Golden Safari — Restaurant in Hayward

Got there at 2:15 with my parents after an appointment. Got a menu and sat. The lady explained the dishes asked about. I read to call ahead an hour, but you can't do that if you never had that type of food.

The restaurant is decorated nice. Clean, nice art on the walls. Simple, but perfect. 2 televisions to watch while waiting.

We ordered the egusi with beef, comes with fufu, jolloff, beans(black eyes peas), small side of plantains, goat.

We waited at least an hour, if not more. They give you napkins, forks and forks and spoons.

Cost us a whopping $82 + change for 3 people.

We get the food home.

We went here because the rave my son gave it.

The egusi, good, I got mild and my parents got spicy. Thank God for a place that offers that. Everyone called eat spicy. The beef in the egusi was tough. My parents confirmed it was spicy.

Jolloff rice was good. Now, had we know how much you get in the container, we would have been good with 2, as the price was expensive.

The beans....mom hated it. I didn't care for it either. No seasoning, definitely no salt and didn't seemed cooked all the way. Previously, my son raved about them. Guess we went the wrong day. Small container. After the next day, after heating up and little seasoning, definitely tasted better.

The goat- I thought it was good, my mom didn't like it. Just got a side.

The plantains-They were terrible. Didn't even share with my parents, they were so bad. Didn't taste fresh AT ALL. Tasted like cooked the prior day and maybe under a heat lamp, if that. I felt not even a airfryer could help.

In the end too expensive for what we got. As long as we waited, should have been...

I love African food, particularly Ethiopian and Somalian food. Recently I started branching out and trying other African cuisine.

Meat pie - good but dry. Was premade then not heated very warm. It still tasted good but maybe I'd ask them to heat it up more.

Tomato stew with goat - spicy - came with fufu - delicious. We soaked up every last drop.

To the guy who was challenged by the texture of fufu, maybe you ate it just by itself? It's much better soaked in stew. Tastes like mashed potatoes with sauce instead of gravy. I think that, like white rice, it's meant to be a base for your entrees, not a side dish to be eaten alone (correct me if I'm wrong).

Plantains - delicious - crispy and dry rather than moist as you would get in Caribbean/Latin food - but in a good way (I like both styles).

Suup! soursop soda - reminded me of the solution kids use to blow bubbles, only sweet instead of soapy.

I don't understand the complaints about small portions. The portions may look small by volume, but like Indian food, it is deceptively filling. The above was enough to make both of us full, and we have big appetites. Plus we had not eaten all day so we were starving by dinnertime.

Update: 8 months later: Takeout only after 6:50pm if not earlier. Egusi here is better than others I've had in...

I was excited to learn about Golden Safari from a Nigerian coworker. I spent my early childhood in Nigeria, West Africa and grew to enjoy the food there. I visited again in 2015 for my brother's wedding and the food was just as delicious as I remembered it to be!

I was familiar with many of the food options at Golden Safari from Suya to Moin Moin, Puff Puff to fried plantain, and Egusi soup to Jollof Rice. Perhaps because the restaurant advertises itself as "West African" (and not specifically Nigerian) and is catering to a broader American palate their food was not as bold and flavorful as it could have been. I quickly noticed the portions were rather small for the price point. My Egusi Soup was a little too soupy (needs more Egusi seed I think). The FuFu was very good. The plantain was spot on! The Suya was also good, I wish I had ordered it full spicy rather than medium spicy though... could hardly taste the spice. If I may also make a recommendation, serve the Suya with freshly chopped cabbage... delicious!

So far this the closest thing I've found in the SF Bay Area to what I had growing up. If you are looking for West African cuisine, try it out!

I'm still giving it 3 stars for now, but I'm willing to give it...