Let's celebrate Denver Restaurant Week at the African Grill and Bar in Lakewood, Colorado, where you can savor the flavors of Africa.
Overview of African Grill and Bar
African Grill is an authentic African-American restaurant owned and operated by Theodora (wife) and Sylvester (husband) from the Osei-Fordwuo family. It specializes in preparing food using natural and authentic African ingredients and has adopted authentic techniques from different parts of Africa to prepare the cuisines.
The restaurant has an indoor café-style seating arrangement and is suitable for friends and families with small kids. The glass walls of the dining room provide a nice view of the street. African Grill offers catering services for large gatherings and celebrations and hosts a variety of events.
Location and Hours
You can find African Grill and Bar at 18601 Green Valley Ranch Blvd #100, Denver, CO 80249. The restaurant is open from 12:00 pm to 09:00 pm, Monday through Saturday. Please note that they are closed on Sundays.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday - Saturday | 12:00 pm - 09:00 pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Additional Information:
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
- Dining style: Casual Dining
- Hours of operation: Monday - Saturday 11:00am - 10:00pm
- Dress code: Business Casual
- Neighborhood: Green Valley Ranch
The Dining Experience
Way out west in the suburb of Lakewood, there’s a building in the parking lot of a bowling alley that looks like it might house a Mexican restaurant. It doesn’t. Walk inside, and you’ll find yourself in a foyer decorated with folk art-carvings, textiles-and a sign that reads “The Love of God Brews in African Pot.” From the kitchen behind the counter, a smiling woman will quickly come out to greet you. This is Ghanaian-born, Nigerian-raised Theodora Osei-Fordwuo, who runs African Grill and Bar with her equally charming husband Sylvester (and the able assistance of their children). As indefatigable as she is talented, Theo cooks, and she cooks, and she cooks some more. The result is several pages’ worth of specialties from her former corner of the world: egusi and chakalaka and tuo zaafi and yassa and so on. Sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know them.
Joining you in the dining rooms on either side of the entrance or out on the small patio is a diverse mix of folks: neighborhood regulars and curious chowhounds, couples and large families. Sometimes, especially during the day, you’ll have the dining room virtually to yourself; other times it’s bustling with big groups celebrating one milestone or another. Occasionally there’s live music, but even at its most festive, the vibe is way laid-back and homey.
The Menu: A Culinary Journey Through Africa
African Grill has separate menus for South, West, South East, North and Central Africa. The sample plates are economical choices for large groups.
South Africa Street Food in Johannesburg!! Braai, Bread and Beef Head!!
The family’s quick with recommendations for the uninitiated, often guiding them gently toward more familiar items like pillowy samosas, jollof rice, and even fried chicken. You can’t go wrong with any of them. But this is as good a place as any to try the close-your-eyes-and-point method of ordering: every discovery you make will be more fascinating than the last.
Stews and soups make up the better part of the menu, accompanied by an array of staple starches for sopping them up. Going by various names under the catchall category of fufu, these doughy balls are formed from boiled, pounded cassava, semolina, plantains, yams, cornmeal and more: Soft and mild, they’re the soothing counterpart to the blasts of flavor imparted by the stews, which are based on nuts, seeds, legumes, or greens and brim with chiles, ginger, tomato, and onion, plus your choice of fish or meat such as goat, lamb, or oxtail.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
But there’s still so much more. Whatever you get-be it the fried, sliced sweet plantains called kelewele, crunchy peanut-sprinkled turkey-gizzard kebabs, or mustard-flavored chicken yassa-you’ll at least be glad you tried it, at best thrilled by every last bite.
Drinks
Like the menu, the beverage list spans the continent: Here’s your chance to sample wine from Ethiopia as well as South Africa, beer from Kenya or Liberia, and bitters from Nigeria or Ghana. You can also choose from a small selection of classic cocktails-or better yet, order Theo’s fabulous fresh ginger juice with a shot of rum. (It’s just as good all by itself, of course.)
Customer Reviews and Experiences
The restaurant is amazing and the owners are very helpful. If you are celiac, I would recommend going in person and Theodora and Sylvester can talk with you about what to order. All of the food is flour and dairy free except for the meat pie.
Awesome place!! The owner let us know she doesn’t do any any flour in any of her dishes except obviously the ones that have a dough. But no flour used as a thickener or anything. We had the lamb kabobs and it was so yummy!! We had a lamb stew and chicken dish - both excellent. The owners family helped us with what is gluten free, and her recommendations were excellent!
One visit is all it takes for Theo and Sylvester to remember you and welcome you with open arms the next time, no matter how long it’s been; that warmth of feeling alone is worth the price of a little patience.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
My experience was wonderful in every way, the menu is marked and the staff are so kind in walking me through what is safe, and explaining how the oil can be switched to have safe fried options.we got the plantain fufu with Ghana spicy light soup and ox tail, pounded yam fufu with egusi soup and chicken, another pounded yam fufu with vegetable soup and ox tail, and the kebab special. Everything was phenomenal.
They will start a new oil for you if you want to order plantains. All of the food is delicious, so you can't go wrong. I had cassava leaf stew and plantains this time around and it was delicious.
Final Thoughts
Skip it if you’re in a hurry or in the company of picky eaters. But when you’ve got some free time and some free-wheeling friends to join you, go, go, go. I love it when an unfamiliar cuisine forces me out of my comfort zone, sending me into a post-dinner frenzy of research as I try to understand a culture through what it eats.
