Wau kitchen. (The House of Afro-Fusion) — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Authentic & delicious, excellent value, great atmosphere

This is the best new find in Brisbane.

Let’s start with the basics/fundamentals:

Cuisine - African fusion. A different take on traditional African cuisine. It’s authentic and interesting!

Location - 536 Main Street, Kangaroo Point. (For years this space was occupied by a pretty basic and somewhat dodgy/greasy fast food place.) On a high traffic road, so there is a bit of traffic noise during the day. Less at night. But frankly, I stopped noticing after a while.

Price range - OMG super cheap for what you get! Starters are about $6-$7. Mains are about $17.50 to $24. Most are on the cheaper side.

Opening hours - check their website (esp during COVID-19 days). But generally open for lunch and dinner Thursday to Sunday.

COVID-19 safe - yes. And they have the most wonderful and delicious smelling spray hand sanitizer on each table.

Alcohol - they serve alcohol (including some tasty cocktails) but are also BYO. Beers and wines are local. I love that they stock SeaLegs beer - the brewery is literally just down the road, under the Storey Bridge. The first time I came, the beer and white wine was not cold. Afterwards I suggested that they needed the refrigerator in which they store the drinks to be colder. The second time I came back the beer was perfectly chilly. 👍

Reservations - they take (and recommend) reservations but my second visit I was a walk-in and they happily accommodated me even though they were near capacity.

Family friendly - yes.

Groups? - yes, but book. There is limited space.

Cleanliness - yes. Everything was clean. The bathrooms too.

Ambience and design - they have done really well with the design, especially given what the place used to be like. They have been thrifty but it’s worked. The feel and ambience is casual but funky. For a moment you forget that you’re on Main Street. Great background music. Tip: the free standing chairs (not bench chairs) need a cushion. They have cushions handy, so if your chair doesn’t have one, just ask.

Now the important things:

Food quality - this is where they get my 5 stars! My god, every dish I have tasted has been delicious. My friends have also agreed. Not one complaint or reservation. Not even from my fussy friends. I’m always reluctant to pick favourites but if I had to, then I would say the garlic chapati for starters (OMG, the best I’ve ever tasted!), for mains the Mashi (stuffed capsicum), the Misir and the Afro-Moqueca. My friends rave about the Boerewors and the Fried Tilapia Fish. However, a word of warning: If you’re precious about your fish (eg bones etc), maybe try one of the other amazing dishes. The fish dishes are for those who don’t mind navigating around the bones and scales.

Value for money - did I mention how cheap this place is?! Well, it is! The baked fish or fried fish is enough to feed two people and it’s $22.

Service - Be patient and understanding with them. They are new and they have employed people who might not be experienced wait staff. But they are supporting the neighbourhood and local people by employing them, even if not qualified. I can give you examples, but you know what, you should just experience it yourself and count yourself lucky to be part of a new, raw and interesting restaurant. It’s a wonderful experience. This probably also extends to a bunch of other little things. Like the beer glasses don’t actually fit a whole 375ml can of beer in them, their menu is on their website and they refer you to that when you order (although, I don’t mind this - I think it is more environmentally friendly), both times I was there they only had one chef so warned about delays up front (but neither time was the wait long, and I actually like not to feel rushed anyway), they don’t give you fresh wine or beer glasses unless you ask (again, I’m cool with this!) ....

Overall - this restaurant is a real gem in the rough! Go there and experience it while you can. Your life will be just a little more...

Never been to their previous location in Kangaroo Point but their new home in the heart of Chinatown is not really somewhere I would have expected to find an Afro-fusion restaurant. Taking up residence in the Super Room of The Palace Lounge (with access to the terrace balcony and its own private bar), don’t be surprised to see a projector and karaoke setup, along with disco ball lighting.

The menu features a selection of dishes from various African nations, and we were guided by the staff’s suggestions as I have minimal experience with the cuisine of that continent.

We went with: fried chicken, $15 - chicken wings dipped in coconut milk then dusted in Wau's dry Jollof mix nyama choma [origin: Kenya] $26 - char-grilled rib eye steak marinated in fresh garlic, paprika, curry, turmeric, Ginger & rosemary, Served with black eye peas and plantain. maafe [origin: Mali], $22 - juicy chicken thighs served in a creamy peanut butter & capsicum soup. Served with your choice of rice or chapati

The standout for me was the nyama choma - it may look like a sea of brown, and the steak could have done with less grilling, but taste wise I quite enjoyed the combination of the savoury steak and peas, complemented by the sweetness from the plantain. Speaking of which the plantain gave me goreng pisang vibes, so bonus points for that.

Worth a try if you’re looking for something a bit different to the usuals. You may also be able to get a a discount via Eatclub...

Always will love the food here, especially the fish. 4th time here. I booked online and the booking apparently wasn't there, I sent IG message shortly after the booking to advise that the group was big and I asked if they were they fully booked as the last time I had come, we loved the food but the service was very slow and could they accommodate? That IG was not answered, seen, but not answered. I sent another one earlier on day of booking to advise needed to make booking larger by 2 and received a response straight away that it was fine, come through. Met by your new manager who explained there was no booking and then how online bookings and confirmation work, that they got the IG message but not the booking, and then after all of that advised we could be accommodated. Food was delicious! But the service for everything was extremely slow this time, example - a can of pale ale took 35mins to make it to the table, we came up to get it because no one had come back out. way more than before. The payment at the end was muddled with extra dishes and extra drinks. Each time with a big group. Will try again next year for an overall great experience to...