Trices Cafe and Lounge — Restaurant in Leon Valley

My knowledge of African cuisine — the whole, enormous, diverse continent — is not great. And as for West Africa, pretty much limited to jollof rice. At Trices, I ordered jollof rice as my safety go-to, but my super-adventurous friend decided to take a chance on several dishes that were completely unfamiliar, and we learned a lot with zero suffering.

Efo Riro is a deliciously fragrant and savory greens-based soup traditional to Yoruba cuisine in Nigeria, with a complex, herbal flavor profile, and Edikaikong is a rich, zesty, umami-redolent stew of veg and meats that comes from Efik people, also in Nigeria.

One of the dishes we decided on, kenkey, is a Ghanaian fermented corn dough, served with pepper sauce and fried fish. Both our server and Uzeme, the husband half of the proprietor couple, asked with some concern whether we had ever had it before. Never, we answered. But we stood firm.

And the pepper sauce? I’ve never had anything quite like it, and it’s so good. Intensely zesty, gingery and spicy, and deep and dark. And the flash-fried tilapia was light as a feather, and so flavorful, fresh, and moist, that my friend and I practically fought over the bones.

The fish and pepper sauce harmonized with the kenkey beautifully. The dense, earthy freshness of the corn dough, served piping hot in a corn husk, reminded me unexpectedly of my own Cherokee folks’ comforting cornpones and bean breads, which are kind of like 2nd cousins to tamales but more dumpling-like, and un-filled, but kenkey’s fermentation gives it a distinctively yummy bright tanginess all its own, too.

We got to meet and thank Elsie, (I hope if she sees this she forgives me if I’ve got the spelling of her name completely wrong), co-proprietor with her husband. She is Ghanaian, he is Nigerian. She uses her own grandmother’s cooking as inspiration — and her grandmother’s name even blesses the cafe (Trice is a nickname for Beatrice). We chatted about the miracle of cornmeal, comfort food, and grandmas.

If you happen to read this and you’re Native, and/or you traditionally eat blue corn mush, or suppawn, johnnycakes, piki, tamales or arepas, maybe you too will feel surprisingly emotional to eat a Ghanaian interpretation of a traditional staple.

Everything is made in-house, also; entrées, condiments and even the excellent, very potent, fresh ginger juice.

Trices has a happy, welcoming atmosphere, too, from the knowledgeable, friendly service, to the original art, to the amazing music. It’s a place to hang out comfortably and have a chat with a friend over delicious food, but I think it’s a great family spot too, or a date night destination, and next time I’m going to bring a huge group so that we can order and share absolutely everything and if it’s a Saturday, maybe even dance.

Trices has only been open a year. That they withstood the pandemic is a testament in itself. But Trices is one of those rare spots that deserves not just to keep going, but to be a priority. Go! Eat! Vibe! If you’re a novice like me, learn!...

Ok.. I need to be honest and candid, because I want to ensure my reviews are reputable.

I’ve been wanting to try African food for a WHILE and have seen a ton of videos of people eating fufu and wanted to try it for myself. I’ll start with this overall summary… it’s definitely an acquired taste! If you like ethnic foods like Mexican and Indian food, I think you’ll like this.

Most of our table ordered Joloff rice, because I think that’s the most accepted dish for unacquainted Americans. It’s a flavorful rice made with a tomato sauce and spices swerved with the meat of your choice. Expect it to be large pieces of meat. My wife got chicken and it was three huge drums with sauce. My brother in law got tilapia, and it was literally the whole fish chopped in two pieces, bones and all. The meat was tender and delicious though.

I wanted something with Fufu (a hammered yam dough-like ball that looks like bread and kind of has the consistency of a starchy or thick mashed potato), so they recommended the egusi soup. Wanting to really go authentic (since I love trying different foods from different cultures) I got the assorted meats, and in retrospect, I should have gone just beef or chicken. This had tripe in it, some other meat, and something I couldn’t even identify. Maybe a layer of lamb fat or something. I like menudo so I’m good with tripe, but maybe should have taken it a little easier on my first go round. You get a piece of the fufu, then soak it in the soup and grab some food, the eat it like that. Again, it really reminds me of Indian food, and I thought it was really good, but it wasn’t for everyone at the table. My wife isn’t quite as adventurous so it was a no for her. I ate every last bite lol

So I definitely recommend trying it if you’ve never had African food but are an adventurous eater and like to try new things! Service was friendly and nice and the food was...

Very unsatisfactory! We waited for over 1hr, no food, not even water, no nothing. We came from out of town looking for some african delicacies. We entered here with all enthusiasm. The waiter took our orders immediately. He got too comfortable speaking ill of another family with children (strike one). Now appetizer/small chop ordered with main meal all at once. 15/20 mins no water yet, no status update. 50 mins later, we approach the waiter and he requested for 8 more minutes. 10 mins later appetizer arrives, looks great, but can't chew it, too hard (jaw breaker) and very spicy( against our request). 1hr 10mins after arrival, i think we have been very patient. We tried to pay for appetizers only and we were met with unrelated speech. we still did not get our food upon checking out and he tried to add it to the bill. If you choose to go, I advise to bring your own snacks or feed the kids before coming. This is not somewhere to go while hungry. Now, I know why the family we met there were aggressive and angry. The service was literally just bad and the kids were hungry from not eating.

In all, go at your own risk. but bring some snacks and water. But I WILL NOT RECOMMEND. THE ONE STAR IS AN UNDESERVED COMPLIMENT.

ABEG Carry...