Stango Cuisine — Restaurant in Champaign

Tl;dr: Definitely worth the trip 👍👍 The majority of things I tried were delicious and well seasoned, though there are I couple things I wouldn't order again. When I return I'll order the Goat with plantains and greens and the Chios Platter.

Pros: The goat was absolutely delicious, possibly the best I've ever had. The oxtail was also very good. We also tried the Emma's Platter, all the sides were delicious. The greens were delicious and paired well with the goat. The yams were well seasoned and rich. The plantains were wonderful and cooked perfectly.The nshima was tasty and was a nice vehicle for everything. I hadn't tried it before and expected it to be more like fufu or garri, but it wasn't as "doughy" so it wasn't as good for scooping but still worked similarly.

Cons: The Stango Beef pie was so overcooked and dry. It was pretty burnt on the bottom, and seemed like it maybe had been under a heat lamp all day? If you got one earlier in the day, your experience might be better. The chicken curry and beef stew were both kind of dry, I probably wouldn't order them again. And I feel like the portion sizes could be a touch larger for the price. For 3 people we ordered 2 entrees and 2 Emma's Platters and it was barely enough food,...

First, when we walked in they had a TV with music playing and the TV was displaying imagery sexualizing a woman that went along with the song that was playing. That shouldn't be in a restaurant.

Second, when ordering I ordered the "comfort Mac and cheese" and they instead charged me for a "kids Mac and cheese" which was an extra dollar. Also the special vegan challenge menu does not allow for any substitutions and requires you to get all 3 courses which was frustrating.

Third, it took over half an hour for them to make our food.

Fourth, when we got home with the takeout they forgot one entire entree: the Mac and cheese! We called them but it was a few minutes after they closed so they didn't answer. We tried to go back and knock on the door but half an hour after they closed they had already left.

The only good thing was the food we did actually get was pretty good. Still, we will not...

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO EAT HERE. I’ve lived in the area for years and just had this for the first time. Probably one of the most underrated restaurants in the whole Urbana-Champaign area. As someone from Brazil I will say these flavors reminded me of home a bit.

I had the oxtail with beans and rice, a side of fried plantains, beef pie, ginger tea and beignets. Everything was on point, delicious and freshly made.

If you have not tried Zambian food before and you enjoy Mexican or general Latin American flavors this will hit a lot of those cravings. If you are still not sure whether to go, remember this is the ONLY Zambian restaurant in all of North America, so an experience few have had/will have the pleasure...