Badou Senegalese Cuisine

I ate african food for the first time and i didnt know what to expect but the owner was extremely nice and recommended a couple of different dishes. I dont know exactly what we ate but it was sooooo good! I totally recommend this for a new restaurant experience.

The food was amazing! We ate family style and ordered a ton of food to sample the whole menu. Badou (the owner) took his time to explain the menu and asked us about any food allergies we might have had. Then he prepared an amazing feast for our massive appetites. Satisfying both our veggies lovers and carnivores. It was fun learning about the culture and enjoy the tasty treats!
Amazing is an understatement. Our taste buds were delighted. Our family was beyond satisfied. Definitely worth the drive from River North. Lean and flavorful…

I tried this place via a coworker, and I was hooked.
I went the next day to get a full order.
I called in and asked for a whole jerk chicken dinner… Maybe it was a misunderstanding, because I received ½.
But I still wanted another half… So I asked was there another half ready? I was told yes, but still waited an additional 10 min… Happy to wait because the food is SOOOO GOOD!!!

It was a bit of a trek to get here from the city centre but so worth it. They’ve got great and amazing food! I am so glad I tried this place. I had the chicken pastel which is absolutely the best along with chicken mafe. I am not a fan of yams but it was still very good in this dish.
Can’t wait to try Badou Sengelese on my next visit to Chicago.

I loved this place! It has a homey feel. The owner was super friendly and suggested good food to us. We went here for lunch, had the chicken pastel as an appetizer, and chicken mafe as our meal. It was very filling and neither of us finished our entrée. As we were leaving, the owner asked if we wanted us extra sauce on our leftovers. He came out with the pan and put it in our boxes himself. It was so kind!

I loved Badou! I learned about this spot on groupon. The owner and his son are warm and the moment you walk in– you know you’re going to get some Senegalese soul food. The pastels stuffed with chicken are large and flavorful, but the real winner is the chicken maffe and a special side of foufou. (this was the first time i didn’t get lamb and I didn’t miss it) The chicken was extremely tender but the best part was the sauce with a kick of peanut flavor… I have had many maffe dishes– this one was not runny and had the perfect consistency. The Bissap was just right … Some are a bit too sweet or syrup like. I will definitely be coming back

What a wonderful evening and a superb meal! Thank you Badou and Paula! We’ll be back.

I had a great experience here. The owner sat down with me and discussed what I like and made me a really good chicken and rice dish. Will definitely come back to try the fish.

Chef Badou has a gift for both making delicious food and customer service.
He personally greeted my fiancé and I at the door and let us choose our seats. He then brought bottles of water to the table and provided some good conversation.
We started with the veggie pastels as an appetizer. PLEASE TRY THESE AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!!! They were beyond amazing. The flavor was sublime — a mix of tomato, onions, corn, and spices blended perfectly in a lightly fried shell. I cannot describe how good these were. Chef Badou makes food like a fine artist. There are little details in the food’s flavor and a delicate balance between two extremes that he maintains, which is hard to describe in a text message. The veggie pastels were the perfect example of this, and I truly wish he knew how much his craftsmanship is appreciated.
I had the veggie mafe next. I’ve had mafe before, but this is definitely my favorite. Chef Baudou again struck this delicate balance that kept the consistency perfect. The food was filling and was prepared in an impressive amount of time considering he made it from scratch and also was preparing my fiancé’s plate too.
I highly recommend going to this restaurant. You will get a home cooked meal from a talented chef who could easily compete with the best chef’s in Chicago. There is something for everyone, and his vegetarian menu is especially comprehensive and clearly separated.
Chef Badou is the best and does a great job of making you feel like you has a personalized experience!

Great food! Super authentic and a huge selection of vegetarian options, which is amazing. Really great experience and will definitely be back — so yuummm

We found this place by accident because the other spot was closed but boy were we happy. The food is very authentic with perfect spice levels. The chicken coconut soup is a must have along with the bbq lamb. I will definitely be back.

Had a lovely home cooked meal by Badou himself. The wait staff was super friendly, took time to explain all the dishes and made sure we were comfortable. Badou came to our table to take our orders and made sure we were happy with our food.
Great selection of vegetarian meals! I had the vegetarian kabobs with quinoa which was delicious!

Wow, I love this place. Just went for the first time last night, using a Groupon and Groupon to go ordering.
What you need to know is that this is a one man show. I think Mr Badou has help sometimes, but because he’s cooking everything from scratch himself, it takes time. He even said that for delivery charges, he usually would have to close down the restaurant and deliver it himself. So for those complaining about delivery times and long waits, let’s just take a moment to remember that this is one guy, working very hard as it is.
The food is a dream. Plantains cooked perfectly, boulette (we got the meat not the fish) is unbelievably flavorful and savory, chicken mafe was unreal and one of the most interesting takes on a peanut sauce I have ever tried, and the Djen entrée (chicken with carmelized onions in a savory lime sauce with rice), was delicious too, although not as good as the mafe in my opinion. The entrees are very generous portions as well.
One thing to note is that if you are sensitive to heat, even the «mild» has a nice kick to it. It was perfect to me, but if you’re sensitive, just know that mild here really means «medium-​hot».
I will definitely be back and plan to try more on the menu. This place is just down the street so I can’t wait to try it again!

My friend and I came here for dinner last weekend because we were feeling adventurous. I had no idea what Senegalese food was like before my visit here and was pretty blown away by how delicious everything was. Badou is a small restaurant, with maybe about 20 seats (generous estimate), but it was pretty empty when we came so there wasn’t a wait. The restaurant is run by a very nice couple, so it was cool that we were supporting the Rogers Park community!
We ordered the jerk chicken (the special of the night) and the national Senegalese dish, which was fish. We were asked if we wanted a whole fish or just pieces, and the chef recommended getting the whole fish because the spices would be more prominent. We also got chicken pastels to start and I tried their ginger cocktail.
Verdict? Excellent on all fronts. The chicken pastels were kind of like empanadas and the crust was super flaky. The filling was really flavorful too. The jerk chicken was the best jerk chicken I’ve ever had. It wasn’t dry and the sauce for it was AMAZING (but definitely packs quite a bit of heat, so ask for it on the side if you’re not the biggest fan of spicy food). The fish had this crazy crunchy crust and was doused in this really great veggie sauce. I felt like the crust was a little too crunchy for me, but my friend was a big fan. All the sides were really yummy as well — loved the rice, the veggies, the fried plantains… no complaints!
The ginger cocktail was interesting. I’m a big fan of ginger and I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not, but if you’re into ginger ale or ginger tea, it’s worth trying. The flavor combination is definitely unique!
We each paid about $ 18 for the meal and we had leftovers, which I thought was very good for the quality and amount of food. I definitely want to come back!

I ordered from this restaurant via GrubHub twice. Both times my food came over an hour after the projected time — over two hours after ordered. The first time I had to call several times to find out what was happening. I was living in Rogers Park (2014 – 15), very close to the restaurant. Both times, Mr. Badou told me there was an issue with the driver. The second time, (2016) they didn’t even deliver my complete order, forgetting my bissap/​hibiscus drink. I was at a house less than a mile from the restaurant in Evanston.
The food is decent, not my favorite West African in Chicago, but good enough that I tried more than once for acceptable service.
Perhaps it’d be 4 – 5 stars if I went to dine in the restaurant. It seems like Mr. Badou is a great man. Perhaps they should consider nixing their delivery service if it isn’t feasible.

My Badou dining experience echoes all of the outstanding qualities that the avalanche of 5-​star reviewers identify.
For example, in response to questions about the extensive menu, the server invited Badou himself to our table. It felt like sitting in the dining room at the house of good friend, who asked about our preferences, listened carefully to our responses, and recommended with great care several spot-​on food options that he then expertly cooked.
My dining companion and I were allowed, even encouraged, to linger over our food. We engaged in great conversation that is next to impossible in most restaurants due to constant unnecessary intrusions of «can I get that out of the way for you?» and other mindless interruptions. This was just one more way that Badou treated us like family — and our truly distinctive and outstanding food was prepared with at least as much love as back home.
I live near the Loop, but will be taking friends to Badou very soon. It’s worth the trip!
PS: vegetarians: there is a good selection of vegetarian selections on the menu, plus other dishes can be prepared with out meat upon request.

I once saw one of those TV shows feature this place and at the time I had never tried Senegalese cuisine. I was able to try Yassa in Bronzeville not too long ago so I had even more motivation to try this place even though its quite the hike to Rogers Park.
Me and my buddy came over on a chilly Tues nite to see what was up here. Its a small mom and pop joint with a little strip mall area with maybe less than 10 tables. The African art/​pictures on the wall was nice… they even sell some pieces. The owner whose name is Badou walked us through the menu and let us know what the most popular dishes were. He recommended that we start out with the chicken and beef pastels. The pastels are very similar to empanadas and are just as good. The chicken tasted just a bit better than the beef, but both were very good. The tomato and onion sauce that comes with it makes it even better.
In terms of entrée, he told us we couldn’t go wrong with the Chicken Yassa or the Chicken Maffe. We decided that we would split both dishes. The Yassa was the best of the 2 as it was chicken infused with lime and caramelized onions… awesome flavor and couldn’t put the fork down. The Meffe was good also which is chicken cooked with creamy peanut butter sauce. This dish was very rich and tasty. We ordered both dishes hot, but probably should have gone with mild LOL… love the spice though!
Not very expensive place and as I mentioned its a small mom and pop joint. Definitely worth the trip to Rogers Park

No-​one probably knows what Senegalese food is, or in fact where Senegal is located.
This shouldn’t be stopping you from coming in and trying out food from this Western African country.
Senegalese has it’s own style of food (it does cross borders and tribes to nearby regions) that’s quite different from the more popular African food people are used to like Ethiopian or Moroccan.
The national rice dish is a good starting point. It’s basically hammered rice soaked in spices (think tamarind) and topped off with veggies and comes with fish. It’s good, it’s not like anything you’d imagine it to be, and it’s worth trying.
There are other dishes that you can pick that are legit as well. The peanut butter chicken is fairly good with a peanut butter/​ketchup like taste.
Samosas are fresh, made on the spot and delicious.
Owner is super nice and friendly, and he’s the cook. It does, as has been mentioned take some time to get the food, so don’t come here if you are in a hurry.

A few weeks ago while going into Evanston, I saw Badou Senegalese Cuisine and thought to myself to make a calendar entry for a visit. After time had passed, I wanted something different to write about in my food blog and Badou Senegalese Cusine came to mind.
Bissap. Cury soup. Fataya. Cebbu Djen.
One drink I always hanker for during Christmas is sorrel, something that is very popular in Jamaica. I was quite happy to see that there was bissap on the menu, a drink made with hibiscus leaves just like sorrel. And it was just as refreshing. The curry soup was spicy, as I requested, and I swear this would be an idea autumn and winter soup. The fataya were also spicy the way I ordered them and if it were not for me going to a friend’s home after leaving the restaurant, I would have ordered some for take-​away. The cebbu djen was outstanding. The fish was meaty and seasoned well. Yes, it, too, was spicy. The djolof rice, cabbage, whole carrot, and eggplant would have made a rather tasty vegetarian dish without the fish.
For those who like their food to arrive at the table within minutes of ordering, you may not be a happy customer. Clearly food is prepared to order and I like that because I’m assured that it’s not being warmed up quickly in a microwave. There is something good about having food prepared to order. Then again, being Jamaican and Ghanaian, I am accustomed to food being served that way. I need to go back in the future to sample some of the other dishes.

When we walked in a little before 5 pm on a Wednesday evening, there was no one else dining. The chef/​owner greeted us right away, and when we asked him for recommendations, he was friendly and excited to share his favorites. He really sold the food and made connections to our tastes. He even went into how he prepared the dishes and why he recommended them this way. You could really feel the hospitality and passion behind his cooking.
We had the hibiscus cocktail and the pineapple ginger cocktail. They do not have alcohol, but we didn’t mind, haha. The hibiscus was floral but very smooth and slightly sweet. The pineapple ginger drink was sweet and definitely gingery, not too sweet, and had some spicy surprises with a hint of anise. The drinks complemented the spices in our food.
We had the chicken Pastels, cooked in tomato and onion and wrapped in a pastry crust. That crust though! Flaky, crispy, moist – in other words, perfect. The chicken was moist and has a slightly sweet taste from the tomato but a nice blend of spices and onions that made it a unique taste profile. They kind of reminded me of empanadas, but with an nicer crust and more filling! We also had the plantains. They were some of the best I have had because they were caramelized, sweet, hot, and melted in your mouth.
Being a fan of Thai peanut sauces, I ordered the Mafe after he recommended it because it was a spicy peanut sauce with chicken, potatoes, and carrots served over rice. The spices were really quite unique. It was almost a floral, spicy, nuttiness that was addictive. Slightly sweet, spicy, and oh so savory. The heat wasn’t like a burn your tongue hot, but the spices definitely gave it a slow burn of yummy flavor! Just typing about it has my mouth watering again.
The other entrée we had was the Senegalese National Dish with the king fish. This plate was a big portion of savory rice, spiced veggies, and a big portion of flaky fish stuffed with herbs. The fish is cooked with bones in, so beware. I am not sure how I feel about having to pick bones out of a fish, but my girlfriend did not mind and enjoyed her dish. She even had leftovers.
The food was excellent, but what really makes me want to go back, besides trying more dishes, is how passionate and genuine the chef was. When we let him know that we enjoyed our meals and that we heard good things on Unilocal,he shared how he was listening to feedback about how sometimes the wait for food is too long. He asked for our feedback (we didn’t feel it took too long, but we were the only ones there), and he thanked us. Overall, the chef embodies the soul food experience, and shares his passion in a warm and welcoming way.