Photo by Femoree on Unsplash
Houston is an incredibly diverse city with food from a variety of international cultures. African cuisine, especially West African food from Ghana and Nigeria, is a thriving part of the Houston restaurant scene. In addition to those, you can enjoy Ethiopian food or pan-African cuisine that’s a mix of quite a few countries’ flavors. To help you explore the different options out there, we’ve put together a list of the best African restaurants in Houston.
Most Popular African Food in Houston
- jollof rice
- suya
- okra stew
- fufu
- abacha
- pepper soup
- injera
West African Restaurants in Houston
1. Suya Hut
courtesy Suya Hut
Suya Hut is named for the delicious West African staple, suya, which is a spicy meat skewer. Here, you can enjoy a plate of chicken or beef suya along with fried plantains and jollof rice, a mix of rice, tomato paste, onions, and herbs. You can also check out their tilapia pepper soup for a delicate but powerful blend of spices. To round things out, you’ll enjoy some masa, or fermented rice cakes.
Where: 11720 W Airport Blvd #1600, Meadows Place, TX 77477
2. Afrikiko
photo credit MaxFoodie S. via Yelp
A family-owned Ghanaian place, Afrikiko is one of the best West African restaurants in Houston. Their fufu, a doughlike dish made from cassava, is delicious, and goes well with any of their soup options. Their spicy goat pepper soup, smooth peanut butter soup, and hearty egusi soup are all standouts.
Where: 9625 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77036
3. Cafe Abuja
courtesy Cafe Abuja
Cafe Abuja is another family-owned restaurant. It serves up authentic Nigerian food, including egusi soup, smoked goat, and abacha, a salad made of dried cassava, onions, and African spices. And of course, African cuisine embraces the use of entrails and other offal, so check out the restaurant’s gizdodo, a dish made of plantains garnished with chicken gizzards.
Where: 15015 Westheimer Rd ste c, Houston, TX 77082
4. Finger Licking
courtesy Finger Licking
Finger Licking has all the great staples found in other West African restaurants in Houston, and a few more besides. The restaurant’s name refers to the fact diners use fufu as utensils to pick up and eat their food. In between bites, the cassava dough can stick to your hands, so you might end up licking your fingers to clean up–or just to get that extra bit of flavor. Beef suya, okra stew, and goat pepper soup are all delicious here. You can also try some British-inspired foods (thanks to a history of colonialism) in the form of meat pies, scotch eggs, and sausage rolls.
Where: 9817 Bissonnet St suite A, Houston, TX 77036
5. Taste of Nigeria
courtesy Taste of Nigeria
Taste of Nigeria is a powerhouse of Nigerian flavor, with a wide variety of pepper soup choices, plenty of plantains, and hearty meat options such as goat and oxtail. Fish is also featured heavily on the menu. In fact, one of the standout dishes is the croaker served in a tomato stew along with a side of jollof rice. Ewedu (made from jute leaves), gbegiri (made from honey beans), and ogbono (made from ground mango seed) are among the authentic Nigerian soup options.
Where: 5959 Richmond Ave Suite 160, Houston, TX 77057
6. Aria Suya Kitchen
courtesy Aria Suya Kitchen
Aria Suya Kitchen is a trendy fusion restaurant that emphasizes the delicious spicy skewers famous in West African cuisine. Suya spices are applied to wings as well as skewers to give food an American twist. There are also ingredients such as crawfish and catfish mixed in alongside turkey gizzards and goat meat. also the Be warned that anything marked spicy is actually going to be spicy, so if you’re sensitive to heat, steer clear.
Where: 6357 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77057
7. Chez Michelle Restaurant
courtesy Chez Michelle Restaurant
Chez Michelle Restaurant is a Cameroonian restaurant. Try the smoky jollof rice or the ndole, a soup of fresh vegetables and bitter ndoleh leaves with peanut and shrimp that’s specific to Cameroon. The African pepper soup features a hearty mix of beef, cow foot, and tripe, or you can stick with the lighter tilapia pepper soup. You can also try the bobolo, a fermented cassava stick served alongside most Cameroonian dishes.
Where: 6991 S Texas 6, Houston, TX 77083
Ethiopian Restaurants in Houston
8. Blue Nile
courtesy Blue Nile
On top of all the great West African restaurants in Houston, there are quite a few tasty Ethiopian restaurants. Ethiopian food is known for spicy meat and injera, a kind of stretchy, sour, fermented bread that diners use in place of utensils. Unlike fufu, this is made from teff flour, not cassava. Blue Nile is an Ethiopian restaurant that has been around for about 20 years. In that time, it has gained a pretty devoted following. The dining room is set up for communal, family-style eating. Check out the doro wot, Ethiopian-style chicken stewed in berbere spices, onion, and spiced clarified butter. The tibs, or cubed meat in gravy, are also pretty popular. Also, the menu has an extensive vegetarian section with lentils and chickpeas as protein options.
Where: 3030 Audley St, Houston, TX 77098
9. Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Cuisine
courtesy Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Cuisine
Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Cuisine is named for the famous archeological discovery of the oldest humanoid fossil, which was found in Ethiopia, of course. Even though its name alludes to ancient history, the restaurant is actually pretty modern. They have a full range of wot (here spelled watt) dishes, including shrimp, collard greens, and chopped beef. Injera can be served on the side or mixed in. Once again, this is a great place to check out for vegetarian dishes. There’s a separate section of the menu for dishes with veggies, chickpeas, and lentils. Combo platters allow you to try three to five options at a time.
Where: 6800 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77074
10. Sheger Restaurant
courtesy Sheger Restaurant
Finally, there’s Sheger Restaurant, a casual Ethiopian restaurant. The offerings are a little more limited here than at the other two. On the other hand, the prices are also considerably lower. Sample platters are excellent values, and there are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. The injera is fresh and tasty (and you might want to take advantage of the free refills, because the food can get spicy). Plus, the kitfo, a rare minced beef dish marinated in spices and clarified butter, is some of the best in Houston. Although the exterior isn’t the most exciting, the dining area is comfortable and the service is very attentive.
Where: 5506 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77081
Also check out our lists of the Top 10 Thai Restaurants or Top 10 Italian Restaurants
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