These hidden gems serve West African dishes you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else

Casual diners and takeout in Washington, DC

By: Harrison Smith, March 23, 2017, Washington Post  |  Photo Credit: Deb Lindsey/For the Washington Post

Washington’s African restaurant scene has long been dominated by platters of spongy injera bread, sauteed beef tibs and stewed greens — Ethio­pian and Eritrean dishes that have become almost as much of a regional staple as the chili-soaked half-smoke.

But on the other side of the continent, in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria, is a wholly different style of cooking. In place of injera is doughy fufu, torn and dipped in bowls of okra or cassava-leaf stew. Stewed goat or whole fish is served atop beds of rice cooked with onion and tomato. The soup of the day is hot pepper, and the pepper, always, is Scotch bonnet.

Appioo specializes in classics from Ghana. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post).

The Washington area is home to several West African gems, mostly hidden — in some cases across the street from Ethio­pian competitors. Unlike many of those East African restaurants, though, these no-frills diners and takeout joints have no lines or wait times — at least, not yet. So sit down for a rich, hearty meal, often served by the owners themselves, who are ready to share suggestions for dishes you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

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