Came upon this place while searching for a late night bite. Food was amazing, wait staff was friendly, but Charles, the owner was the best part. We were half jokingly asking to dance and he turned the disco lights on just for us. We danced of course, and then shared stories with him over more food and drink until late into the night. Definitely a night in Bham we won’t soon forget… cool vibe, good food, great ownership.
Ty J.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Calera, AL
I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty our Halloween lunch at Rafiki’s Grill turned out to be. We didn’t chance upon it. My husband is African and learned of this place through a co-worker who recommended it. We ended up with the sampler and chose beef stew, grilled goat, collard greens, flatbread and mashed potatoes. The kids shared chicken fingers and fries. Aside of the fact that they opened a little behind the posted opening time, the food was delish and my husband enjoyed small talk with the owner and his staff. Needless to say we’ll be returning to this spot soon; I’m just dying to try the samosas!
Terry C.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 Lexington, KY
Well, folks, if you’re reading this all I can say is you must be looking for some really good shit, cuz this place doesn’t seem to be in the business of selling food. On second thought, they probably don’t sell anything. We(an adventurous party of six) walked in around 7:30 and waited awhile by the reception podium’s sign«Please wait to be seated.» And waited. And waited. Finally, a woman showed up and told us to «just sit anywhere!» Hmmm… Ok. Not a great start. We put a couple of tables together, there was one other table of four people and a couple of guys at the bar — that was all. We got our menus, the(apparently) only waitress asked us what we’d like to drink. I asked what African chai was, or plain chai, and was told«no tea!» No iced tea, not unsweet tea, not sweet tea — it was a choice of water or Coke.(Not looking any better …). Ok, we got our water — finally, 15 minutes after we sat down said waitress arrived to take our order.(We were slightly confused at this point — we’d just been talking amongst ourselves about leaving because we felt ignored.) We asked what we could get reasonably quickly — we were getting hungry by now. We were told that grilled dishes would take longer, so we avoided those and asked for things like the goat stew with chapati bread. So — we settled in and waited. And waited. And waited some more! The people at the other table left, and — finally — after another 30 minutes had passed(45 minutes total) we had had enough and walked out. The«waitress» didn’t seem concerned — rather blasé in fact — and she was only out six waters. «Your food will be ready soon!» she told us. Yeah — right. We told her it was obvious she didn’t want our money, kept walking and chose another nearby restaurant. Be warned — be very warned! Steer clear of this abominable excuse for a tax write off. You’re welcome!
Rosie O.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Birmingham, AL
If time is of the essence, take off a couple of stars. Otherwise, Rafikis is a great option if you enjoy the ethnic food scene. The service is always friendly, but invariably slow and a little offbeat. It’s just part of the character of the place that offers some really good food. Samosas and stews are great. Flatbread is delicious. Homemade cooking. Just don’t be in a hurry!
Michael P.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Birmingham, AL
So, to start at the very beginning: I visited with 3 other co-workers for lunch, around 12:30. There was no one there. No patrons, no staff. We looked around for a few minutes, and the lone staff person came in through the front door(maybe he was hanging out at Wendy’s next door, I don’t know.) Anyway he seated us, was very friendly, and told us about the menu items. All of us like food different from the normal meat and three in the south, and wanted to see what African Cuisine was about. We opted to order a starter, so there was a combination of of Samosas and African Sausage ordered. We shared, and as a whole found the Samosas to be bland to our spicy palette preferences, but the sausage was good. Our group ordered Mbuzi Karanga, Mbuzi Choma, and Kuka Choma. A variety of sides were ordered, including the Chapati(flat bread), Sukuma Wiki(greens), and Mboga(cabbage). Over all, I think the cabbage came out on top as the favorite. Most of the food was rather bland to us; we are used to North American, European, Asian, and South American food. Not being used to the lack of spice in African foods, i think this meal was lost on us. While not to my palette, I do need to try this restaurant again. There are not any options for African cuisine in Birmingham, and restaurants in this location do not last(this is the 3rd in the past 5 years). I think the food is good, but not to my taste. Maybe another try will help.
Stephanie M.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Birmingham, AL
We had a great first experience here! We were greeted warmly and seated instantly. Charles went through the menu in detail and highlighted the specialty items. We tried a lot of things and enjoyed them all! Veggie and meat samosas, African sausage, goat stew, chicken stew, cabbage, greens, rice with cardamom, and chipati.(Don’t worry, there were 4 of us) The atmosphere of the place was unexpected. It’s not your typical restaurant vibe. Feels more like going over to someone else’s house — very low key and casual. Everything was great! Check this place out!
Massimo F.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Birmingham, AL
We went there with the best intentions, and left pretty happy about the first touch with this unusual restaurant. The place look like a mix between a bar and a dinner, and the result is not such a great compound! Style apart, the food is something different and quite frankly is actually good! Wait staff is very inattentive, but they try their best. Nice«different» restaurant, maybe you should give it a try!
Darby J.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Birmingham, AL
Driving up to this quaint restaurant I was very satisfied at how at home I felt. My first steps into the restaurant I was greeted by the owner with a big smile and I was promptly seated. The restaurant itself smells angelic. I got my appetizers which were the meat samosa(oh lawd yesssss) and the African sausage(someone bring me a healer because that delicious sausage done broke me). My main course was the Mbuzi Karanga which is a goat stew. The meat was tender and delicious. It was quite the belly rubber(something so delicious you subconsciously rub your belly). My father had the Mbuzi Choma which to was delicious. I had no problems of any significance other than the fact that I was in pain from eating to much. The staff was nice and the food was delicious. The owner said that they will be opening their outside grill soon and serving the meat of of skewers Brazilian style. I am definitely coming back as soon as I can.
Janece M.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Birmingham, AL
Overall, I feel like Rafiki’s Grill has made a noble effort to fulfill a largely absent culinary market in Birmingham. There are nearly no other African restaurants in the city and I commend the business for trying. However, I’ve had great Ethiopian, Nigerian, and Kenyan cuisine in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., and in Atlanta, GA and this effort just did not leave me inspired or salivating for more. The décor is minimal and has African art touches sprinkled throughout the dining area and they also have a bar that lines the right side of the dining entrance. My table of three sampled the following menu items: the Veggie and Meat Samosas, Mbuzi Karanga(Grilled Goat), Kuku Choma(Chicken Stew), Sukuma Wiki(Collard Greens), Chapati(African Flatbread), Tomato Onion Rice, and a piping hot and large piece of chocolate cake. Most of the meal tasted bland(especially the meat items). The best items included the veggie samosas, collard greens, tomato onion rice, and the chocolate cake. Rafiki’s also has a decent Ladies Night Special on Wednesdays that features bottled beer for $ 3 and mixed drinks for $ 6.The staff was very friendly, attentive, and was extremely helpful with explaining the menu options. I would only return for the service and decent veggie options.
Mollie B.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Birmingham, AL
This was our first foray into African cuisine(besides Moroccan) and it left much to be desired. The wait staff was very friendly and welcoming with a casual vibe. The samosa appetizer was flavorful and authentic tasting where as the African sausage could be compared to a corn dog. We tried both the goat and beef stews. Flavors were there but the goat meat was mostly tough and inedible where as the beef was very tender. The sides(seasonal veggies, sautéed greens and flat bread) were fresh tasting and seasoned pretty well. The only problem was that the grocery store sticker was left on a piece of pepper and cooked with it. That definitely raised some questions. I would give it another shot but I don’t see myself craving it anytime soon.
John Mark D.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Birmingham, AL
My friend and I tried this restaurant on a whim after looking through the diverse international options in the Homewood area. We had never heard of this place so we decided to give it a shot. Turns out that they are still in a soft opening phase and they have maybe been open for about three months. That said, I think there are some things that I will mention in this review that have an opportunity to get worked out the longer they are open. You can tell this is a brand new place because the décor and vibe are not completely pulled together yet, nonetheless it’s a great space. I started with out the samosas & African sausage. I could have ordered ten of those samosas, they were so appetizing. My friend and I split the sampler plate which was the perfect amount of food for two people. The grilled goat was very tender but didn’t have a lot of flavor. The grilled chicken stew was definitely my favorite and I would love to try some of their other stews. I wasn’t a huge fan of their cornbread but would love to try to the flatbread next time. Service was a bit slow but I think it’s nothing they can’t work out for the future. Waitresses were very friendly and helpful. All in all it was good enough to leave me wanting more. I see a lot of potential here.
Wes C.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 New York, NY
Let me start off by saying that I am thrilled to have such diverse options such as this when eating in Birmingham. I echo what the other reviewers have said and will add that the food is great. There are a lot of curry flavors in the dishes and this guy loves curry. The goat stew, samosas, and flatbread were great. That said, the décor and service aren’t all that great. Don’t get me wrong. Everyone is SUPER nice and eager, but that only goes so far towards service. I have been twice and orders were wrong both times. Waitresses often brought incorrect numbers of items(such as napkins or extra plates). Requests for items went unfulfilled on both occasions. The wait times for appetizers and entrees was extremely long both times. I saw food going to tables that arrived after us while we were waiting on appetizers. That said the food is solid four star quality. The restaurant IS in it’s soft opening state and I expect these issues to be ironed out. While I love the idea, I’m not going to give it five stars because it is unique to this area. However, I wholly recommend trying this place out.
Lee C.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Birmingham, AL
I decided to try this place in lieu of our standard Chinese at the Red Pearl down the road. When I entered the room, I immediately liked the atmosphere. Open room with nice seating, and very interesting clientele, with many Africans there. The African décor was attractive. We were seated in a reasonable amount of time. The servers are really nice and helpful, but aren’t in a hurry. They did take time to converse with customers. It took a while to order, get food, get drink refills, and get our check. It is a relaxed place. My bill was a little messed up and I never got my samosas I originally ordered. The menu isn’t particularly exotic, but was interesting. I ended up having a fish dinner with«dirty» rice and cabbage on the side. It was good but not excellent. I was fascinated by some of the other selections and hope to go back to try them. I hear some of the other dishes are more notable. The beers are reasonably priced. And, to give you a sense of their relaxed attitudes, they close whenever they run out of customers, which can be well after midnight. I hear they have had music shows go until late in the night, like 6AM before. This could develop into quite a great hangout. I will return!
Nick B.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Birmingham, AL
Rafiki’s… Yes like the character in The Lion King! This African cuisine is something that you must give a try! It’s great to continue to add some variety in metro Birmingham. The décor includes atmospheric lighting, and some light African décor. There’s a full bar as well as an upstairs with two semi-private lounge rooms with tv’s as well. There’s also a stage downstairs that I’m told on weekends hosts live music. This place is very new, but the food is authentic and should win you over easily. To start, the Somosa appetizer is so delish! I’ve had the beef and turkey and both are very good and make you want to keep ordering them. I’m a saucy guy and the authentic sauce served alongside the Samosas is a treat as well. As for entrees, I’ve had the goat stew and some of the grilled chicken dish also. Very pleased with the flavors of both. I’ve had a number of sides also(spiced rice, potatoes, greens etc) and nothing bad to say.
Janeka M.
Birmingham, AL
The food and service was great! I got the goat stew. I don’t think I left a drop of food on my plate.