After spending ten life-changing days exploring Ghana, I was back where I started, in the capital city, Accra. Come with me as I set out on a spicy West African food tour of Accra, Ghana, that includes modern, vegan dishes and catfish!
My evening began shortly after my one-hour flight from Tamale to the capital. I headed over to Tatale, a local vegan restaurant, to meet up with my friend Lotte. Lotte founded Ghana Food Movement, which is all about promoting African food culture!
Tatale is a modern restaurant but doesn’t serve alcohol. Luckily, you can bring your own. We enjoyed some Belgian beer she brought for us and went over the menu, which includes Tatale kebabs, which are plantain fritters. They also have cassava bake (similar to baked potato), abolo (cornmeal paste) with vegetables, red red, plantains, and more!
In the kitchen, I watched them make yam chips. Ben, the chef and owner, became a vegan at 15! The spicy vegetable and tofu kebabs looked incredible. He sauteed and baked them!
We started with the plantain cakes and the cassava bake. The cassava bake includes cassava and yams and came with some hot sauce, which had a real kick to it. It was really tasty and full of flavor, too. The cassava and chilies are not indigenous to the country but are widely used.
The plantain cakes were almost like a flavorful Tatale, which was a fried plantain block. I loved it! It was both sweet and savory, very healthy, and soft like a cake. It was so different from the street food I’d been eating around the country, which are usually based around a starch ball and meat.
Then, we jumped on the Tatale kebab, which contained tofu, pumpkin, cauliflower, and squash, eggplant, and carrots. It was simple and light, with tons of flavors. I love vegetables, and it was great to see them in the food. The spice was great, too!
Next, we jumped into the egusi with brown rice, which is a stew made from melon seeds, which is popular in Nigeria. It came topped with spinach. We also had abolo, which is a corn mash from the Volta region that’s served with lots of black-eyed beans, okra, and zucchini.
The egusi was like a creamy spinach dip and was both sweet and nutty. It was my favorite dish in all of Ghana and was so tasty. It also contains red palm oil. The abolo with the beans, okra, and zucchini was also excellent. I loved how green and healthy it was!
Next, we drove down Oxford Street, which is where most of the entertainment is, including restaurants, bars, and clubs. We drove far, through a warehouse district, to get some catfish!
We made it to the Spintex neighborhood, which was full of bars and restaurants. The area was popping!
At Captain’s Catfish Point and Grill, we met Captain! You choose a fish and they weigh and kill it. Then, they wash it with lemon and marinate it with sauce and vegetables before steaming it in foil on the grill!
Catfish is more popular in Nigeria, while tilapia is more common in Ghana. This restaurant only sells catfish! You can also get soup and yam fries on the side, as well as beer, bitters, and liquor.
We washed our hands and opened it up. The aroma was unbelievable! It was spicy and out of this world and was like reinvented street food. I recommend being extra careful of the bones.
The yam fries were really tasty and hot as well. I loved dipping them into the sauce. There was so much meat on the fish. It’s another of the best dishes I ate in Ghana!
And that’s it for my spicy West African food tour in Accra, Ghana! Big thanks to Lotte and everyone at Ghana Food Movement for this incredible experience. I also want to thank everyone at Jolinaiko Eco Tours for all their help and support on this trip, and Olma Colonial Suites for hosting me on my final night in Accra!
I hope you liked coming on our spicy West African food tour 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!
Want to help promote Ghanaian food culture and Ghana’s culinary heritage? ??
Connect with Ghana Food Movement via IG!
Counter
101 Countries • 1432 Cities
