leading restaurants for Ethiopian dishes in NYC.
Winding-up
The above five restaurants are among the best African restaurants in New York, but by all means not the only. As you can see from a simple Google search along the line of ‘African restaurants near me.’ However, you will notice the above-mentioned establishment will top that list. And in other news, if you are in Atlanta, you can also check out our previous blog on Top African Restaurants in Atlanta, GA. Also, you can visit the website for all the mentioned restaurants by clicking on the titles. The above-mentioned restaurants have also in place COVID-19 containment measures including social distancing with outdoor seating, hand sanitization, and mandatory wearing of masks by customers and staff.
