My adventures in West Africa continued in the city of Accra, Ghana! Come with me as I visit a chop bar in Ghana for the first time to enjoy some West Africa street food in Accra!
For this street food adventure, my guides Isaac and Ben from Jolinaiko Eco Tours and I started our afternoon in the Osu neighborhood. It’s one of the most popular neighborhoods in town and is full of chop bars!
Chop bars basically mean “place to eat.” They’re local restaurants that you can find all over Ghana! We’d be kicking off our adventure at Asanka Local Ghana International Chop Bar to try some fufu, red red, and more!
Asanka Local is one of the best restaurants in Osu. We ordered some chicken, red red, plantains, and more. These dishes are all local favorites, so I couldn’t wait to dive in!
We started with an alcoholic drink that’s basically plants mixed with gin. It had a bitter, medicinal flavor. I’m not a massive gin fan but I liked the earthy, herbal flavor. Then, I tried a second variety with a nicer aroma and a less bitter flavor!
In the massive dining hall, I had my chicken, gari (cassava flour), red red, and plantains. The red red didn’t contain a ton of spices but was really flavorful. I loved it with the sweet plantains.
I’m from Miami, where plantains are a staple in the diet due to the Latin American influences. the dish was like a maduro, and reminded me of a lot of dishes I’d eaten in Latin America! We enjoyed it with a crisp and light Club Lager.
It’s best when you get a bit of chicken, red red, plantain, and gari together on your fork. The gari added a nice crunch, and the red red was like a mashed bean stew with a red sauce. It was so creamy and tasty.
After our meal, we hopped back in the car past small restaurants, kiosks, vendors, and residential buildings. We drove five minutes to a small house. There, they soak, dry, germinate, and boil millet in water to make pito, which is millet beer.
It’s served in a big bowl. It had a very fermented, yeasty taste and was a little bitter. It reminded me of the jungle beer I tried in Palumeu, Suriname. They also have a darker and cloudier sweet pito, which is more enjoyable. The sweet one is non-alcoholic!
The custom here is to drink and then offer drinks to everyone else, so we bought drinks for everyone there. Then, we headed back out to continue exploring Osu. My guides wanted me to see the murals at an overpass. They depict singing women and an elephant with a ram on top, which symbolizes royalty.
Across the street are very colorful murals depicting vibrant skirts, space, and more women. They depict spirits that protect the communities in the night, which are popular in Benin and Nigeria.
We then drove 2 minutes to Oxford Street. I met a vendor who designs unique Converse All-Stars and bracelets; as well as others selling leather belts, necklaces, and more. A man named Elvis sells beautiful paintings, and another made me a bracelet that says “David In Ghana!”
Further on, we found vendors selling gorgeous textiles and masks from Ghana, Togo, and Benin. My favorite was a beautiful elephant mask, which cost 1,000 cedi, or about $200 USD. They also had more paintings that incorporate fabric.
Next, we saw a craft vendor selling unity bowls, which symbolize the fact that in Ghana, they share from the same bowl. You can also buy masks and utensils.
We also found a coconut stand where they sell them for $1 USD. The water inside was so refreshing. Mine didn’t contain any meat, which was okay because the water filled me up!
What an awesome experience visiting a chop bar in Ghana and trying West African food in Accra, Ghana! Huge thanks to my friends at Jolinaiko Eco Tours for showing me around, and to OLMA Colonial Suites for hosting me!
I hope you liked coming with me to a chop bar to try West African food in Accra, Ghana! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my travel/food adventures around the world!
Counter
101 Countries • 1432 Cities
