The Secret Garden

Isn’t really a restaurant. Stopped by on Friday night and the door was locked — 6PM — a lady was getting out of a car and said it was her place and opened the door — there were a couple of small children inside playing… she ran back to the «kitchen» and asked someone what they had and came back and said they could do something with Chicken or Fish… picture us still standing in the entry way… ya! Said we would come back another time and got the heck out of there… don’t bother.

I LOVE THIS PLACE. We recently moved to NE Minneapolis, saw the sign and, having never tried East African food, decided to stop in. The first time we visited was around 9pm. Apparently they close at 9, but didn’t have posted hours and had forgotten to turn their open sign off because everyone was staying late to prepare a large catering order for the next day. They explained the situation, but asked us to «please stay» and were friendly and attentive. Our waitress was friendly and explained/​guided us through the menu. The food is AMAZING. My favorite is the KK Chicken, but I’ve never had anything that wasn’t awesome. We’ve also routinely been given freebies like bread or giant watermelon slices. Any drink you order comes in a bottle or can, but we’ve been told the bottled water is included in the meal. The décor is extremely sparse (there was literally a lit stick of incense stuck in a crack in the wall during one visit) and the atmosphere can be a little awkward at first, as it’s often totally empty and they sometimes seem surprised that you’re there. Regardless, everyone is always friendly, pleasant, and helpful and the food is like heaven.

Yummy! What a wonderful meal. My fiancé and I walked into the very sparse and modest restaurant with no idea what to expect. We saw the sign and went on a whim. The staff was incredibly nice and our server (possibly the owner???) helpful in selecting a meal, since we were unsure of what to try. We started to get antsy waiting for the food. It took a bit longer than we are used to waiting. As she brought out our family style platter, we realized what a lucky find this was for us. Wow. The wait was worth it and then some. She offered to get us silverware, but explained it is usually eaten with hands. In the time it took her to return with forks, spoons, knifes, we had already started digging it. We never used the utensils.
Update: we went back a month later. The name has been changed to «Razaaq», but also «The Secret Garden.» It is Ramadan right now, but they were willing to prepare a to-​go order. Once again we left it up to the owner to select our food. Win! Excelent service and excellent food.