Africanne on Main

We went here on a Tuesday afternoon. The service was mediocre and the food could have been kept warmer. They had a nice variety of food to choose from for the buffet.

I used to go when Chef Mamusus’ restaurant was on Broad Street… the food is still good! I took some of my colleagues since we were in town for a seminar. The spinach is superb! The cornbread is sweet with a hint of cinnamon I believe. You have to try the ginger tea… it is the best tea I’ve ever had!!! You will not be disappointed so check it out!

A small restaurant downtown. Clean. Friendly staff. Freshly made food. Delicious curry. Fried plantains, yum. Good veggies. By the pound can get pricy, but I’ll come back.

yummy — suffers a bit from sitting out in a buffet but tasty.
plenty of veg options
mac and cheese, red beans and rice were standouts

Good oxtail. Didn’t try the meat, but the vegetables were good. Yummy red beans and rice. Corn bread was dry. Everything else was just okay. Watermelon juice tastes artificial.

This place was really great! Plenty of vegetarian options and the food tasted like homemade cooking. I’ll definitely be looking this restuarant up next time I pass through Richmond.

I had this food for the first time a few weeks ago when my fiancé and I got their sampler plate at the Vegetarian Festival. Everything was so perfect! Light, but substantial; fresh yet soulful; and all of it seasoned perfectly. The kind of food you taste the love and history in. We finally made it to the actual brick and mortar location and it did not disappoint. The food was every bit as good as we remembered, and the man working the register helped explain how to go about selecting and paying for the food, and even made some recommendations. He was very nice and asked our opinions. Lastly, the homemade bottled teas really add another dimension of uniqueness and charm to the whole place. We had the chai and whoa baby they use fresh ginger! Overall, I’d say Chef Mamusu should be emperor of the city.

First time having carribean food and I’m glad it was here. Food and service was amazing! Comes in big portions which is a plus. Decent lunch prices as well. The Chef is amazing and very sweet. Will be coming back again.

What a find! This place is great. Very homey and delicious. Try the oxtail with cabbage and peach cobbler.

From all the raving reviews about this place, I was excited to check it out. My friend and I met up here for lunch and I tried to get a little bit of everything onto my tray. Most of the items are stewed but they did have fried chicken when I visited. Overall, I thought the meal was okay – nothing really new or exciting for me. For those who have never tried African before, I think it’s a great spot for an introduction. The flavors and spices, though «exotic», are pretty tame.

LOVE THIS PLACE. I’m really not sure if they are Liberian or Ghanaian but the food is amazing. It’s set up as a buffet and you get your food weighed. The jollof rice was good but their salmon pasta is my favorite. They had 2 different greens options and both were great. If you are a vegetarian you will not leave hungry. They had a diverse set of options that any group of friends will enjoy. There was also a lot of natural juice options to wash down the West African foodie greatness.

Went there by chance. First time I ever tried African cuisine– absolutely loved it. We had the buffet and it’s extremely reasonable also. I tried most of their dishes. Everything had great flavour. You wouldn’t be disappointed. Loved their cabbage onion dish and ox meat curry.
It’s also halal :)

Great food that is obviously cooked well. Curry chicken wings and spinach were great. Mac and cheese was absent and veggie patties could’ve been crispier. Otherwise great food. Could be a but cheaper dinner it’s based on weight.

i like african food. i tried some of everything, the oxtail, jerk chicken, fried plantain, rice and bean, chicken liver, and something else which i can’t remember. the chicken liver was my least favorite, apparently it’s an acquired taste. i actually forgotten what it tasted like but after i bit into it, i had flashback of my childhood when i was in CA and they served liver in phở as a delicacy. i would scoop it up and give it to my mom. twenty years later, liver tastes exactly the same. I ate it to not be wasteful, but everything else was really good, my favorite was the oxtail.

Food was very flavorful… and the house beverages are incredible. The ginger tea is out of this world. Went for Sunday lunch on second day of opening, and the wait staff was very informative and excited. Looking forward to exploring more of the menu. Great addition to the neighborhood.

I just went to your new spot. Made it for the breakfast. Thank you finally a place that caters to the no pork eaters. Forest Hill spot is great for me. Delicious!!! Will be coming back with friends.

Oh my gosh, this place is a hidden gem, right on the VCU campus connector bus route too. Friendly owners and staff, a good variety of equally personable customers, daily specials, lots of veggie and non-​gluten options, home-​cooked everything, awesome homemade cold drinks… I’m telling everyone I know to come here. I highly recommend trying the house mixed greens, jollof rice, and special curry fried wings on Wednesdays. If you like hot food be sure to grab a couple shakes of the house-​made pepper sauce. I also really love the sorrel (hibiscus) cold drink — if you like the agua de jamaica at Latin restaurants you’ll love it.

Ms Ida always has a warm greeting and a warm buffet full of tasty food. I tried a little of everything and a little more than a little of some of my favorites (corn bread, collard greens, spinach «our way»). It’s a small space but packs huge flavor. My advice? Try everything. If I could give this place 10 stars I would.

The last time I had Ghanese, it was at a catered lunch for my chief resident up in DC. It tasted like dirt on dirt with a side of garbage. And that was borderline depressing, because I love Ethiopian food. This place renewed my faith in African food.
The moment you walk into this place, you get a home grown feeling. African food as whole can be oily, which was both surprising and confusing to find that this food wasn’t.
The owner came by and gave us the lowdown on the food. He’s essentially an ex-​NFL player that wanted to serve food that was both healthy enough for a grade-​A athlete, well-​priced enough for the common man, and made from ingredients as fresh as the from the farmers’ markets in Shockoe Bottom.
There’s even a weight-​loss meal program that they serve, 7-​days, 7-​meals, $ 35.
The best part was probably the home-​made drinks. Ginger «beer». Watermelon tea. Etc. They all tasted fresh. Even the fruit drinks didn’t leave a sugary, gritty feeling in your mouth like most all processed juices. And they’re made without any extra sugars at all.
Be warned though. They’re served in sketchy-​looking bottles. They’re actually used plastic water bottles that they repurposed by pulling the labels off and cleaning. They do a good job though; there’s no «label-​glue» on it at all. They did put a plastic seal on it to let you know that even though the bottle was repurposed, the current contents were «sealed». I would have to say that it keeps in line with the green’ness of RVA.
I honestly can’t believe that it’s been here for almost 20 years and it hasn’t blown up on Unilocal.The service was great. They even gave my buddy a complimentary bottle of the ginger beer he loved so much, when they found out it was his birthday. The owner were hella friendly and by talking with him, you get a real sense that he’s passionate about his food, and delivering a food that is natural and healthy. I mean, he’s an athlete!
I would definitely come back here again, if not for the food, but for the drinks and just hanging out with the owner (s).

A great variety of food, you go up to the check out counter and get a food tray. Go to the buffet bar and pile on the food. Afterwards return to the checkout counter and weigh in your food. Pay only 99c a lb, the drinks are in a case next to it offering a variety of fresh homemade natural juice mixes.
You can pick up utensils in a cool dispensary machine. The food uses fresh whole ingredients and have such a great taste. A great sneak taste into African food fare!

I stopped in here for lunch today based on the reviews I read here on Unilocal and it was everything promised and more. I was the only customer at first and the chef and a woman /​i assume was his wife or girlfriend greeted me warmly and explained how things work there.
The way they work is that there is a two-​sided buffet and you pay by the pound, $ 6.99 per I think. Of course, I had to try everything and I am very glad I did. Spinach «our way» was as complex a preparation of spinach as any I’ve had at another African of Indian restaurant. It was one of two dishes I had to have more of, the other being jollof rice, a Liberian dish of spicy rice that was not too spic but had plenty of flavor.
The vegetable dishes are the strength here. They are extraordinary in the way they take very common ingredients and combine them in uncommon ways. All the meats are described as «halal/​kosher.» I suspect they are one or the other, though the difference may only be what prayer is said during the slaughter. The only meat available today was a chicken preparation that was flavorful, juicy, tender and the name of which I’ve forgotten.
There are different items on the buffet every day, though many dishes appear every day. I went of a Saturday and would gladly return every day if I lived anywhere near Richmond (I wish this place were in NY).
Be sure to try some of the special beverages available in the cooler. The sorrel is deeply refreshing, and the drink combining papaya, mango and other tropical fruit juices is tasty, but I will dream about the ginger iced tea that had enough ginger in it to cure malaria with ginger left over.
Do not miss this place!

Atmosphere = 3
Food = 5
I haven’t been to Mamusu’s since she was Mamusu’s on Broad. I have been deprived! Delicious food at $ 5.99/pound, so try everything! I especially love the spicy collards, the Spinach Our Way, the plantains, the chicken…
She has a good lunch crowd, so don’t be surprised if you go and can’t find a table. The crowd is eclectic, too… downtown business types, hipsters, old, young… Clearly all kinds of people love this food.
Try it. you’ll love it, too!

I was passing through town and found this place on Unilocal.What a find! First off, the food was amazing. It’s buffet style, so I tried a little bit of everything. It’s $ 5.99 a pound, which I found to be inexpensive given the quality of food.
The seafood gumbo was absolutely incredible. My friend and I didn’t notice it until after we had paid, but the man working there brought us a tiny sample to taste. Everything I ate there had great flavor.
The service was fantastic. The man working there answered several questions and made suggestions. He also offered us a taste of their homemade tea. He made us feel very welcome to ask questions! If I lived in Richmond, I think this would be my regular spot. The ambience is very casual. Its not the kind of place you want to take a date, but it’s clean and functional. Its healthy, flavorful, inexpensive, and friendly… what more could you want?
One of the best parts about this place is their commitment to healthy ingredients. They have many vegetarian options. They also make their own soda-​like drinks without sugar. The ginger drink was fab!
One tip would be to get there early though. We arrived about 45 minutes before they closed and they were out of a few dishes for the night.