African in Phoenix

1740 E. McDowell Rd. Central Phoenix

602-252-2286

During the pandemic, most restaurants switched from full service to takeout. At Authentic EthioAfrican on McDowell Road, the team did just the opposite. During the downtime, the restaurant transformed from a takeout-only spot into a sit-down destination complete with wooden furniture and decor brought directly from Ethiopia, a new cocktail list and a traditional coffee service. Individual meals are offered, but we recommend bringing some friends as sharing is the way to go. Combinations are served with an array of colorful dollops on a massive round plate and include meat and vegetarian options with tangy, rich stews. Try the spicy chicken doro wot, aromatic collard green gomen or garlic-laden lentil meser wot. A salty and creamy homemade cheese adds a cool bite to the hot entrees, and everything is served with fluffy, slightly sour, bubbly injera, a flatbread that is at the center of Ethiopian cuisine.

8 articles

AZ Wine Co.

2515 N. Scottsdale Rd., #15 North Scottsdale

480-423-9305

African, Breakfast, Wine Bar, Recommended, Best Of

You'd never know to look at it, but this unassuming little storefront is home to Arizona's largest wine distributor, where the Valley's most dedicated wine enthusiasts gather to taste and buy more than 2,000 vintages hailing from 13 countries. From economical to extravagant, from old favorites to unconventional finds, AZ Wine Co. has it all-as well as employees happy to help you figure out the best Beaujolais for your palate, and whether you like Burgundy or Blush.

2 articles

Cafe Lalibela

849 W. University Dr. Tempe

480-829-1939

Ethiopian, African, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow, Essentials

No one lives in Tempe for long without hearing, "You've got to try Cafe Lalibela." The husband-and-wife-run Ethiopian restaurant has occupied a strip mall suite for decades. Serving some of the best African food in all of metropolitan Phoenix, the eatery specializes in vegetarian dishes (though several meat items are on the menu) and is known for teaching many Arizona State University students about the importance of injera and wat. Injera, or a flat sourdough bread made with teff, is served with most orders. And wait till you try this wat. The Ethiopian stew comes spicy or not, meatless or not, but we recommend the key sega wat (spicy beef stew). Do not fear, possibly unadventurous eaters: The menu comes with a glossary. The cozy, carpeted dining room welcomes customers, and Cafe Lalibela also offers curbside pickup.

23 articles

Couscous Express

1915 E. McDowell Rd. Central Phoenix

602-252-7777

African, Best Of

2 articles

Habbouz Tunisian Cuisine

7816 N. 27th Ave. North Phoenix

480-626-7842

African

Habbouz Tunisian Cuisine, a small, family-owned eatery located just off the I-17 in north Central Phoenix, bills itself as Phoenix’s first and only Tunisian restaurant. Luckily, there’s more to recommend this no-frills eatery than pure novelty. Owner and chef Nabiha delivers spicy, fragrant dishes like ajja merguez, a lamb sausage and egg dish served in a mildly spicy tomato and harissa sauce. Kebabs, made from a chili-spliced blend of minced lamb and beef, are fall-apart tender and juicy. You shouldn’t miss the house couscous, which is steamed to a light, fluffy finish and spiked with harissa hot sauce. Chef Nabiha often offers complimentary desserts to guests, including a wonderfully flaky, honey-and-pistachio baklawa.

2 articles

Jollof King

325 W. Elliot Rd. Tempe

480-550-7292

African, Menu, Slideshow

The exterior is pure strip mall, the interior is modern and sleek, and the setup is quick-service and buffet style. But the food from the 2018-established Jollof King in south Tempe goes back generations and generations in west Africa, with a few personal touches from the cooks and owners. The two-page menu features Ghanaian food with a few Nigerian flourishes. Before entering, prepare yourself for hits of ginger, garlic, guinea pepper, alligator pepper, and Maggi in the various entrees, stews, soups, dumplings, and starches like Jollof rice. Orders can include chicken, beef, tilapia, or goat, yes, but also banku or fufu — both west African-style dumplings of sorts. These colorless balls made from corn or yam, plantain, or even oatmeal are beautifully accompanied by the eatery’s oily, fragrant stews, the dumplings working like an edible utensil. Plus, there’s peanut butter soup here. It’s unassuming, yes, but Jollof King has some of the best samplings of west African offerings in the Valley.

2 articles

Juba Restaurant

5050 E. McDowell Rd. East Phoenix

602-244-1206

African, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Menu

The prize of the Somali community in Phoenix, located in a strip mall they should start calling Little Mogadishu to reflect not only the demographics of the shop owners, but also of the residents of the surrounding area. The recently refurbished interior is clean and pleasant, and the food is outstanding with a two-section menu: a large Middle Eastern section with kebab, hummus and so on; and a smaller, yet more popular Somali section with exotic combos such as sukhaar (stewed chunks of beef served with aromatic basmati rice) or pasta saldatto (spaghetti served with a similar stew of beef and tomatoes), which reflects the Italian colonial influence on Somali culture. Two must-tries: the cinnamony-sweet Somali iced tea, and the sanbusas (Somali versions of Indian samosas). Goat meat is good here, too, but may not be for everyone.

3 articles

Kare Ethiopian Restaurant

4729 E. McDowell Rd. East Phoenix

602-354-5782

Ethiopian, African

1 article

Love Cuisine

3633 W. Camelback Rd., 7 West Phoenix

602-995-2015

African, Caribbean, Best Of

In-the-know diners come to this well-regarded ethnic diner for authentic African cuisine with Caribbean influences. African food is traditionally very spicy, but one can adjust the heat on pretty much every dish. Equisi soup, a slow-cooked Nigerian concoction featuring pounded yam and rich chunks of goat, is a winner. Likewise the thyme-infused oxtail soup, a hard-to-find delicacy made with onions, whole tomatoes, slivered red pepper, and enough oxtail to count as an entrée. First-timers might start out with the Love’s sampler platter, with juicy buffalo wings, nicely charred jerk chicken, and four pof-pofs, unsubtle Nigerian delicacies that are hush puppy-like balls of dough, crispy on the outside, dense, hot and sweet on the inside. Made from flour, sugar, butter, and nutmeg, they’re addicting.

9 articles

Max’s Mukhaase

1245 W. Guadalupe Rd. Mesa

480-471-6022

African

Max’s Mukhaase is a family-run restaurant in Mesa specializing in the hearty, wholesome fare of west Africa, with special emphasis on traditional Ghanaian dishes. Most dishes on the menu are well-balanced with a starch, protein and veggies. You’ll find traditional starches like banku, which is made from fermented corn and cassava, which is served alongside an excellent okra stew. There’s also fufu, a stretchy, starchy mound of fermented dough that is immersed in a light, tomato goat stew. The goat, judging from the way the meat slides right off the bone, is slowly simmered for hours, and the fufu acts as kind of a sponge, nicely soaking up the garlicky and herbaceous broth.

Monkey Pants Bar & Grill

3223 S. Mill Ave. Tempe

480-377-8100

American, Burgers, African, Bars and Clubs, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow, Readers' Choice

Miss the old frat house? You'll swear you've stepped into old Omega Alpha Etcetera when visiting this peculiar Tempe tavern. Perhaps it's the cardboard portrait of Princess Leia stapled to the wall or the thrift-store décor of mismatched furniture and odd tchotchkes that give Monkey Pants its frat-house vibe. The wait staff shouts "Hello!" as you enter, and will even give you an unusual nickname (like "Goosey Lucy" or "Gorgeous George") even if you don't want one. There's plenty of wacky fun to be had during the week, including goldfish races, crotch-kicking contests, and such theme nights as Sombrero Sundays and Mustache Mondays. This place is off-kilter and off the hook, to say the least.

16 articles

Waamo

5050 E. McDowell Rd. East Phoenix

602-244-1206

Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, African, Best Of

Some hidden gems are known in certain food circles, and others are more like the Somali eatery Waamo Restaurant: more truly hidden. Marked by a loud green-and-white sign, Waamo buzzes, nevertheless. Inside its yellow-lighted, yellow-painted dining room, there's multilingual conversation, regulars cradling hot coffee, and often a takeout logjam. A mango smoothie and chapati wrap cost just $10 and change. The smoothie is simple and on target, perfectly tropical and refreshing. Waamo does other drinks well, too, including a sweet black tea warmly spiced and scented with lemon. The wrap goes big — about a foot long and stretched with filling, walls thick, hot, and doughy. They are the puffy flatbread chapati, also known as roti. Potatoes, chopped juicy chicken, and green peppers make for a simple, stellar filler. A seedy, fruity hot sauce comes on the side. Waamo's food travels from East Africa to across the Mediterranean. It does best, though, when sticking to Somalia. The specialty is Somali-style halal goat, richly satisfying, plenty of muted gaminess left intact. Waamo also deep-fries beef sambusas, a Somali pastry. There is a slapdash flow to a meal at Waamo, a little chaotic yet endearing. Basheir Elmi's restaurant is warm and comforting, even if it's off the radar of the Phoenix foodie crowd.

3 articles

West African Cuisine

7017 N. 19th Ave. West Phoenix

602-813-9025

African

1 article

Zanzibar African Restaurant

9250 N. 43rd Ave. Glendale

623-939-0800

African, Restaurants

African in Phoenix

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