Yado Market's 2026 Guide
29 Best African Restaurants in Chicago
Chicago has one of the most varied African food scenes in the Midwest. In a single week you can eat Somali goat and rice downtown, Senegalese yassa in Bronzeville, Oromo Ethiopian dishes in Uptown and Liberian cassava leaf in Bridgeport.
For each restaurant, we share what kind of food they serve, what to order, and what customers say. Restaurants are grouped by area so you can find a spot near you.
Start the GuideBefore you go: hours at smaller, family-run restaurants change often, and some are takeout-only on certain days. Call ahead or check the restaurant's website or social media before visiting.
10 restaurants
South Side
From Bridgeport to Bronzeville, Hyde Park and South Chicago: Liberian, Nigerian, Senegalese and Afro-diaspora cooking.
Liberian & Ivorian · Bridgeport
Nimba
Owner Lydia London honors her grandmother, who fled war in Liberia for Chicago, with the food of Liberia and neighboring Ivory Coast. Nimba started as a food truck and now offers takeout, with dine-in planned for November. Order the cassava leaf stew (slow-cooked with peanut butter, smoked turkey and red palm oil), jollof rice and goat soup with yuca and plantain.
What customers say: generous portions, sturdy takeout packaging, well-seasoned dishes and a standout cassava leaf.
Nigerian · Hyde Park / Bronzeville
Iyanze Bronze
The South Side sister of Uptown's Iyanze, which opened in 2009 and has represented its community at Taste of Chicago. The Bronzeville location opened in October 2021. Popular orders include egusi and efo soup, jollof rice, tilapia, ayamashe, mixed okro and pounded yam.
What customers say: reviews are mixed. Fans praise the authentic dishes and decor, while others mention service issues, so first-timers should stick with the most popular dishes.
Afro-Diaspora Fusion · Hyde Park
Mahari
Celebrates African, Caribbean, Creole and Afro-Latino cooking, and won Best Neighborhood Restaurant at the 2026 Jean Banchet Awards. Chef-owner Rahim Muhammad was born in Hyde Park. Look for the crawfish étouffée and weekend brunch. It's in the Hyde Park Shopping Center courtyard with free parking, and closed Tuesdays.
Good for: date nights and celebrations. It's the most upscale sit-down option on the South Side list.
Nigerian · South Chicago
Southside African Restaurant
A neighborhood Nigerian spot near Yado Market that also caters parties. Order the jollof rice, pounded yam with soup, and the vegetable, okro and egusi soups.
What customers say: jollof portions are bigger than expected, the pounded yam is soft, and parking is easy even when it's busy.
Nigerian · South Chicago
African Food Palace
A Taste of Chicago vendor serving fufu, jollof rice, oxtail and fried plantain. Egusi soup, jollof and plantain are the most-liked items, with oxtail meals, okra, ogbono, banga, goat pepper soup, ayamase and peppered kpomo also on the menu.
What customers say: the jollof tastes like real Nigerian party jollof and the kpomo is a hit. A few delivery reviewers felt portions were small for the price.
West African · Auburn Gresham
SamiFlorencia African Cuisine
A menu spanning West Africa: egusi soup, goat meat pepper soup, ofada with ayamashe sauce, amala with gbegiri and ewedu, jute leaves (ademe), peanut butter sauce (azidessi) and cow feet, plus salmon sliders and desserts.
What customers say: one Ghanaian reviewer said the goat pepper soup with fufu tasted like her grandmother's, and loved the fresh, lightly sweetened pineapple ginger drink.
African Home Cooking · Far South Side
His Grace African Food
Brings authentic African flavors to the local community, serving Africans, Black Americans and anyone who wants to try African cuisine. Meals use recipes passed down through generations and traditional cooking methods, with a home-like experience as the goal.
Good to know: you can order online or book a table through the restaurant's website.
Senegalese · Bronzeville
Yassa African Restaurant
Serving Senegalese and West African food since 2004, and featured on WTTW's Check, Please! Order yassa chicken, lamb or fish, dibi chicken, djolof rice, plantains, and homemade ginger, bissap or baobab drinks. Ivorian dishes like sauce graine and attiéké are on the menu too, and there's live music on the second Saturday of each month.
What customers say: regulars call it the best West African food they've had and the staff are helpful with first-timers. Food can take a while, so plan to relax.
West African · Kenwood · Takeout & Catering
Abusua Kitchen
Offers delivery and takeout for lunch and dinner, with no dine-in seating. A good choice for catering and events.
What customers say: delicious food, generous portions and good service. One customer found the bean stew with plantains, goat and fried fish well cooked and enough for two.
Senegalese · Kenwood
Gorée Cuisine
Black-owned by Adama Ba and named after Senegal's Gorée Island. Choose red snapper, shrimp, chicken, lamb or salmon in savory sauces, but the standout is maafe, a creamy peanut stew with white rice. Dibi, yassa, thiou curry, saka saka and thiebou djeun are on the menu too.
What customers say: try the yassa fish, the attiéké and the curry, with a ginger or hibiscus drink. Service can be a little slow, but diners say the food is worth it.
2 restaurants
Downtown & Near North Side
Two halal Somali spots a few blocks apart, both known for generous plates and early hours.
Somali · Near North Side · Halal
Mogadishu Restaurant
A small, halal spot with just five tables and free parking behind the restaurant. First-timers should start with chicken (digaag) and rice, a sambusa and Somali tea. The lamb shank, chicken suqaar, goat with vegetables and rice, and anjera are also favorites.
What customers say: fall-off-the-bone goat, flavorful rice, generous portions and a banana on the side. Guests say they're treated like family, and vegetarians and vegans have options too.
Somali · Near North Side · Halal
BULSHO Restaurant
Formerly Bismilahi restaurant, BULSHO is a cafeteria-style spot serving traditional Somali stews, plus Philly steak. It's listed as fully halal with no alcohol, and it opens early, making it a good choice for a Somali breakfast.
What customers say: a hidden gem with generous portions, fair prices and friendly staff, though some reviewers raised cleanliness concerns. Add the flatbread.
8 restaurants
North Side: Lakeview to Uptown
Nigerian kitchens, Afro-Caribbean dining, an Algerian bakery and some of the city's best-known Ethiopian restaurants.
Nigerian · Lakeview
Comfort's African Cuisine
Nigerian cuisine with a bar and lounge area with an upscale touch. Dine-in, takeout and reservations. Jollof rice with meat, fried rice, and egusi with pounded yam, amala or eba are the most-liked dishes, with meat pie, moin moin, ayamase, goat pepper soup, puff puff and chin chin also on the menu.
Afro-Caribbean · Avondale / Logan Square
Spice by CMB
A catering business turned sit-down restaurant, rated 8.5 by The Infatuation and recommended by Crain's, where chef Mychael Bonner works the line himself. Expect a cozy dining room, a group-friendly menu, weekend brunch and a happy hour with black-eyed pea fritters.
What customers say: the short rib, the catfish and grits, and the craft cocktails are the standouts.
Nigerian Fusion · Bucktown
The Origin Chicago Restaurant & Lounge
Opened in May 2026 by Chidi Durugo, who also runs an Origin in New Jersey. Nigerian staples like jollof rice, goat pepper soup, egusi, suya, asun and braised short ribs, plus rotating guest chefs cooking food from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.
Good for: a night out. It stays open late on weekends and plans to add a weekend brunch.
Algerian Bakery & Café · Northwest Side · Halal
Fou Flavours
A taste of North Africa. The halal menu includes chicken pie, ground beef pie, chicken quiche, spinach pie and Algerian koka, plus desserts like lava cake.
What customers say: a cute hidden gem with standout pistachio cake, gluten-free chocolate cake and lemon tart. Fans also recommend the baklava.
Nigerian · Uptown
Afro Taste Cuisine
Opened in 2024, serving Nigerian and other African dishes, with catering for events. Nigerian meat pie, okro soup with optional ugba, and jollof rice with plantain and two proteins are the most-liked items. Afang soup, okazi soup and isi ewu are also on the menu. Open daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Ethiopian (Oromo) · Uptown · BYOB
Michuu Ethiopian Restaurant
Highlighted by the Chicago Reader for chef Damme Lemu's scratch-made Oromo specialties, which are rare even among Ethiopian restaurants. Order kitfo (if you eat raw beef), yemisir wot and sambusas. The stews are where it shines, and the coffee ceremony, roasted tableside with frankincense and served with popcorn, is worth the time.
What customers say: a clean, beautifully decorated space with Ethiopian music, excellent service, and a kind owner happy to make recommendations.
Ethiopian · Uptown · Michelin Guide
Demera Ethiopian Restaurant
Open since 2007 and recognized by the Michelin Guide for warm hospitality, house-made injera and extensive vegetarian options. Chef-owner Tigist Reda learned from the elder women in her family. First-timers love the Demera Messob (three meat and three vegetable dishes for two or three), and Michelin highlights the yesiga wot.
Good to know: live krar music on Friday and Saturday nights, vegan and gluten-free options, homemade honey wine, and a Red Line stop one block away.
Nigerian · Uptown
Nigerian Kitchen Restaurant
With 20 years of experience, Nigerian Kitchen serves jollof, coconut, fried and steamed rice, ogbono, egusi, ewedu, efo, gbegiri and ayamashi, plus sides like suya, moi moi, stockfish and snails.
What customers say: great jollof rice, chicken, fish and shrimp pepper soup, suya and plantains, plus reliable delivery. One regular calls it their favorite for iyan and efo with stew.
9 restaurants
North Side: Edgewater to West Ridge
Ethiopian restaurants along Broadway, plus Nigerian, Cameroonian, Congolese and Senegalese cooking in Rogers Park and West Ridge.
Ethiopian · Edgewater
Tesfa Ethiopian Cuisine
Started as a small Uptown spot and moved to a larger Edgewater space with white brick, chandeliers and a wooden bar. "Tesfa" means hope in Amharic. Order a combination platter sized for your group: the spiced tilapia, zil zil tibs and doro wot are standouts.
What customers say: rated 8.3 by The Infatuation and great for groups. Food is made to order (20 to 30 minutes), and gluten-free injera is available if you call a few days ahead.
Ethiopian · Edgewater
Axum Ethiopian Restaurant
Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, a full bar, a traditional coffee ceremony and a private event space for up to 100 guests. Try the vegan platter of eight dishes, including misir wot, kik alicha, shiro, gomen and beet salad, or a larger combo with doro wot, kitfo and tibs.
Ethiopian · Edgewater · Open Late
Awash Ethiopian Restaurant
A spacious room with a 50-seat communal table you can reserve for weddings, birthdays and graduations, across from Loyola. Order classics like doro wot and gomen, spicy shrimp tibs, and the elebete, a garlicky fava bean purée topped with olive oil.
What customers say: the veggie combo makes two meals when ordered to go, the fava bean spread is one of a kind, and the late hours are a bonus.
Nigerian & Cameroonian · Edgewater
Royal Africana Lounge
Nigerian and Cameroonian cooking under one roof, including egusi, ndolé, suya and achu, with live music setting the mood.
What customers say: the staff recommend egusi for newcomers, and one diner called the suya the best in Chicago. Expect a lively vibe; service can be a little slow.
Congolese & Pan-African · Rogers Park
Mama's African Kitchen (Chez Lisa Loboko)
The first Chicago location from The Best of Africa Group, which also has spots in Urbana and Champaign. Egusi soup, grilled or fried mackerel and beef stew are the most-liked, along with goat, makayabu and liboke fish. Mains come with your choice of two sides.
What customers say: a Congolese diner said it tasted just like mom's cooking, and praised the kind hosts, Congolese music and drinks like Vitalo.
Eastern Nigerian · Rogers Park
Nayo's African Cuisine
Owner Anayo Nwajiaku focuses on Eastern Nigerian flavors, with soups that are hard to find elsewhere in Chicago: ukazi, uziza, bitter leaf, white soup, and okra with ugba, plus abacha, isi ewu, nkwobi and unripe plantain porridge. Okra and ugba soup, afang soup and jollof with plantain are the most-liked online.
Senegalese · Rogers Park · BYOB
Badou Senegalese Cuisine
A Rogers Park favorite for over 10 years and a Taste of Chicago vendor. Order mafé peanut stew, yassa chicken, fataya, thiebou djeun, yassa fish and curry shrimp, and bring your own drinks.
What customers say: strong vegetarian and vegan options, and owners Badou and Paula are warm and welcoming to vegans and meat eaters alike.
Nigerian · West Ridge
Yinkres Nigerian Restaurant
Order soups like assorted meat soup and oxtail pepper soup, plus rice dishes, bean casserole with fried plantain, moi moi and fish roll.
What customers say: a friend from Nigeria said it tasted like home, pickup is fast and friendly, and one fan calls it the best jollof rice in the city.
Nigerian Street Food · West Ridge
Obalende Suya
Known for spicy suya grilled with Lagos-style heat. Beef suya, asun (peppered goat) and the jollof rice combo are the most-liked, with the Surulere mix platter, grilled tilapia and asun Indomie also popular. Dine-in Thursdays and the first Sunday of the month; other days are delivery and takeout only.
What customers say: the jollof combo is smoky and perfectly seasoned, and the food is genuinely spicy. A few reviewers felt some portions were small for the price.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
From our shelves to your kitchen
Want to Cook African Food at Home?
Found your favorite dish? Make it yourself. Yado African & Caribbean Market carries the ingredients you need for jollof, egusi, fufu, pepper soup and more, including palm oil, fufu flour, Maggi and other seasonings, spices and sauces.
Visit us at 1651 E 87th St, Chicago, IL 60617 · 872-802-4724, or shop online and get your ingredients shipped anywhere in the U.S.
Sources & Further Reading
This guide was compiled from restaurant websites, menus and ordering pages, public customer reviews, and local food coverage. Customer comments are paraphrased. Details were checked in September 2026, but hours and menus change, so contact each restaurant before visiting.
Customer sentiment was summarized from public reviews on Yelp, Tripadvisor, Uber Eats, DoorDash and review aggregators, linked on each restaurant card above. Food photos are illustrative placeholders.