Faaji

I was really happy when I first visited this restaurant because it is a Nigerian based
looks very upscale and the staff were amazing. I was looking forward to the food but I was very disappointed. The food quality and taste was so low. I could cook better Nigerian food at home rather than buying from here.

I have eaten and enjoyed food from different African countries, but I’ve never had food like this. In fact I’ve never had food like this from any place before. This was the ABSOLUTE WORST FOOD I’VE EVER EATEN! The meat was the worst quality available, it was cooked to jerked, and it had no taste. The whole meal was like it had been cooking all day. Don’t eat here, please. Find another African restaurant, SW Philly has lots. When we complained the waiter said, «It’s Nigerian food.» Really? Sorry if that’s true.

Oh dear. Oh my. Where do I begin? I am so disappointed to be adding my voice to the other negative reviews here about Faaji Restaurant, but I must warn anyone thinking of visiting this place about what an overall bad experience it was. I love to try new foods, and authentic African cuisine is not easy to come by in Delaware County, so I was excited when I first saw Faaji had taken up residence on Lansdowne Avenue. I decided to check it out tonight as I happened to be alone for dinner with no other plans. Upon entering the place, the staff looked quite perturbed that I was there, and one guy barked «what do you want?» I said «1 please», (meaning table for 1.) He said «what do you mean by that?» I said «It’s just me for dinner.» He said «yeah, what do you want to eat?» I shrugged, as he had not handed me a menu or anything. «Can I see a menu?» I asked. He handed me a takeout menu. I said «Uhm, am I allowed to sit down?» Finally, another guy led me to a dirty table and then hovered over me while I looked at the menu. «I’m going to need a minute,» I said. He left, and returned about two seconds later. Under pressure, I panicked and ordered the «beef suya» for $ 10, a meat pie, and a side of spinach. When he brought me my plate, the portions were so small, I thought he was joking. It was about 2.5 ounces of meat, a quarter cup of spinach, and one meat pie. I looked at him but he just walked away. The beef suya was barely edible. It was so dry and tough that I could barely chew it. It tasted like beef jerky, but it was so dry that it made a Slim Jim look like a juicy, tender, melt-​in-​your mouth filet. I could barely get through it, but I was really hungry, so I ate it anyway. The meat pie was bland and cold, and seemed under-​cooked. The spinach was hiding some huge chunks of solid fat, bones and tendon of some kind, as well as huge pieces of fish spine. The total amount of spinach served after removing the inedible parts was under ¼ cup. The restaurant was dirty, dimly lit, and mostly empty. I did notice that the table in front of me (the only other patrons there) received much, much larger portions than I did. I am not sure what that is about, but whatever. The bill for my diminutive dinner was nearly $ 16, and they did not have proper change. Since I did not want to stiff the young waiter on a tip, I ended up letting him keep the $ 5 he tried to give me as change (which would have been too much change as the bill was around $ 15.90.) So I’m out $ 20, and am partially hungry and partially nauseated. Unfortunately, I would say to avoid this place at all costs.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Not only did I NOT see basic sanitary/​hygiene practiced, the chicken I ordered was dryer than the Mojave desert. There was so little meat that that I nearly drove back after I picked up the order.
You know the feeling you have when you walk into a restaurant and you become uneasy with the vibe and what you see regarding food preparation? That’s what you get here. $ 7 essentially for a side of plantains as the chicken was inedible and I didn’t ask for the rice. I asked for just more plantains but they didn’t provide any extra and I just wanted to get out of there. I tried tearing some meat from the chicken but it was nearly impossible. I was also afraid of food poisoning. They kept the precooked chicken in what looked like the same bags that you get when you buy groceries. The young kid proceeded to grab the two tiny pieces of chicken out of the bag, throw it into a home style microwave and tossed it into the to go dish. Bad food, bad hygiene for very little food. What’s not to like?!
Absolutely terrible.

I wish I had read the previous review before going here. The 2 menu items I tried were both barely edible and defiantly overpriced. One was a spicy soup with «your choice» of meat and the young man never asked me which of the 3 I wanted. The second was some type of spinach dish with red tomato sauce. He wanted me to go sit down while he prepared my take-​out. I suppose so I wouldn’t see what was going on in the preparation. I assume nothing was fresh or made to order. Just warming up leftovers perhaps. I’ve had authentic Nigerian food before and this paled in comparison. I wouldn’t go back or recommend to anyone.

Came here with my mom just on a whim. She got the fried fish with spinach and fufu. I got a vegetarian combo plate with yams, Yoloff rice and mashed beans. It was all very good (and a little spicey) and the people were very friendly. Will be back!

I ordered food here last night, I got the jollof rice with chicken, meat pie and puff puffs. I ordered here knowing this was African food my fiancé is Nigerian so I’ve tasted many varieties of African food. I was impressed in the inside of the restaurant it was big space and it was nicely decorated. I rated this place a one star because of the food, I think the chicken I received was the worst it was awful, and it only came with 3 small wings. The puff puff were 2^nd to the worst they were thrown in a baggy that eventually got soaked from all the oil. They were overdone hard and was barley edible to eat. The jollof rice was ok We were not at all impressed. This place was definitely not worth 30 dollars and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone nore will I be coming back.

Stopped by for a meat pie. Meat pies are similar to empanadas, in that the filling really makes the dish. The meat pie was okay. The service was friendly and the place had some good music going. We’ll have to come back to try some of the other items on the menu, but based on the pie, it won’t be anytime soon.