Bennachin — Restaurant in New Orleans

I visited this restaurant with a few friends and absolutely loved it! All four of us did actually.

The location is sort of like a hole-in-the-wall spot, which typically has more homemade style food. The moment you walk in the decor is filled with warm colors and beautiful paintings. Add that to antique styled decor. There was music playing, but very low to a point where you could not tell what type. It would have added something extra if it were African music and louder. Still, it didn’t take away from this experience.

I can’t recall the precise names of the dishes we ordered, but I will describe them.

Appetizer was black-eyed pea fritters. We did not like it. It tasted like hush puppies. There was the after taste of peas minutes after you consumed it.

Lamb with gravy and rice was a dish that one friend ordered. She LOVED it and said it was extremely tender. The portion size was massive.

Shrimp and broccoli with a side of spinach was the dish that another friend ordered. I sampled it and enjoyed it. It wasn’t unique. Tasted pretty similar to what you would get at a Chinese restaurant. Still delicious nonetheless.

Black-eyes peas, rice, and plantains was what another friend ordered. I’m not a fan of black-eyes peas, but I still wanted to try them and they looked AMAZING. After tasting them, I think this would be the only restaurant where I would order them. The peas had such a unique flavor and were cooked to perfection. The plantains are to die for!

I ordered beef in spinach with seasoned rice and plantains. The spinach is the most uniquely and tastiest kick I have ever had. Delicious and Devine. I too had plantains and could eat theirs everyday. The beef was not consistent in texture, however. But it was seasoned wonderfully still.

It took about 40 minutes to get our food as all of the tables were full and there was one waiter/server. She was still patient and attentive and worthy of every tip we left her.

I will absolutely return and have been telling so many people about Bennachin....

Worst service I ever had in my entire life. Poor girl, she was the only waitress for the entire restaurant on the NYE, but she could have done a way better job. First, we asked 2 times for glasses of water and glasses for the wine we brought. We even had to ask that she cleaned the table from the previews clients. When she finally comes with water, she drops an entire glass on me. It's an accident, I get that, that's just water, it's fine. I just asked for a napkin. Well, it's my friend that eventually got up to get me a napkin and my friend even cleaned the table because it was dripping water. Then she comes to take our order and I tell her I would rather have a glass of wine first because we never got one. She brings coffee mugs. I don't care drinking my wine in a coffee mug but what kind of restaurant is a BYOB without wine glasses lol Well, she brings the mugs and finally takes our order and I take the opportunity to ask her if she can refill my water because my glass is still empty. We had to ask for forks when we got our meal and we got our main dishes when we were still eating our appetizer -_- It was not just our table, let me tell you. When we were waiting to be seated, a couple left whitout ordering. When we were waiting for our meal, the table next to us were waiting for forks even though their meal was on the table. Later that night, 2 girls got in and they eventually left without eating because the waitress brought them the wrong dish two times in a row lol During the evening, I've witness another table that were waiting for forks with their meals on the table. The waitress was punching other tables on the computer instead of bringing them some forks and knives lol And they got glasses of water when they were almost done. Anyway. So that was my experience at the Bennachin, and the food is...

Deliciously inspired West African food with a southern spin at reasonable prices. A cozy and casual atmosphere with an abundant selection of vegetarian and carnivorous dishes.

I've been eating here for over a decade and I always make an effort to recommend it to visitors.

From the menu, notable appetizers include the fried plantains, the honey glazed chicken, and the black eyed pea fritters.

I wasn't a fan of plantains until I tried them here. Paired with a tomato, ginger, onion, and garlic sauce, the result is a unique and tasty flavor profile. The honey glazed chicken is blackened to perfection, basted with a honey glaze, and served on the bone.

The black eyed-pea fritters are deep-fried balls of flour. The texture is that of a hush puppy, not what you would expect from other fried bean dishes such as falafel. Delicious nevertheless.

Ndole is by far my favorite dish. The spinach mixed with ground fresh peanuts imparts an exquisite texture, but no "peanutty" flavor. I order it vegetarian, but it's also good with chunks of beef in it. The Egushu Soup is a little different, using ground melon seeds for a similar texture to the Ndole, but equally delicious.

I'm not usually a lamb guy, but the Apricot Lamb here is cooked until tender and falling apart just looking at it. Great for meat eaters.

On the lighter side, the Janga is a generous helping of shrimp, cauliflower, and carrots with a flavorful sauce of a broth-like consistency. I suggest ordering it with the Cous Cous.

Finally, the Kone ni Makondo is a great vegetarian option.

A few caveats, this restaurant is small and family owned. If you go during peak hours, expect to wait for service. Also, they do not serve alcohol, but you can BYOB. There's a convenience store across the street where you can buy...