Taste Of Africa

Homey and inviting, welcome to Taste of Africa :)
JOLLOF RICE w/​Chicken $ 12 — I should have gotten the Rotisserie Chicken like others recommended. Make sure you specify rotisserie chicken because the chicken I got was this fried Chinese take-​out style chicken. It was very dry but the flavor was decent. The sauce too, was slightly disappointing; it tasted like hot sauce from those Chinese packets. The real star is the JOLLOF RICE. Wow, just. wow. This rice is amazing, you can’t stop eating it. The plantains they serve on the side are amazing as well, my mom makes it the same way (plantains are used in many Indian breakfast dishes!). There was also some steamed cabbage, peppers and carrots.
MEAT PIE $ 2 — Why does this taste so good? I can’t figure it out. Its pastry dough and meat; SO SIMPLE, yet SO DELICIOUS. I bought 5 to take back home. Heat it up the next day — tastes amazing.
GINGER BEER $ 2 — I’ve had a lot of ginger beer. This was one of the best ginger beers I’ve ever had. Smooth, spicy and just enough sweetness. This ice cold carbonated drink is perfect on a warm day. Spicy means it will tingle your tongue, it doesn’t mean spicy as in ‘hot’; this is actually how a slice of ginger root tastes like, and that means this ginger beer (Imported from Kingston) is authentic and naturally derived.
The service was phenomenal. I met the owner, who was also preparing food too, for the first time and we had a 10 minute chat. I felt like I knew him my whole life. He was very friendly and asked how the food and service was. What a pleasure meeting this man and apparently his business is thriving because he is getting swarmed with catering orders. Good for him! I wish his store nothing but success. THE FOOD IS THE REAL DEAL and the people who work here ARE EVEN BETTER
They have display cases where you purchase traditional made-​in-​Ghana clothing as well as bracelets, slippers and much more
Recommended: Jollof Rice with Rotisserie Chicken, Meat Pies, Ginger Beer

OMG I can’t believe I forgot to review this restaurant! After my experience with a local caribbean restaurant. I must say your service and food is spectacular! The owner Isaac broadened my horizons with african cuisine. I loved the samples! Im usually in the deer park area 2 x a week and stopped here a few times. I was impressed my first time trying the food. I immediately went back I tried the Jollof rice, soups, shrimp scampi, turkey. The portions are amazing and again the service is the best I’ve ever had! I apologize dearly for not reviewing as I thought I did. I will upload my pictures of my wonderful platters! Thank you!

Went last night with a couple of friends. It was a great experience, everything was delicious and Isaac, who owns it couldn’t have been more accommodating. He gave us a sampler plate and explained what everything is.
After that we ordered, had chicken and beef pies as an appetizer. We also had banku with spinach stew. For the main dishes me and a friend got the chicken curry, another got the stewed chicken, all came with jollof rice and plantains. We finished dinner with some puffs for dessert. I also had the spicy ginger beer to drink, no alcohol, tasty and had some heat.
We’re all looking forward to going back there, a lot of stuff on the menu we want to try. Highly recommend.

The food over here is really good. The overall experience needs a lot of improvement. Also the price is on the higher side compared to portion size, location and the overall setup. About the food there no complains. The food taste good. Its a bit spicy but its not overpowering the dish. I have not tasted food from Ghana before so i cant comment about it being authentic or not. All in all it was a great place to eat.

I’m so disappointed in myself for not reviewing Taste of Africa sooner, considering that my boyfriend and I go here at least four times a month. Boy, do we LOVE Taste of Africa. Thank goodness for Groupon, which is what brought us here. Our all time favorite thing to get is the rotisserie chicken with jollof rice, plantains and veggies. Oh my Goodness! You literally cannot go wrong with that meal. It’s worth the wait every time; considering that it’s made fresh. It’s the most tender, juicy chicken I have had AND so flavorful. The combination of everything together just compliments each other perfectly. I haven’t even mentioned the customer service. I can hardly consider myself a customer when it’s such a friendly and personable experience, every time. It’s funny because I’m sure they even know my voice by now, from calling in orders. Taste of Africa is my favorite place for comfort food and extraordinary hospitality. I would easily give it 10 stars if there was an option. Bookmark this spot!

Simply amazing stuff. My fiancé and I were served by Isaac, who I believe is also the owner, and he was super nice and helpful. We tried a bunch of their vegetarian options and everything we ate was fantastic. As any vegetarian knows, it is difficult to find genuinely tasty non-​highly processed vegetarian food that’s not trying to be a meat dish. There are so many great options here that you don’t even need to think about things like mock chicken. Fried plantains have a meat-​like texture going on, and it is godly. This is one of my favorite food finds in a very long time and I will be coming back as much as I can. Be forewarned however that while they accept credit cards for payment (over $ 15), they don’t accept tip via credit, so bring some cash.

Issac, the owner is very friendly and funny – we felt very welcomed and our visit was fun and entertaining. The food is delicious although very spicy. There are vegan options on the menu! They play upbeat African music and the restaurant has a festive décor. They also sell African clothes and jewelry. I highly recommend this outstanding restaurant.

Love this place!
Matthew and I found this place when we were desperately searching for something new to eat.
The reviews were good so we decided to visit, a little info on this place, Its family owned, and the people are genuinely nice.
The food on the menu have pictures and the ones that don’t just ask. they’re more than happy to tell you, the food for the most part is spicy but they have plenty of non spicy dishes.
when matthew and i 1^st came to this place they gave us a tasting plate of most of their dishes.
Matthew loves spicy/​hot things and im on the sweet side, we usually take out and we always get the chicken meal located on the back of the menu, with spinach stew with a meat pie :)
ok so small negative: eating in, they don’t replenish the water, you do have to buy the water (Matthew is a big water drinker and i usually rate all the places an extra star for paying attention to this detail so unfortunately for this i deduct a star
try it out!
african food is very tasty :)
they deliver too, and you can order to pick up. (one time they forgot to put something in our bag and the young guy ran us down in the street to give it to us lol thanks man)

Overall the food was fantastic but the experience could have been better.
I don’t remember exactly what we ordered but everything was very tasty and certainly different. The fufu was fun to eat and seemed authentic. The meat pie was good enough that we ordered a few to go.
A bit if the cons. We requested water to drink and the waiter brought out bottled water in a clear attention to up sell us. It was only $ 2 but still not cool. The menu is very large and they were out of a few things. There are also no explanations of what the dishes are in the menu which would have been helpful for newcomers like us. There were a few pictures that were helpful.

I came here a few years ago for extra credit for a college class. I don’t remember the exact food I had but I remember the people and the service. Some of the most genuine people I have ever met and they looked ecstatic that we were trying some African food. I remember having a lamb based dish that was crazy spicy but that’s how I like it. Try this unconventional food choice out and live a little.

I had lunch at this place today and WOW! What an awesome meal. I’ve heard about this place before but the Groupon is what caught my interest. $ 15 was good for $ 30 worth of food for lunch or dinner. Although the meals are a little pricy ($ 15 on average) everything is fresh and the amount of food is well worth the money.
Since it was our first time there, the woman was nice enough to make a little sampler platter for us to get a little taste of the food to see what we liked when it came time to order. She served up little portions of jollof rice (tomato rice), plantain, bean stew, spinich stew, curry chicken, eggplant, cabbage, and two kinds of soups. From there we were able to figure out what we liked and what we didn’t. SO helpful! I ended up ordering their peanut soup with chicken, and a side of pounded yam. I’m still stuffed writing this review.
If you’re pressed for time I would suggest calling ahead as it seems different dishes take a little longer to prepare than others. A friend ordered the roasted chicken and it look a bit of time, but he swears it was the best chicken he has ever had.
Awesome experience here today, can’t wait to come back!

Bonnie G and I were in the mood for an African Safari to treat our palates to something new and different… Taste of Africa fit the bill and gave us a wonderful tasting of food from Ghana, the owner Isaac’s home country. We were served by his younger brother PK, a friendly and affable young man that explained everything we wanted to know about their offerings. He brought us a dinner plate with little tastings of about 6 items to get an idea what the food tastes like.
Well, we chose two meat pies, one chicken and one beef as appetizers along with a bowl of wonderful Spicy Goat Soup… was spicy and full of meat! For mains we chose Chicken Curry and Goat Stew prepared spicy. The curry was totally unlike any from an asian or thai restaurant… delicious! And my Goat Stew was served with sweet plaintains and beans and rice… a great accompaniment to the meaty pieces of Goat. We got a side of Spinach with a spicy tomato sauce on top to have with the entre’s and it was also tasty and a welcome addition.
This is a BYOB establishment and its a good idea to bring your own embibements because their offerings are limited. We had a great time and were treated well by the owners… they prepare and serve all the food which insures the authenticity of preparation. Glad we went and were gonna return next time we have the hankering for African fare.

Visit Date: June 23, 2015
I came here with one of my girlfriends because we wanted to try something different to eat. The interior of the restaurant is no frills it looks like your basic chinese take out place/​pizza take out place. But the night I had dinner here with my friend the sunset happened to be very amazing which gave the restaurant an extra added natural beauty.
I don’t know if they always do this or if they just do it when it’s your first time eating at the restaurant but they bought us out a sample of food to try before we ordered. Everything in the sample platter was spicy and delicious. My friend and I ordered a platter to share which included fried chicken for her (because I don’t eat meat), eggplant, fried yams and a few other items I don’t remember. The yams were tasty but a little bit dry you definitely should eat them with some type of saucy dish as an accompaniment. Everything on our plate was tasty too. It was a delicious combination of spicy and salty.
We had the puffs for dessert which were good but more savory than sweet.
The manager was very nice he came out to talk to us and we told him how much we loved the place and that I would give it 5 stars on Unilocal for sure.
I would be back here again to sum it up it’s a place that’s simply delicous.

Great little eatery is not much to look at but the food is consistently great. The chicken curry jollof is spicy and delicious and the beef jollof is firey and just as good. The service always welcoming and warm and the prices are great. Definitely try this place out. It’s a great welcome change of pace for the area.

What a hidden gem! I can’t believe this place has been here for 3 years and I never knew. We absolutely need more places like this on Long Island.
Not only is the food incredible (spicy, flavorful and fresh), but the staff were so friendly and warm. We were given a sampler platter of their dishes to help us choose our entrees, and each dish was explained to us.
They also had these spicy homemade ginger juices made with all natural/​fresh ingredients. It was unreal!

It’s so nice to find an authentic African restaurant on Long Island! My wife and I enjoyed our time here. The staff was helpful in explaining the menu and even gave us a small tasting plate prior to ordering.
Eats:
— meat pie. A must. The dough was so flakey and fresh and the meat inside was spiced to perfection. After we had one, we had to order one to take home.
— #38 fufu dumpling with beef stew which was a first and I’m happy to have made the selection. The stew was full of flavor and the dumpling was a good mix
— #23 banks with fish was also delicious. Fish was fresh and well seasoned.
— dessert we had the Puff which was just a piece of fried dough. Not something we would order again.
Likes:
— BYOB
— staff is very helpful as mentioned before they gave us a small tasting sampler prior tomordering
— prices are good
— food is made fresh
It’s nice to see other ethnic cuisines on Long Island especially one such as Taste of Africa. We will definetelly be back again.

A Taste of Africa is a family ran West African restaurant right here in Long Island north on 231 /​Deer Pk. Ave in Deer Park. Eat in or take out.
Tried it on a quiet Monday afternoon, I sat down at table where PK is the host, its his families business. A friendly woman was working in the kitchen putting out food into the warmers. PK brought me a small plate with a sample of about 8 items plus soup to try… to see which I liked before they fixed me a plate. Also very helpful were pictures of various combos on the menu. I opted for four menu items, all good, and they added seasoned cabbage,
Food is enjoyable, included curry chicken, peanut soup, pepper soup, spinach with some kind of spice in it, beef stew with hot tomato sauce in it, plantains, black eyed peas seasoned with spice. Most had a lot of heat, some more than others.
Experience is relaxed &, casual place, a different menu, and nice people.
I’d stop in again for a few things I liked.
PK brings in carved stone beads from Ghana and makes them into necklaces and bracelets. He has a few for sale on the counter under glass. Couldn’t leave without getting one. Wore it all day!

Finally got my reluctant boyfriend to come here, to utilize my Groupon, and we both loved it!
The food is deliciously flavorful and they even give you samples to try when it’s your first time there. The man running the store, lunchtime on a Monday, was so helpful and informative. Service was great.
We ended up getting a beef patty, chicken curry and spinach stew. I also tried the pepper chicken soup, a must — try, absolutely delicious, but beware of bones.
Everything was spiced wonderfully!
We even tried a ginger drink, which was a spicy drink. Never before have I tried something so different and unique.
If you want to try flavorful, exotic food and aren’t afraid of some spice, definitely check this place out.

We stopped by here after shopping at Tanger outlet. I’ve only had African food twice in my life — once in DC and once in Harlem — and both times were fine but definitely not a wow experience for different reasons. The cuisine here is different from what I’ve had and I was told this restaurant serves west african cuisine.
The service is very friendly and ambiance very casual. Much of the food is precooked and kept warm. We picked meat pie, curry chicken with rice and beans, beef stew with jollof rice and side of plantains.
The meat pie is a nice size with a good amount of flavorful ground meat filling. It was less salty and didn’t have the cumin flavor of the empanada or the curry flavor of the Jamaican patty. It tasted good, simple and less distinctive. The beef stew platter came with jollof rice and salad. I found that much of their dishes have a tomato base with some spices. The beef stew had tender beef chunks in a tomato based sauce with spice that added a kick. It was tasty but the beef wasn’t the best quality. The jollof rice and and the rice with black eye peas we’re perfectly cooked and the tomato sauce added a nice, mild flavor. The curry chicken was tender but I found the sauce a bit bland.
We ended our meal with puffs which were basically lightly sweetened fried dough. These really needed to be deep fried to order and not reheated like ours. You just can’t recreate that nice crispiness when reheated. It’s like reheated French fries!
Anyway, I always appreciate new ethnic cuisine on Long Island and the staff/​owners were all super nice. The food was good but on the bland side, and honestly without the groupon, it was a bit overpriced.

WOW.
I’ve had this place bookmarked for awhile, finally got the opportunity to make it with my family on a Saturday night at 8pm, and the place was packed. We were amazed and excited because the patrons were all mixed families. never would I have thought and African restaurant would attract such populations. Highly impressed already.
We were greeted right away, noting the place looks like an old pizzeria, were seated, and our waiter, Piqué, came over and offered samples since we’ve never tried this type of food before. We sampled about 6 – 7 different things. blown away by everything on the plate.
I had the black eyed peas rice and beef guys platter. the rice was out of this world – and being from the Caribbean myself I’m usually very critical of rice. No gravy needed, I ignored the meat on my plate and just enjoyed the rice. I would say skip the beef as it was too chewy and wasn’t as packed with flavor as I would want it to be.
Everyone else’s dishes on my table were outstanding. The grilled tilapia was spicy, crispy, packed with flavor, highlight dish of the night. be warned it takes the longest to make but worth it. Okra with white rice was another favorite, and my mother enjoyed her goat soup, with 6 huge pieces of goat, another spicy dish. My brother kept it as American as possible and got fried chicken with falaf rice.
Besides how amazing the food was, I have to compliment the staff. Two men were running the show including cooking, waiting on tables, seating other groups. Isaac the water was apparently the owner, stopped by every table to ask how everything was, even went out of his way to replacing my mother’s dumpling dish noticing she wasn’t eating much of it. He explained how he has been a professional chef for many years and boasted about this being the first African restaurant on Long Island. Piqué, our waiter as well as his brother, entertained us with jokes and dancing to African music. also he speaks Chinese, and french.
This wasn’t just a restaurant outing, it was an experience that my family will never forget. We will BE BACK, possibly even regulars. Job well done guys.