Akwaba Restaurant — Restaurant in Aurora

I’m only giving 5 stars because I love to support my people. But honestly my visit here deserves 3 at most. All 3 stars are for the deliciousness of the food. I went in with my cousin first time last week. There was only 2 other tables sitting. The space is very open. Has lots of potential to be busy. Smells great. However, when I first got inside. The waitress was so unapproachable we were questioning if she even worked there. The busboy was high enough to start walking on clouds. He brought silverware with his car keys and my fork in the same hand which is so unsanitary where do I begin ?? And it was VERY obvious he did not change his gloves during the whole duration of our visit. The table had no napkins the whole time and was half way wiped down, didn’t even get offered a refill. The waitress again was very unknowledgable about the menu it’s ridiculous.could barely answer questions or describe a menu item to someone who has never been to a restaurant like this. Do you even want a tip? Having a vague idea of each item you’re selling is ideal, but to have no knowledge shows you don’t care to be here and is ridiculous. Especially if you want repeat customers. NOONE in the WHOLE restaurant apparently was aware they have crab meat listed as an option on the menu. Another worker challenged us to actually find where it says “add extra meat or crab for $— more” on the menu. He was dumbfounded when we pointed it out... unprofessional. In other words although it says crab meat on the menu, They don’t actually carry crab meat, or even know their menu. The food took 1.5 hours. Which is no problem for me who has more patience than anyone and can understand good food takes time and it does nothing to complain about the wait. While we were waiting so many tables got up walked out (not because of the wait, but no one ever came and introduced themselves, offered them something to drink..nothing) and the employees didn’t even seem to care. The food took 1.5 hours. And the fufu came out cold like it came straight out the fridge. I had got something with chicken and lots of spice. Very delicious ! Even though I requested chicken the soup tasted like lamb. Which tells me they’re back their mixing meats in the soup. Not only unprofessional but why offer the option of beef lamb or chicken if you cook with all 3 anyway ?? Took 30 minutes to get the bill... The fastest action the waitress did our whole visit was take my credit card. Hmm. The service was subpar. The only one I seen actually doing something was the older gentleman who seemed to be the owner and I feel bad for him for having to do everything. I hope this place is just a newer business and their service and knowledge of their own menu will increase as time goes on. But I won’t be back. Wish this...

I've been wanting to try African food for a very long time but living in Colorado Springs it's just a far drive. I just so happened to be in the area so I finally got to try fufu. I wasn't sure what else I wanted so I asked the young man who was taking the orders and he pretty much recommended everything so I ordered what seemed to be a popular pick on Google which is the egusi "soup" with chicken. I write "soup" because the egusi was thicker in texture in my opinion that I'd say it's more of a stew and of course fufu. He told me there are 3 types of fufu and he recommended the yam fufu. The flavor or lack there of flavor of the yam fufu is that of beaten up rice. It paired very well with the super flavorfulness of the egusi. The egusi had a lot of spices to it that I would have probably enjoyed it more without the chicken. I also ordered the grilled chicken with jollof rice for my husband. It came with a dipping sauce that had a nice low heat, it paired well with the chicken. My husband enjoyed the colorful "salsa" that was on top of the chicken. I write "salsa" because it looks like Mexican Pico de gallo. The only downside is that it took a very long time for me to get my food. From when I ordered until I was able to pay and leave, I took my food to go, it was about 45 minutes on a Wednesday afternoon. There was one group of 4 there and that was it. BUT I understand that they make the food fresh as possible and there was probably only one person cooking in the back. My overall opinion is the main dishes have a lot of great flavor and I'm so happy I finally got to try African food. I'd come back only if I was in the area and had at least 2 hours to eat as it took a while to...

Ordered ahead because I was superrr hungry and saw the reviews mentioning that the food is cooked to order (which is great!) but can sometimes take 1hr to receive. The woman who answered the phone didn’t seem to know the menu well and had to get someone else on the phone to answer my Qs. Even though I called in my order 20min before arriving, I dined in with my husband and the food arrived ~10min or so after we got to the restaurant, which I was happy about.

Food: We got the whole Red Snapper which included 1 side- fried plantain + a small scoop of tomatoes, onion, and cucumber | then 2 egg rolls as an appetizer to eat (I tried to add a salad or some kind of vegetable as a side but they didn’t have ANY options for fresh vegetables or a salad other than the diced cucumber tomatoes. To drink we got the ginger drink (VERY strong ginger) & hibiscus drink (a bit too sweet, but good). I thought that everything was very fairly prices. The whole fried snapper was DELICIOUS- flaky, well seasoned, and perfectly cooked. I also really liked the sauce included on the side.

General/ Vibes: Not sure if the AC wasn’t working properly but it was pretty hot inside. Not unbearable but definitely not comfortable. I did appreciate that there were 2 sinks with hand soap available in the dining area to easily wash hands before/ after eating.

Would definitely come back to eat here again (after having a salad elsewhere...