ES African Kitchen — Restaurant in Portsmouth

Absolutely fantastic!!! Best West African food in the area!! Reminds me of Ghana, the markets, and the food stalls. I had the Jolof and Curry Goat, and I can't say enough on how good it is!! The goat is tender and packed with flavor. The rice is perfectly cooked and very well spiced. You can tell from the flavors that a great deal of love, care, and tradition go into every bite of each dish. If you haven't been here yet, you're missing out. I've seen several reviews that mention price points, and to that, I say that cassava, goat, mutton, and many of the traditional ingredients of West African food don't come cheap. The cooking processes are meticulous and time intensive, but the results are more than worth it. The smells from the kitchen evoke the streets of Kinshasa or Kumasi. Anyone who has actually traveled in West Africa will feel right at home here. The owners are wonderful people who, I feel, exemplify African culture. They are warm and welcoming and love what they do. If you are new to West African food or ethnic dishes in general, then I say to you, embrace the love and warmth of West African food!! Be not afraid or timid to explore the flavors of this mighty continent!!! This place is a culinary adventure certain to expand your palette. The only other thing I have to add is that I look forward to giving ES A African Kitchen my custom as often as I can in...

I had the peanut butter soup, okra stew and palm nut soup with fufu. They were all fairly meaty but I would have preferred more of the soup/stew and less oil. They were all very oily. I mixed the three together to make it more to my liking and was moderately satisfied but with the previously mentioned adjustments I believe I could have given 5 stars for the food. The chef was very pleasant when she brought out the food although we were a little turned around when we got to the location and it turned out to be a house with limited parking instead of the normal brick and mortar restaurant style we are used to. We were also not exactly prepared to find out after a 40 minute drive that the business did not accept card payments. I will say though that this has been one of three attempts in my quest to find good African food since we moved to this area and I will definitely try this one again. I would love to see what could be accomplished for her restaurant if she had the resources she needs to realize her full potential with this venture. I do believe an African restaurant would be a great asset for our community. I am rooting for...

They rolled up right as the doors were supposed to open with a big foil tin of food. We waited 5 mins to allow them time to get settled. A handful of the items on the menu were "not available". The jollof rice was dry and crunchy. I would have had it with chicken- but they were out. I ordered the hibiscus- but they were out. I was offered the ginger mango. It was awful. I returned it and asked for it to be removed from the bill. The server/cashier said ok. However at checkout, I had to repeatedly ask for my itemized bill, to which I noticed I was charged. Instead of removing it from the bill, the female owner found something else to charge me for. My husband enjoyed his soup. The male owner offered to give him more par gratis and we accepted. Of COURSE that is what the female owner decided, she "changed her mind" and charged us. It wasn't about the money. The food and service were subpar. The petty audacity put it over the top. Never Again. We really wanted to like and support this place, but it was overpriced and...