Alafia West African Cuisine Beninese Restaurant

Very nice and kind folks, with traditional African hospitality

I felt at home the second I walked into the place.

The inside feels like a combo Jerry Bob's, Nicos and a neighborhood dive bar, that has been assimilated by West African culture.

The place is clean and calm. It has counter seating, 2 Top seating and a long extended family table.

The food is really good.
Not really good for what it is, but really good in absolute terms.
If this exact same food was served in a fancy Fleming's Prime Steakhouse atmosphere, you would not think twice about paying twice as much for it.

The food is reasonably priced, with most items priced around $9.99.
And, for that money you will probably have leftovers for lunch the next day.

I am not going to do a play-by-play of what we ordered as it all was better than expected. Order anything, it will be good.

The only item I want to showcase is the Ginger Drink. If you like doing hard liqueur shots, you should get this drink. If you don't like doing shots, skip this drink. It is non-alcoholic but it does remind me of
carbonated high-proof tequila. A bottle of Southern Comfort is just lemonade with a restrictor valve to me. I was only able to finish 1/2 of a glass of the Ginger Drink. Be warned.

I already know that I am going back and what I am getting. Grilled lamb. The owner said just call ahead 1 hour for that. Yum!

Unassuming in the extreme, Alafia is a hidden (literally: don't be put off by the restaurant's absence of a bright storefront and its look of a neighborhood dive bar) gem of Tucson. Chef-owner Ismael Lawani, originally of Beinin, West Africa, is a friendly giant of a man who knows his fufu (viscous cassava, yam and plantain porridge) and cassava couscous as well as his goat in groundnut sauce and fried fish in moyo sauce (tomatoes and onions). I asked Ismael who taught him to cook: his mother, of course, he laughed. And so the food tastes: home-style delicious. Alafia is also a meeting place of African expatriates and other far-flung travellers, so be ready to make new acquaintances and even friends. I met an African tennis pro and a Canadian mother-daughter pair. And check out Ismael's huge necklace ornaments. Most of all, come to taste some of the diversity of Tucson as it is, not as it advertises itself to tourists and snowbirds.

Tired of tacos? This place is just perfect for flavor amnesia. I got the bbq chicken for lunch, took the rest home for dinner. Great place run by great people. It’s worth a stop....