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I love the Yassa African Restaurant. The food is great. It's a long wait for food because they cook it fresh which is appreciated. It's a small intimate restaurant. The service is good and friendly. The ambience is of the history of African culture. They do anything to make you happy from the owners to the waiters. So polite!!! I like going on a Saturday evening when the owner have a jazz band playing every second Saturday which makes the long wait for the food worth it. Besides, the jazz is great!!! Makes even better, you can BYOB! Wines, etc. You can bring your wines glasses for your preferences of taste from a glass! I been here a few times and every time I go I'm happy with my visit to Yassa. I found out about this charming place when my hubsband played there and he found out when his friend jazz band played there first. The owner welcomes entertainers. The jazz band are all teachers for various schools organizations plus CPS music teachers. Yassa is so easy going you don't want to go home until you get tired and want to sleep. I love the place! It stays busy! I recommend anybody from out of town or any Chicagoan to check it out. No reservation required. It's located in Bronzeville too. An area that's grown pretty diverse in cultures but mainly top notch black ownership of businesses. An area close to downtown and East of Lake Michigan off Lake Shore Drive South of Downtown CHICAGO. Bronzeville is known for the old Army area back over 50 or more years ago. Then blacks secured the area for their black professionals such as entertainers, doctors, poets, just like the Harlem Rennassaince era. This area fills Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive with large mansions where black professionals owned and lives. It still exists. Try Yassa's out. You won't regret it. The food is DELICIOUS! Thumbs all the way up!!!
This place is fantastic! The food was very delicious and super flavorful. Hey I even thought the ginger tea was fabulous. Kudos to them for bringing such a place to the city.
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Overall Thoughts: A homey, spacious restaurant with super friendly service, beautiful decorations, and a solid selection of flavorful, traditional dishes. The prices are reasonable for the large and filling portions. This is a family-owned restaurant I’d always be happy to eat at and support!
Food I tried:
- Yassa Fish with Djolof Rice (4.5/5): The fish was great-- quite boney and salty, but very tender and flavorful. The soft sautéed veggies on top added a nice kick of flavor and texture. The djolof was wonderfully crispy and wasn’t spicy but very well-seasoned otherwise.
- Yassa Chicken with Fried Plantains (4/5): The chicken was pretty crispy and juicy, and again, the soft sautéed veggies on top added a nice contrasting flavor and texture. The plantains were flavorful and well-fried.
- Maffe with Plantain Fufu (4.5/5): The maffe was good and heavy, with distinct yet somewhat subtle peanut butter flavors. The lamb was very tender, but I wish it came with more— there were only a couple pieces in there. The fufu had a soft, fluffy texture, and was a good pair to this dish for scooping up the maffe sauce. The fufu itself didn’t have much flavor, but it soaked up the flavor of other things pretty well.
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Price (relative to peers): 4.2/5
Food: 4.4/5
Ambience: 4.8/5
Service: 5/5
Overall Value: 4.5/5
Omg the flavors and meat here are awesome. Loved the lamb and chicken, such good grilled meats and the rice is also very flavorful. Definitely the best west African I’ve had, and up there with best African period. Prices are quite reasonable. The Bissap is also very good, don’t skip out on it. Service and vibe are fine but nothing special, you come here for the food.
The food was so good!!! We loved this place. It could be considered a hole-in-the-wall, with its casual ambience and decor but the food was knock out!
As someone who works in Africa with artisans, It was fun to meet people from Senegal and Benin as well. Service was great.
I highly recommend the shrimp, curry and fufu. Oh! And the ginger juice was worth going back just for that!
I've been eating here for over 20 years ,this is actually the 1st time I've eaten at this location since they moved from 79th. As always a sight for sore eyes and taste for the taste buds. Much love and continued success 🙌🏾 ❤️ 💛..... until we meet again....
The food is incredibly flavorful and fresh. Great service. Highly recommend the Saturday special dish, Tieb Djen, one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long time! Red snapper served with veggies over rice and with a hearty, smoky sauce - 10/10 will eat again!
I cant help but recommend this place to everyone I know. I am in love with their Fatayas. Very friendly environment when me and my friends visited. We listened to the recommendations of our server and we were not disappointed! The food was so flavorful and fresh
Gonna say that the tilapia was the best fish I’ve ever eaten in the whole of my life. The owners are friendly and so kind. Left feeling full in a metaphorical and physical sense!!
Wonderful authentic food, all the dishes I've had have been excellent. Portion sizes are great. Staff are helpful and friendly. I highly recommend if you want to try something a little different and highly delicious.
Absolutely delicious. Authentic west African food. The flavors were on point. I grabbed the salmon pattys (a MUST GET) the Yassa chicken (like jerk chicken but different with sautéed onions) and the Yassa Tilapia (that one was just okay. Might’ve been better with red snapper as the flavor didn’t penetrate the tilapia well) the jollof rice was bomb too. Can’t wait to return. Also got the ginger drink which was spicy but refreshing.
My first experience of Senegalese cuisine was exceptional. The food and service were all one could ask for. We had mafee with fufu and djoloff rice.
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