Ecowas African Restaurant — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Walking in, the service was horrible. I went with 2 others and the lady at the front took the order for my friend and just went in the back to start preparing. Maybe she didn’t realize we were there to order as well. But she instead ignored us even though we were looking at the menu, which would typically mean we want to order. Here’s where it gets better. Went to the bathroom, it smelled, and there wasn’t hand soap to wash my hand. But guess what there was…shampoo. I guess that will do. There was no paper towels to dry my hands either. The wait for our food when the rest of us finally placed an order came to about 50 minutes. In the meantime, friends of the workers there came to the restaurant and one was visually drunk and I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he tried to make conversation with me and my friends. The environment is unprofessional, and unclean. The food fufu we ordered wasn’t cooked all the way. It was as if the person that made it took it off the stove midway through cooking. The acheke was good, but that’s the best I can give them considering everything else. I wouldn’t recommend this...

If you’ve never had African food before you’ll probably enjoy this place. If you have, just skip it. It’s not bad but since it’s in an area with lots of African restaurants it doesn’t hold up to the competition in the area. Emma’s is a few blocks away and sooo much better. We tried the palava sauce and the pepper soup. It was not as spicy as most West African food tends to be but came with pepper sauce on the side to turn the heat up. The food had a good flavor but it wasn’t cooked long enough for the flavor to really get into the meat & bones. The cow foot was very tough and the fish in the soup was underdone. The fufu was not mixed well. It was edible but I was disappointed knowing I could have gone somewhere else nearby for much better food. Also, The bathroom smelled horribly and when I asked for soap I was informed they had none so I had to help myself to the dish detergent sitting just outside...

(8/18/23) I unfortunately had to change my review. The young woman was going to send me off with old, nasty looking plantains until I mentioned who I was in relation to my husband (who is African and known to them), so she made new plantains and put them on top of the old ones. I was also upcharged (I questioned it and it was a sudden "change in price"). I believe in fairness across the board, and me not being born on the continent shouldn't mean I should get lower quality food. ..... (3 years ago) Their fish & plantains is pretty good. I was introduced to the meal by a friend and I have gotten hooked. The only thing is the price changes if you get the same thing one week versus another. It's a bit pricey, but there's probably a good reason for it. Overall, the meal is good with caramelized onions and mayo...