Among many other things, Portland is known for its incredibly diverse culinary scene. From local American foods to authentic African cuisine, the city has plenty to offer to food lovers.
There are great African restaurants in all parts of the city. Whether you want maize porridge for lunch or fancy African dishes like breyanies, you can easily fulfil your food cravings in the city.
Here are the best African restaurants in Portland, Oregon (in no particular order)…
1. AKADIPDX – traditional African cuisines such as samusas, attiéké, fufu as well as vegan options
AKADIPDX is a casual eatery specializing in West African cuisine. From fried plantain to jollof rice to groundnut stew, egusi soup and fufu, the restaurant serves local dishes from over 16 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
You can also enjoy a large variety of vegan African dishes at AKADIPDX, including kale and chickpea curry, peanut stew, banana akaras, chin chin, and beju among other unique dishes.
Address: 3601 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212, United States
2. Aberus Ethiopian Restaurant – classic Ethiopian cuisine, vegan options with takeout available
Aberus Ethiopian Restaurant, on Killingsworth Street in Northeast Portland, serves authentic Ethiopian cuisine in a rustic setting. The restaurant has a small low-key dining room. At Aberus Ethiopian Restaurant, you can enjoy a large variety of African foods with vegan options.
For starters, you may want to have their special vegan sambusas. For the main course, you can enjoy a large variety of classic Ethiopian dishes, including kitfo, injera, azifa, gomen, and mesir wot among others.
The restaurant is open Mondays through Saturdays between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. They also offer takeout service Tuesdays through Sundays between 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Address: 438 NE Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97211, United States
3. Marrakesh – authentic Moroccan cuisine, drinks and entertainment
Marrakesh is a Moroccan restaurant with a colorful ethnic interior. The restaurant specializes in authentic Moroccan cuisine and regularly hosts belly dancing performances.
They serve fixed-price traditional meals on embellished pillowed low banquettes. Marrakesh provides both the taste and climate of Morocco in the heart of Portland.
They have a great selection of classic Moroccan foods, such as rfissa, harira, mechoui, tagine, and chicken bastilla. Marrakesh is open Wednesdays through Saturdays between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. They also offer takeout and delivery services.
Address: 1201 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209, United States
4. Enat Kitchen Restaurant – fresh ingredients and spices straight from Ethiopia.
Located on Killingsworth Street in North Portland, Enat Kitchen Restaurant is one the best African restaurants in Portland. The restaurant specializes in classic Ethiopian fare and each dish is prepared with pure Ethiopian ingredients and spices.
The restaurant has a casual ambience and a low-key interior. They have an excellent selection of Ethiopian appetizers, including azifa fitfit, seneg karia, timatim fitfit, and sambusas.
At Enat Kitchen Restaurant, you can also enjoy a great variety of Ethiopian entrees, including meat spinach, derek tibs, and enkulal tibs among others.
They also offer vegan entrees, such as shiro, gomen, and buticha. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant is open Tuesdays through Saturdays between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Address: 300 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217, United States
5. Bole Ethiopian Restaurant – authentic Ethiopian cuisine with vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options to suit everyone
Bole Ethiopian Restaurant is one of the best places to satisfy Ethiopian appetite in Portland. If you want to enjoy an eclectic Ethiopian fare with vegan and gluten free options, you must have a meal at this compact restaurant. The restaurant has a rustic interior with a warm ambience.
At Bole Ethiopian Restaurant, all dishes are served on a large circular platter called gebeta in Ethiopia. Their classic Ethiopian platter comes with flatbread injera and many different stews, curries, and vegetables, all of which are cooked with Ethiopian spices.
The restaurant is open Mondays through Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 915 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211, United States
6. Queen of Sheba Restaurant – varied Ethiopian exotic dishes consisting of a variety of flavors
Queen of Sheba is an African restaurant that specializes in exotic speciality Ethiopian food. The classic Ethiopian restaurant attracts both vegans and non-vegans alike.
They have an excellent selection of family-style African dishes, including tere siga, Ethiopian fuul, enkulal firfir, and doro wot.
Whether you want to have lamb sauteed with spicy berbere or chicken with alicha seasonings, you can enjoy all your favorite African dishes here. Queen of Sheba is one of the most frequented Ethiopian restaurants in Portland.
The restaurant is open Sundays through Wednesdays between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. They are also open for lunch Thursdays through Saturdays between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Address: 2413 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97208, United States
7. Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant – authentic Ethiopian food with excellent vegetarian, beef, lamb and chicken options
Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant is a rustic-chic restaurant serving authentic Ethiopian food with beef, lamb, chicken, and vegan options.
They have a great selection of classic Ethiopian eats seasoned with local spices. The restaurant also hosts live music on weekends.
Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant is a perfect dinner venue for people who enjoy African fare. The restaurant also has an impressive selection of Ethiopian wines, including axumit, Ethiopian tej, and gouder red wine. Sengatera Ethiopian Restaurant is open Wednesdays through Mondays between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
They also offer takeout service between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Address: 3833 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212, United States
8. Black Star Grill – authentic Ghanaian food made with love, care, and healthy delicious ingredients
Black Star Grill is a unique African food point specializing in Ghanian cuisine. There are not many restaurants in Portland that serve authentic Ghanian food.
Black Star Grill offers a wide range of traditional Ghanian dishes, including jollof rice, waakye, banku and tilapia, tuo zaafi, and boiled yam with kontomire stew, all of which are seasoned with indigenous spices.
The restaurant is open Tuesdays through Saturdays between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. They only offer takeout service.
Address: 1902 NW 24th Ave, Portland, OR 97210, United States
9. E’Njoni Cafe – a blend of Mediterranean, Ethiopian, and Eritrean food
E’Njoni Cafe is a cozy bistro serving Ethiopian and Eritrean fare in a casual setting. The restaurant provides an excellent East African culinary experience in the heart of Portland.
At E’Njoni Cafe, you can enjoy many different combos of the two main traditional foods of Eritrea and Ethiopia, namely tsebhi (stew) and injera (flatbread). They offer five different types of stews: chicken, goat, fish, lamb, and vegan.
E’Njoni Cafe is open Mondays through Fridays between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. On weekends, the restaurant opens at 12 p.m.
Address: 910 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217, United States
10. Bete-Lukas | Ethiopian Restaurant – exceptional cuisine featuring everything from salad, tibs, alicha, to vegeterian dishes, and sambusas.
Bete-Lukas is a locally-owned second-floor Ethiopian restaurant featuring a full bar. If you want to savor undiluted Ethiopian fare in the southern part of the city, Bete-Lukas may be the best dinner venue for you.
From sambusas to alicha to kitfo, the dinner menu of Bete-Lukas features an excellent selection of Ethiopian appetizers and entrees. The food is served in a beautiful dining room with Ethiopian artworks on the walls.
Bete-Lukas is open Wednesdays through Sundays between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Address: 2504 SE 50th Ave #D, Portland, OR 97206, United States
11. Kabba’s Kitchen – superb African food, exciting spices and traditional cuisine.
Kabba’s Kitchen is an African food joint in Northeast Portland. The food cart offers a perfect blend of Senegalese and Gambian cuisines.
If you want to enjoy the national dish of Gambia in the heart of North Portland, Kabba’s Kitchen may be the perfect place for that. They serve the tastiest domodo in Portland.
They also offer many unique local Sengalese dishes, including yassa, maafe, footi, and sombi. Kabba’s Kitchen is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Address: 4631 N Albina Ave, Portland, OR 97217, United States
12. Safari Gyro – one of the best fast-casual North African and restaurants with tasty food to suit the whole family
Safari Gyro is a classy restaurant serving a mix of North African and Mediterranean cuisines. Located on Powell Boulevard in Southeast Portland, Safari Gyro offers a magical Mediterranean food experience.
They serve an eclectic Mediterranean fare, ranging from kebab skewers to shawarma plates. They have a great selection of sides, salads, and desserts.
The restaurant has a wooden interior and a warm ambience. Safari Gyro is open daily from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Address: 7815 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, OR 97206, United States
13. Salama International Bazaar – eat in or take-away, tasty family-focused food.
Salama International Bazaar is a family-run restaurant on Glisan Street in Northeast Portland. The restaurant is located inside Menlo Park Plaza and serves a wide range of African dishes.
If you feel like grabbing a bite while shopping in the mall, you must stop by this small eatery. It is open daily between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Address: 12435 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97230, United States
14. Alleamin African Kitchen – bringing fresh Somalian sauces, food, and culture to the Pacific Northwest.
Alleamin African Kitchen is a Somalian restaurant located in Northeast Portland.
The restaurant offers a variety of Somali delicacies, including kimis, sambuusa, and muqmad among others.
Alleamin African Kitchen is a great venue for brunch, lunch, and dinner. It is perhaps the only African restaurant in the city that serves authentic Somali canjeero, a pancake-like bread similar to injera. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Address: 6925 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97213, United States
15. Sisters Ethiopian Restaurant – fresh authentic Ethiopian food with vegan and non-vegan options
Sisters Ethiopian Restaurant is an African food point serving Ethiopian cultural dishes.
They serve one of the best injeras in the city. They also offer an impressive variety of Ethiopian stews with both vegan and non-vegan options.
Sisters Ethiopian Restaurant is open Tuesdays through Sundays between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. They only offer takeaway service.
Address: Parking lot, 1720 SE 122nd Ave, Portland, OR 97233, United States
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Born and raised in Brazil, Gaby has always had a taste for the intriguing, the off-beat and the far flung. After travelling around most of South America, living in Spain and Italy and then moving to England, her feet have stayed continually twitchy. Studying for a degree in Spanish translation and then learning five more languages only poured more fuel onto her travelling ardor.
Gaby likes nothing better than discovering new destinations and meeting the locals, tasting the cuisine and hearing about the local stories. Her other indulgences include French cinema, boxing, photography, colourful manicures and soaking up the rays on a sun-infused beach. She counts Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon and Cornwall as her most favourite places in the world.