Kings and Queens Liberian Cuisine — Restaurant in Upper Darby

I Initially discovered the restaurant via @jljupiter's food Vlog. I was excited about trying the food and supporting an African business. Unfortunately, the food was average and not up to our expectations.

My family and I were visiting from New Jersey and decided to dine at Kings and Queens after touring Philly. Our first impression was disapproving.The hostess was UNPLEASANT. According to the hostess, same day dining was unavailable without making reservations online. We weren't aware of this policy until arriving.(Keep in mind I attempted to call several times prior to arriving at the restaurant to inquire about reservation policy but I got placed on hold, phone line disconnected or no one pick up). However,we noticed the upstairs area had 2 open tables. When asked if they were reserved, we were told no.So we weren't sure why we couldn't be seated without all the drama about reservations. We were finally able to make a same day reservation after several failed attempts due to internet connection. First impression of the upstairs area: small but clean. Loved the choice of Afrobeats music and the African inspired sculptures decor. DISLIKED: 1. waited 1 hr for appetizers ( ordered 2 meatpies and plaintain with onion sauce- NOT SURE WHY IT TOOK 1 HOUR!). By the time we received our appetizers we were semi-full with our drinks. Found hair embedded in one of the meat pies! It was not a proper dining experience. We had to keep getting the attention of the staff in passing. No one came to check on us after finishing dinner. We waited awhile and finally decided to go downstairs and pay our bill. Phone kept ringing without any attention Tables next to us were left uncleaned...long enough for us to notice and become bothered.

Perhaps they need to be properly staffed and trained on providing adequate dining experience for their customers. After all, the name of the Restaurant is Kings and Queens, but proper dining etiquette was not portrayed. Overall, we were disappointed and will not be revisiting.

Food ordered: Entree:Jollof Rice( 4/10), fried snapper ( 5/10), acheke with bone-in- lamb cubes ( 5/10), country dry rice ( 6/10)

Apps: Beef meet pies and plantain

Drinks: The royal punch ( 7/10) nice...

I’m rating this restaurant a well deserving 5 because of the overall professionalism and hospitality, being a very proud African Woman. I already knew what to expect as far as food, flavor, and spices. However, the Owner Sahmed and his wonderful staff has definitely stepped it up a couple of notches in overall dinning experience. I was greeted like a Queen from the door and before seated I was already descriptively told what was the special of the day and recommended a couple of different options off the menu. If I wasn’t african and oblivious to african food, coming here would’ve definitely put me at ease everything was particularly understood! I already had my heart set out on their mouth watering Appetizers cassava fries and sautéed onions with my main dish, their deep fried and delicious Talapia fish with their very sweet but spicy pepper sauces alongside with the atcheke and fish my cousin had their seafood restaurant potatoe greens. This is a BYOB so it went really well with some wine from the local wine and spirits not too far from the shop. We both had great amount of food in portions with plenty for left overs. Which I was even more excited about! I will definitely be back here and I look forward to trying their cocktails as well next time. This is what black excellence in the making looks like to me! This Restaurant makes me proud to support...

Just ordered from this restaurant because I really liked the food the first time, I had lamb which was absolutely awesome, and They made sure I have plantains because the food is spicy with the sauce and the plantains calms the heat down, because I went inside and waited. The 2nd time was a phone order and they were soon closing so I ordered over the phone BIG MISTAKE. Everything was dry and again they forgot my plantains. Ok so everyone has an off day plus it was late so I move on. Today I probably was one of the first orders since they open at 12 and I called at 11:03 order the red snapper like they have on their Instagram and like Saud has the other day. This snapper is dry, no peppers or onions and honestly I’m not sure if it’s fresh. I know fish. The country rice is totally different and the collards .... smhh is not worth what they charge and again NO PLANTAINS AND WHEN I called back after spending 34.00$ on this meal I was told I didn’t ordered plantains and i wasn’t charged for them. Honestly I will never order again because 1 day is excusable but this is the second time and if this was cooked today which I doubt, y’all need another cook along with an ordered taker. I am very disappointed that i have to throw 30$ worth of food away. The rice bread was the best item. Sorry I don’t have...