Zola Cultural Kitchen — Restaurant in Mesa

Read until the end for 2nd visit update. The owner was very welcoming which I loved. As soon as we sat we were offered drinks and I was so impressed that he had kenyan Teabags so I had some hot tea. Then for starters they give you some puff puff which was presented superbly and it was delicious. So food does take a little more time than most ppl are used to but I will say it's because they cook it fresh because when the food came out it was hot and worth the wait...the food was very very good. I ate alittle bit of everything from what my friends ordered too and I loved it. The potions were good as well I left with leftovers. I personally think it was worth every cent I paid and I can't wait to go back and try some diffrent dishes. If your thinking of going for sure go I promise you it's worth the wait for it to be cooked fresh and for an amazing, friendly and informative service. Update: I went here again since u had a good experience before but things took a turn. Forget I said I don't mind the wait this time it was over and 1hr 30min, we didn't even get the puff puffs to hold us over or anything. Even with that wait we were charged full price with no remorse and the lies it's 20min then it will be out, 30min then it will b out like whaaattt. Don't come with kids here they will have killed you before food comes to the table and yall it was not even packed and on mother's day too I went through this. Eventually I chose to do it To go because I was over being there and guess what the food was not good and it was cold I trashed it. I'm highly dissapointed. I got excited...

An absolutely wonderful experience, from the food to the staff.

We ordered fufu & egusi soup, chicken wings and jellof rice. It was our first time trying West African food, and it did not disappoint! The chicken wings were perfectly crunchy and came with a fantastic onion, pepper, garlic sauce. The jellof rice was delicious, it had a wonderful tomato flavor. It came with plantains and more chicken wings (Yay!). The fufu was soft and smooth, and I was surprised that its flavor was so neutral. The egusi soup was rich and earthy, with several meats, and the waitress and staff were incredibly accommodating and understanding. When we mentioned that we could not eat beef, they kindly made the dish using meats we could eat instead.

The service was excellent, the owner himself even stopped by to chat with us. The restaurant space itself is clean and elegant. The waitress took the time to explain their dishes to us—the restaurant's passion for West African food is evident.

The egusi soup was clearly prepared with care and seemed authentic to its roots, but it wasn’t quite to our taste as we’re not accustomed to this type of cuisine. This might just be a matter of preference when it comes to our palate, rather than the quality of the dish itself. Please be...

Everyone was super friendly, and loved the smiles! Unfortunately we did not get good service or food. We were seated, offered drinks, and ordered right away. A family came in 15 min after us and ordered everything on the menu due to them blogging. After patiently waiting 45 min our food still wasn't ready, but the other party's food was coming out hot n ready back to back! Waited 15 more min and they are still bringing food out for them! Still patiently waiting, no one came to check on us the whole time to give an update or anything. Finally my friend goes and asks what's going on, 10 min past n finally our food comes out!!! The place wasn't busy until the family after us came My Egusi was a little under room temperature and my rice was cold but the pepper soup was hot thankfully but not spicy at all even after being asked what spice level we wanted it, which was very spicy as pepper soup should be. Basically ate fufu with broth but it was still good tho! Maybe if I ordered 200+ dollars worth of food we would have gotten great food and service because $80 wasn't enough to get that I guess. This place has great potential I just don't know what...