Sample Senegalese classics like chicken yassa at Bantabaa in Kreuzberg. Photo: Bantabaa
Germany’s Hauptstadt has never been famed for its African food. But thankfully, Berliners’ ever-growing appetite for new flavours has sparked the creativity of a new league of chefs from the continent. Fancy a taste? Food influencer Sissi Chen (@eatinginberlin) shares her five best tips.
What about a meal of chicken yassa, the popular Senegalese classic (pictured above)? At Bantabaa, the chicken has been slow-cooked in a mustardy onion sauce and is served with a fusion of paprika, carrot, zucchini and cabbage on a generous plate of rice. Chilli on request!
Bantabaa Wrangelstr. 82, Kreuzberg
Neukölln’s Lalibela serves up aromatic vegan, veggie and meat curries that are best enjoyed with your hands. Photo: Lalibela
The rich and powerful flavours of Ethiopia are best served on injera, a tangy fermented thin pancake that works like an edible plate. Lalibela serves up aromatic vegan, veggie and meat curries that are best enjoyed with your hands.
Lalibela Herrfurthstraße 32, Neukölln
This doughy-looking West-African staple is called fufu – and it’s been a TikTok hit in the last year. Photo: Afro-Base
This doughy-looking staple of the south coast of West Africa, from Ivory Coast to Ghana to Cameroon, is called fufu. It might not look that thrilling, but it’s been a TikTok hit in the last year. Afro-Base in Britz serves this firm mash of boiled cassava mixed with cocoyams and paired with a plate of their home-made peanut stew (from €10). An utterly satisfying meal.
Afro-Base Buschkrugallee 103, Britz
This hole-in-the-wall café on Reichenberger Straße is a great place to start if you’re interested in West African food. Photo: Senegambia
Senegal and Gambia share many similar recipes. This hole-in-the-wall café on Reichenberger Straße is a great place to start if you’re interested in West African food, which is influenced by its location along the Atlantic coast. Treat yourself to a plate of fried fish, and don’t pass on the super-spicy chilli sauce.
Senegambia Reichenberger Str. 72A, Kreuzberg
La Maison Bleue serves up Kolla, a hearty stew cooked in a clay pot of the same name for 12 hours. Photo: La Maison Bleue
Tunisian food has had so many different influences throughout history – and you can taste them in ras-el-hanout, the Arabic spice mix used throughout the Maghreb. At the newly opened La Maison Bleue, they use it in their kolla, a hearty stew cooked in a clay pot of the same name for 12 hours, with meat and/or various vegetables. Expect some delicious infused flavours and the added aroma of tomatoes, plums and potatoes (€15.90 with beef).
La Maison Bleue Pannierstr. 26, Neukölln
