The greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has long been on true foodies’ radars due to its status as a culinary melting pot. This includes a tempting array of diverse African cuisine. Discerning palates have a lot to taste around the nation’s capital and surrounding areas between the long-established communities infusing everything from Ghanaian to Gullah Geechee traditions.

Neighborhoods like the historically Black U Street Corridor offer the rich and spicy flavors of West Africa, aromatic dishes of North Africa, and far more. Or consider the incredibly diverse 16th Street Heights, where you can savor Ethiopian injera, Senegalese thieboudienne, or Moroccan tagines. The whole of the African continent is represented in these eateries, making Washington, D.C., a haven for gourmands seeking an authentic taste of the Motherland.

Sinking one’s teeth into the history of Washington, D.C.’s foodways is a journey through time going back hundreds of years, as found in Black-owned eateries. During the era of forced West African diaspora, thousands of people brought with them their own cultures, which not only resisted efforts to suppress them but even found expression in communities beyond their own. Recipes from the homelands left behind persevered, creating new culinary stories and preserving origin stories through the medium of recipes and family meals. Over time, freed African Americans would establish their own restaurants, exposing new palates to these great dishes. Add to that the international presence of the diplomatic sector within America’s capital, and you find new West African immigrants adding to the story with their own contributions. Stir all that up in the stew, and you can quickly understand why foodies questing for African dishes in the Washington, D.C. area discover a true Mecca for all manner of that continent’s cuisine.

So what exactly can your taste buds expect to encounter when it comes to African restaurants here? Well, Washington, D.C. tourism can amply fold in a circuit of African eating. Start with a Ghanaian restaurant in D.C. for a dish made of the native grain fonio with a peppery shito sauce, just like you would find in that nation today. Nigerian restaurants in D.C. could spoon you some cassava leaf stew with beef or fish. And if you’re feeling like some authentic Swahili goodness, the goat dish known as mbuzi mchuzi will give you an authentic taste of Kenya. Still not sure where to start on your tour of the best African cuisine in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and beyond? Keep reading!

Here are some of the best African restaurants to try in the greater Washington, D.C., area.