5 essential West African restaurants in Toronto you need to try at least once

West African restaurants in Toronto serve all the eats from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and beyond, all within city limits.

Whether you grew up on banku and peppered goat and are in the market for a little taste of home, or West African cuisine is an entirely new frontier for you, Toronto is brimming with restaurants that'll hit the spot for you.

From longstanding staples to hidden gems, here are some of the city's essential West African restaurants you need to try at least once.

Afrobeat Kitchen

What began as a popular pop-up blossomed into a Parkdale brick-and-mortar that specializes in contemporary Nigerian cuisine back in 2022. Since then, this spot has kept the community fed with its fill of buka beef stew, egusi and goat pepper soup.

Founded by Lagos-born chef Victor Ugwueke, this gem is an undisputed staple for flavour-packed Nigerian bites.

Afrobeat Kitchen. Photo by Fareen Karim.

Instant du Palais

It's all about Ivorian eats at this Mount Pleasant eatery with a cult following. 

Ever since opening in 2023, this restaurant has been steadily serving up staples from the Ivory Coast, earning ample acclaim from its many fans. If you're in the mood for succulent grilled goat, peanut stew or garba with flash-fried tuna, this is the spot for you.

Naija Jollof Toronto

Perhaps one of Toronto's most popular African food chains, you can visit locations at Queen and Bathurst, Finch and Keele, or outside of the city in Mississauga, Brampton and Waterloo for your fill of Nigerian eats.

Expect to sink your teeth into the likes of puff puff, peppered snail, grilled suya beef and, of course, jollof rice and pasta.

Fufu and egusi at Naija Jollof. Photo by Hector Vasquez.

Nyamekye

Situated near the western limits of North York, this hidden gem serves up the whole gamut of West African cuisine, including staples from Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

With a kitchen headed up by Chef Mather Boateng, here you can tuck into all the beef suya, tsofi (fried turkey tail), banku and attieke you could possibly dream of.

Nganda African Street Food

With locations in the Entertainment District and on Gerrard, this restaurant offers a wide array of West and Central African street foods.

A number of vegan dishes, like mbote and bassamoise, are joined by droolworthy meats, including char-grilled salmon and chicken attieke, so everyone can find something that'll satisfy here.

La Bassamoise at Nganda African Street Food. Photo by Fareen Karim.