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    Baobab Fare

    4.7 (436 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Baobab Fare Photos

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    BAOBAB FARE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Baobab Fare

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    Aisha F.

    What a deliciously cute spot! I'm a fan of East African food for sure, but not sure if I've had Burundi food specifically. The goat dish was DIVINE and it came out immediately. The kind of food that is slow cooked and hot and ready for whenever it's ordered. The beans, both rices, and the corn salad were delicious. 10/10 experience.

    audie m.

    The staff here is very welcoming and the place has a nice design to it. It feels like you are at home. I ordered the fish dish that came with rice and plantains as well has veggies. Everything was well prepared and it lives up to the hype.

    Marissa C.

    I came here just before I went to Hamilton at the theater and it was delicious! It is a midrange priced resturant and it did not disappoint. I have a severe peanut allergy and it was not an issue here as the menu highlights it and the staff is vigilant about it as well. I had their chicken dish and it was one of the best pieces of chicken I have ever had. Service could have been a little faster but it was a very busy day in the restaurant.

    Jason C.

    It required two visits, trying different dishes to finally have enough 411 to write a review. Tried: Sambusa, Plantains Chips & Dipping Sauce, Nyumbani, Kuku, Kumuhana, Mbuzi, Samaki, Intore, Mgoga, Tamu, Coco Mango, & Ji Passion Fruit My Favorites: Intore and Samaki - when it comes to flavor profiles, these two dishes shine over others. I also asked the waitress which dish is the most popular and they told me the Samaki is their #1 seller. I tired half/half on the rice on my first visit, this visit I went with spiced rice pilau only. I'm not a fan of coconuts, while the coconut rice doesn't have a overpowering coconut flavor, spiced rice will be my to go moving forward. Nyumbani, while decent, the meat was bit under seasoned to my taste. Kuku was the better over Kuhuhana. Mbuzi - the goat shank was lukewarm when we got it, it was bit hard to break the meat off the bone, but worth trying at least once. Service was superb on both visits, water bottle gets refilled w/o asking, and great experience. While I won't be able to make it out often, definitely will be on my list of places to revisit while in Detroit area.

    Takeout bag
    Melissa P.

    A true, authentic and cultural gem! Baobab Fare is a celebrated East African restaurant in Detroit, founded by Burundian refugees Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere. This was my first time here but definitely won't be the last. The food is so rich in color, flavor, and ethnic tradition - it feels like a homemade meal straight from Africa. I loved the flavor of my dish called "Nyumbani", the beef was so tender it broke apart with a touch of my fork. I went with friends - vegetarian and not - we all loved our dishes which were variations of one another considering the ingredients across each dish are similar.

    Joanne L.

    I placed an order for pick uo from here and the staff were very friendly.. the place looked great for dinner and well decorated. Still pretty busy at 8:30pm. The food was SO good. Man I wish I could have the first bite all over again. I had zero complaints about anything. The chicken was so flavorful and tender, the plantains were perfectly sweet, and I swapped the yellow beans for an eggplant stew which was incredible as well. Even the rice was so good. I also ordered the green pudding dessert which is more fruity and tangy than I expected. It's pretty good and worth trying! If you're debating between this and another spot, I'll make the decision for you- try this place!

    Kumuhana
    Lamarr E.

    Im kind of torn with writing this. After seeing all the accolades and awards, I couldn't wait to try Baobab when visiting home over the holidays. The service was great and the servers were all wonderful. I just feel like the food could've had a little more spice. I've tried East African food before, so I could tell they held back on some of the flavors. I did get the chicken, so maybe I ll try and order something bolder next time.

    Vishu C.

    Never tried East African food before, so I'm glad this fast casual spot exists here in Detroit. There are only about three vegan options, but I quite enjoyed the Mboga, which was a spinach and peanut stew, served with fried plantains, beans and a pulao (spicy rice). It was enough for lunch and a second serving to take home. I also liked the African tea, which was pretty similar to a chai. Would recommend making a reservation because the restaurant was bumping during Sunday lunch time.

    Sandra T.

    Baobab has such wonderfully made food. The restaurant is busy, friendly, cozy and filled with folks from everywhere. If you haven't been, go, eat, try something new and enjoy. Also, don't sleep on the avocado dessert. They were out when we went, otherwise there would have been a picture of that too

    Stewed goat
    Michael C.

    I asked AI for a restaurant that was out of my comfort zone. It recommended this Burundi place, in fact the only one in the country. The place is very cute, not a dirty hole in the wall. I mentioned that I was allergic to cilantro. The server brought out the recipe book and confirmed I was OK. I ordered the Sambusa and the stewed goat. Both was very tasty. The goat was served with a corn salad and flavorful coconut rice. I can see why Boabab Fare is a James Beard finalist.

    Outside
    Colleen A.

    My husband and I took our aunt and uncle here for dinner over the holidays as their Christmas gift. We picked the restaurant for a few different reasons. They have been on Yelp's top 100 list and Yelp Detroit top 25 places to eat according to Yelp Elites list. They were also James Beard nominees. They also are part of OpenTable's Exclusive Tables program. We planned to make a reservation, but by the time we got all of our details ironed out, they only had an 8 PM, so we decided to do a walk in. We chose 6 o'clock on a Friday night and were seated immediately. Our experience was great from start to finish. Our server, Tima, took great care of us and told us that it was her job to make sure we had a wonderful night and the best chance at loving everything we ate and drank. We started with appetizers and ordered both things: plantain chips & dip and sambusas (a chicken and vegetable filled puff pastry. It was somewhat like an Indian samosa.) We really enjoyed both appetizers. I read the menu before we visited and noted. They had a fun drink selection. My husband ordered an espresso (and got a bonus Americano when the server misremembered his order at the last second). He said both were delicious. Our aunt, uncle, and I all ordered the house fizzy drinks, which come in flavors, passionfruit, and hibiscus. I was surprised to see them come out in a fun can. I wonder if you can purchase the drinks anywhere else in the city since they are canned. The drinks were delicious. I highly recommend if you don't mind a lot of sugar. For dinner, we decided to split three meals between the four of us as the portions looked pretty generous. All three things we ordered came with the same sides, so we swapped some out to make sure we could try as many dishes as possible. This dude beans were good. As was the spicy rice pilaf. I really enjoyed the corn salad. It would make the perfect side dish at a summer cookout. My favorite sides were the peanut spinach and the coconut rice. The platters we ordered were: kuku (chicken in a tangy mustard-onion sauce), kumuhana (Tender marinated chicken grill-roasted with onion, garlic, and lemon) and mbuzi (Slow-roasted goat shank). The goat was cooked, incredibly perfectly! It was fall off the bone, tender, so juicy, packed with flavor, and so rich and comforting. I would eat it 100 times over. My uncle was really excited to try goat for the first time as it has been on his bucket list. This was definitely a great first experience. My next favorite was the grilled chicken. It had amazing flavor and was tender and juicy as well. The kuku was good, but didn't stand out as much as the others. I appreciated that the menu was on the smaller side so by ordering a few dishes I really felt like we got a good taste of what the restaurant has to offer. A highlight of the whole meal for the sausages. We ended up asking for extra so we could pour them on everything. I highly recommend a meal here. Even if you aren't usually an adventurous eater, I think you will enjoy yourself.

    Dessert-I cannot remember the name, but it had mango and coconut and indescribably good
    Tracy J.

    Absolutely one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. I have never had Namibian food before but I would drive all the way back to Detroit every weekend if I could to have it again. The restaurant was packed when I arrived around 3 o'clock with a nice atmosphere. My waiter was very pleasant.

    Entry
    Aja G.

    This place is soo cute. The staff were nice and the food was delicious. I had the fish and my bestie had the beef. The flavors were on point: the food came out hot.

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

    It's a little pricey for the portion size but haven't all portion sizes gotten smaller. The service is the best and the food is delicious.

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    3 years ago

    The food is consistently good! It's great to have this jewel in the City of Detroit. On my way now to pick up an order.

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    3 years ago

    Great meal. Will definitely go again. Staff was attentive and informative - nice location.

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    4 years ago

    Fresh, light urban decor and DELICIOUS food. We tried the fish, chicken, and eggplant dishes. All three were outstanding.

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    Page 7 of 11

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    Ask the Community - Baobab Fare

    Is reservation needed?

    If you have a large group of diners, then yes, would recommend you make a reservation, but it's not necessary. Also keep in mind, they do get busy depending on the day of the week and the time of the day.

    Is parking easy on Woodward?

    Yes, and even easier on Grand Blvd

    Are Saturday mornings a busy time?

    Does this restaurant offer halal meat?

    Yes!

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    Taj Al Yemen Restaurant & Cafe

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    The lamb and rice is amazing here !!!!! I just get carryout…read moreand this is the only thing I ever get bc it's so good Such a hidden gem!

    It's Taj Al Yemen formerly Family Donut corner of Caniff and Conant in the heart of Bangel Town…read moreHamtramak. The most reasonable price any Middle Eastern restaurant anywhere, price on most items 50 percent cheaper. A full Yemeni menu and still has Donuts and get this Albania Burek Burek is known as the street food of the Balkans. Got the last one filled with Cheese outstanding Delicious . A full house two sides of dining rooms. Non stop flow of customers carry out and full dining room Saturday afternoon. The owners took over less than a year ago and have thousands of regular customers. We shared a marvelous meal of Yemeni Breakfast and Lunch food's with lots of leftovers. Liver (Kibda) Fresh Liver With Garlic, Tomatoes, Onions and Pepper with Tanoor Bread OMG a real winner . White Beans breakfast dish Fassolia / With Eggs) Garlic, Tomatoes and Onions. A half roasted Chicken Yemeni style so juicy delicious , Chicken Haneeth Slow Roasted Chicken With Seasoning. Hummus With Foul Chickpeas Blended With Tahini Sauce, Garlic and Lemon topped with foul. You gotta check the website for the menu, so very unique. https://order.online/store/taj-al-yemen-restaurant-hamtramck-24256848/?activationPreview=true&hideModal=true&pickup=true Shout out to Tom Perkins from Metro Times for the article he wrote that got me here. #tajalyemen @taj_al_yemen_restaurant #chickenhaneeth #hummuswithfoul #lambkibbeh #burek #donuts #yemenirestaurant #hamtramck

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    Taj Al Yemen Restaurant & Cafe
    Taj Al Yemen Restaurant & Cafe
    Taj Al Yemen Restaurant & Cafe

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    Baobab Fare - coffee - Updated August 2026

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