Mariama's African and Jamaican Restaurant — Restaurant in Harrisburg

This place is amazing to eat good cooked food! However, the last time I went there a short cut was taken making the fufu. Honestly that changed the dynamics of our entire family outing . Not only was it that the oxtails were tough and too much curry seasoning was used , and the rise and beans were mushy and overcooked. The owner had several conversations with the cooks about various things in their language , but one thing that stayed the same was the poor quality of the fufu because of the shortcut taken . Unfortunately in central Pennsylvania there are not a lot of authentic restaurants anymore because the economy is bad and things cost more to make and people don’t want to pay . My husband i are always willing to spend $80 -$100 each time we go there (which has only been twice ) my husband felt they should’ve not charged us full price if they had to take a short cut with the fufu he’s of a very different culture and he went there so let because he has an amazing cultural experience last time with the fufu and other food items. Maybe I don’t understand the culture but from what I do understand fufu can be made with more than pounded yam but from what I understand pounded yam is the most authentic . So the real issue is we fell in love with the authenticity of this restaurant. I’m pretty confident this was just a situation where they’re having some problems and they’re having to do what they have to do . That’s understandable but sometimes changing the quality of ingredients of a main menu item can ruin the experience. So about $20 worth of food was wasted because of the taste of the fufu was clearly instant mashed potatoes that was used (not sure assuming ) instead of pounded yam . In their defense the owner did try to fix it but because of the instant mashed potatoes no matter what she did it was still not firm enough to hold the soup without breaking and melting in your mouth . I’ll be back again because there’s no place like them . Hoping things are better next time ! My family doesn’t want to go back but I have faith in this restaurant . And this review comes from a solid place of love . I won’t post photos of the wasted food because to me that’s overkill...

My husband and I traveled from York because I was craving African food and saw how highly rated this place was. The food was not a disappointment in the least; it was absolutely delicious. The customer service and dining experience, however, was absolutely horrible. Upon arriving, individuals who didn't even work there were yelling at us telling us where the menus were. Being that we were dining in, I thought it would be more appropriate for us to be seated by an employee and brought a menu and offered drinks. We grabbed a menu and seated ourselves. The table wasn't cleaned properly, but we decided not to make a big fuss over it. A few minutes later, a woman asked us if we were ready to place an order. We told her that we weren't ready yet. She told us to come and get her when we were. That was a third strike for unprofessionalism. I am paying to dine in, which means I don't feel like cooking. I feel like and am paying to be cooked for. I should not have to leave my seat to let you know that I am ready to order. Did she also expect us to retrieve our food? Lastly, the friends of the employees (who were not dining in, just hanging out) were so loud, rude, and obnoxious that another couple who ordered their food to dine in ended up taking it to go. My husband and I would have preferred to just take our food to go, but if was absolutely pointless to wait a half hour to eat until we got back home. We certainly did not expect quiet, but we did expect to enjoy our meal. We traveled (which included driving, parking, and walking for 25 minutes) all that way to enjoy delicious food, and we couldn't enjoy it because of the noise level. The owner spent time talking to all of the friends she had hanging out, and didn't even come over to ask how we were enjoying our meal. I don't believe we will be returning, which is ashame because the food truly was delicious. I hope that in the future this restaurant will do better at making sure their guests are pleased with their...

The food is really good here. I wouldn't say it's the best in the area, but it is delicious. As said in a previous review they do not have professional manners. I wouldn't recommend dinning in or even walking in to place a go go order. Every time I walked in to make a take out order they didn't have what I wanted. It's almost like they cook whatever they want that day or whenever they feel like cooking a certain item that's when it's available. So if you're craving good Jamaican/African food in the harrisburg area call ahead of time before getting your hopes up and if you're lucky they will have it made or will let you know when it will be ready (could be hours from then). There is a great place in York called Little Jamaican cuisine that I prefer over this, it's a shame bc this one is so much...