Rahama’s: West African Food in the U Street Corridor

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Africa food U street, DC African Food, DC African restaurant, DC ginger drinks, DC Hausaphones, fufu with peanut soup and goat, palava sauce, Rahama's, Rahama's African Restaurant, West African restaurants in DC

Last night, I dined at Rahama’s, ‘authentic and upscale African cuisine.’  Somehow, I had managed to go several months without knowing about the existence of this establishment that serves Nigerian and Ghanaian delicacies.  All in all, the food was quite good and reasonably priced and the décor is better than any African establishment that I know in the region (thatched partial paillotes hang from the ceilings and a poster of (MLK, Malcolm, Obama, and Marley adorns the wall).  I did have an issue (it may have been an honest mistake) when settling my bill, so I encourage customers to look closely at what they are charged.

I ordered boiled yam with palava sauce and fried fish.  The palava sauce was delicious and for those of you who do not approve of the African tendency to use a large amount of oils, you will be happy with the preparation of the dish.  It was not particularly spicy, but still managed to have quite a bit of flavor.  I did have a ginger/lime drink and the strength of the ginger brought tears to my eyes.

My dinner companion had fufu with goat and peanut soup.  While I have not developed an appreciation for fufu (boiled cassava flour), the goat meat was quite tender and the peanut stew was superb.  Again, there was not much spice, but the dish still packed some flavor.  There were not too many customers, but there were some men picking up carry-out and a few souls were taking in a central American soccer game (no NBA finals to be seen) by the bar (which is dry).

The establishment appears to have connections with Muslim west Africa.  One of our two servers was a Hausa-speaking Ghanaian, while the other was a Hausa from Kano, Nigeria.  This may be why Rahama’s serves no liquor.  For those of you familiar with the Hausa milk/millet drink staple known as Hura, you can get a factory-bottled version (from Woodbridge, VA I believe) of it at Rahama’s.

On my Africa in DC – Guide Around Town, I identify Sumah’s as my favorite African eatery.  Rahama’s is probably just as good (and cheaper), but I still personally prefer Sumah’s Sierra Leonean/Liberian cuisine to the Nigerian/Ghanaian dishes of Rahama’s (I can’t get enough of my greens).

– the Menu

A hanging paillote.  Business wasn’t too bristling on a Tuesday.

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