Zion Kitchen — Restaurant in Washington

I came to this place with the intent of ordering a take out entree or 2. I was kind of desperate since my first choice restaurant was closed for repairs. First thing I noticed upon arrival was a limited number of staff. Only one lady was stuck with the responsibility of taking orders, collecting payment and making the orders. 2nd thing that stood out to me was the absence of any menu or price list. Anyone ordering would have to tell the cashier what they wanted. She would then ring up the item along with a price that had no visible reference point. Sure no problem. Fourth thing I noticed was that all the food was laid out in buffet style trays. In such situations you do not know how long the food has been sitting. Freshness thus becomes negotiable. The next thing that I noticed was the exorbitant pricing of the food items. Couldn't help but observe how costly each item was in comparison to other restaurants I have frequented. The points I observed did not prevent me from moving forward with my order since I was desperate to get the food to the family member who was craving it. I made my payment and proceeded to watch the cashier as she gathered the individual items while a line formed behind me. I asked the cashier to parse my order into 2 bags and as I did so I got a rude shock. A customer who had seen enough of me getting served, raised her voice and demanded that the cashier give me my plastic bag so I could bag my own food items. I turned around and asked in bewilderment why she would say that. The customer proceeded to tell me that if I didn't move out of the way she would get her man from the car to come l blow my head off. She proceeded to yell all kind of expletives at me, while I made my case about why I didn't see anything wrong with the cashier helping to bag my order. As we went back and forth, the cashier and another lady whom I assume to be the owner stood and watched, unimpressed by the fact that a customer had just threatened to shoot another one in their presence. It seems that this might be a common occurrence in this ghetto based establishment. This was my first time in this restaurant and I know I won't be coming back. I will also be filing a report with the Better business bureau. I don't recommend this restaurant for my reasons and others stated in similar one...

My daughter and I just recently moved to the area from Philly. West African restaurants are littered all over the city back home. The restaurants back at home give you healthy servings and generally, the food is made to order. Since being here I’ve been craving African food. It was a staple in my diet back home. After a quick Google search I decided to give this place a try. The first thing I noticed, which I didn’t like, was the food was already cooked and set up buffet style. That, however, didn’t deter me from still proceeding with trying the food. My daughter and I decided to eat our food in the restaurant. I ordered okra stew over white rice for myself and jollof rice, goat and plantain for my daughter. The cashier told us we could sit in and eat our food first and pay after. So we did just that. I didn’t make it through my dish. They food was ok, however the meat in my stew was over cooked and tough and the rice wasn’t cooked well. My daughter didn’t like the jollof rice (which I didn’t either and we both LOVE jollof rice) but she did eat her meat and plantain. My daughter received a plate overflowing with rice, literally three pieces of goat meat and about five plantain. We finished our food and headed back to the front to pay. Our total was $45! F-o-u-r-t-y-f-i-v-e d-o-l-l-a-r-s!!! I was flabbergasted! I wish I had taken photos of our plates to show what little we received for $45! I honestly expected no more than $30. Back home we could have gotten enough for two meals each for what we paid. I will never support this establishment again. The prices are outrageous, the food quality is subpar and the portion sizes are menial....

I’m highly disappointed and upset with my food that I ordered. One of my favorite west African dishes is cassava leaf and this was horrific ! A large portion of the soup spilled into the bag all over my eating utensils and napkins, I ordered the soup with tripe and there was no tripe in the soup. Whatever contents were left in the container were obviously not seasoned by an African because it had absolutely no flavor and it was ice cold. For 16.00 they give you one piece of meat. So I had a huge oxtail and some type of beef that tasted which was not good at all. I frequent west African restaurants often and this by far has been an experience I wouldn’t want anyone else to to endure.

Edit: I tried this place again. Ordered cassava leaves, I received a bowl full of palm oil and fufu. So I called to find out if they ran out of rice , they said no , so I questioned why in the world would they give me fufu to sop up this bowl of palm oil. This is the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant . There are no good west African restaurants in dc . Not only am I frustrated, but there Was no salvaging just excuses. “We ran out of fish so we only gave you one fish” what type of service is that ??? You took my 22 dollars and served me a half portion with some Johnson and Johnson . If I wanted oil for dinner I would’ve went to my cabinet and poured a cup. Then I asked for fish not only did they give me one piece , they substituted it with a piece of goat . I’m pescatarian I don’t eat land animals. How dare they ! Like no. Never again . I’m...