Fannie's West African Cuisine — Restaurant in Kansas City

I made a reservation online. Was told by Google I could not and needed to call. No problem, I called a guy reserved me a booth. We get there, we aren’t greeted. After standing and waiting for over five minutes, I seat myself. We are given bottles of water, so it is apparent they know we are there. Then I watch as people who came after us, got their order taken, while we were waiting still probably 20-30mins just to get our order taken. I finally give my order and emphasize that I want whole Tilapia, Jollof rice, plaintains, and sauce. I had a feel I had to do this in case the meal comes with white rice. The server reassures me, the meal comes exactly as I wanted it. We also order samosas as an appetizer. I had to return the first batch since the two were unequally filled and one was just lots of fried pastry with little meat, and the second was loaded with meat. They correct the issue, and bring more. Better than the last batch but still a little too much dough for my liking in various spots of meat pie. Then the meal comes out after waiting 40 mins. The meal initially looks attractive. I’m notice immediately no plaintains. I’m given a side of raw onions and cucumbers instead. I tell the server who was different from the man that initially took my order. She tells me they are out of plaintains. I tell her I drove 25 mins to get fish and plaintains, and that I wanted something sweet to compliment the spicy. She tells me they have nothing sweet and they are out of plaintains. I asked why wasn’t I informed of this when my order was taken, she says maybe they weren’t out then. I tell them at least give me the option to decide on a side. I ask for fufu. Never comes out, then after another 20 mins I ask a cook to bring some out. It comes out. The sauce was not spicy had to request more spice, the fish had no seasoning, (no salt shakers at table )while the samosas were almost overly seasoned. The rice was plastic like in texture with little taste. I had to stop eating the rice because something tells me this isn’t real rice. There is a difference between firm rice and plastic non bending rice. My partner ordered shrimp and chicken jollof rice. His rice is the same. Then after returning home he spends the evening throwing up what he ate. Safe to say I will never return. Very...

This review is coming from a Ghanaian who also knows how to cook the dishes on the menu. When I walked in there were only two tables being occupied. So it wasn’t busy. I wasn’t greeted, I was asked if I was picking up or dining. I said dining and then was told to pick a table. So I sat down, 15 minutes later my utensils were brought and just placed down and the waiter walked off, then 2 minutes later a bottle of water was brought to me( NO ONE THE WHOLE TIME I WAS THERE ASKED ME FOR MY DRINK ORDER!). Another 15 minutes go by and I am asked do I know what I want. Gave my order and was then told lunch is over. No where on the menu does it state lunch time frames. Sooo I ordered from the little dinner section. I ordered okra and fufu. Then I noticed in the vegetarian section, jollof so I ordered that and was told I have to order fish with it due to the dinner time. Why idk!!! The jollof alone is $18.98 and so with fried tilapia( comes with plantains) that was $25.50. I don’t understand why… I am told I can’t have just jollof(again $18.98 alone with no fish). I know with African dishes they take a while to prepare. I sat waiting for my dishes and again no one came to check on me. The food came, and the waiter just puts them down and walks away. No question of does the food look correct or anything! Ok let’s get into the taste of the food. The jollof was disgusting!!! No flavor the rice was hard! The okra also no flavor, just bland! I added a little bit of salt to bring what little flavor it had, the fufu was ok. The fried fish was ok as well. The plantains were the only thing that was good. So let’s get back to the service. My meal has come and I am trying the food, no one, NOT ONCE came to ask how the food was and if I need anything. OH I ordered my jollof and fish as a to go and they brought it out as a dish and brought me a to go container to put the food in when I mentioned to them, I didn’t want to eat it here. I was there was 1hr 30min and I left 20min after my food came. The food quality was shameful to me as an African. They are over priced on the food. And they get away with it knowing people are intrigued my African dishes. I spent $49.50...

TLDR: 10/10 delicious food and true genuine hospitality that is near impossible to find. The food here is exceptional! 3 of my friends and I were going to the shop next door and the delicious smell from outside the restaurant drew us in, and we are all so glad it did. Out of the four of us, I am the only one to have ever had authentic African cuisine so of course there were a ton of questions. Our server was beyond hospitable and patient with us, he answered every question and took the time to guide us through the menu. Since it all looked delicious and none of us could decide, we each ordered a different dish, set all of them in the middle and ate family style so we each could try it all. We got the peanut butter soup, shrimp stew, jollof rice, cassava chicken as well as the samosas and a side of plantains. The peanut butter soup was the clear standout here and something you just can’t miss if you visit this restaurant, and this is coming from someone who absolutely detests peanut butter. The samosas were seasoned to perfection and we couldn’t get enough of the red pepper sauce that was in the side. The rice served with the stew and soup was perfectly cooked and the shrimp in the stew was tender and sweet which complimented the slightly spicy red pepper sauce it was in. The plantains were grilled perfectly with just enough char to really bring out the sweetness without making them mushy. This is the type of restaurant where you can relax and spend quality time with friends and family without feeling rushed. Overall it was a 10/10 and we can’t...