Hate to say this about an African restaurant. But the Suya was awful. Dry. Tasteless. It tasted like the meat had been sitting out for a while and they just threw it in a bag and sold it to me. I will literally never go here again. They used to be in union and the food was good there. Now that they are in Irvington. Thumbs down. read more

Came here with a work proximity associate who grew up in Ghana and another work buddy for lunch. We were the first guests to start the lunch rush. We shared one meat pie as we waited for our entrees. I got the jollof rice, plaintain with goat. My buddy ordered the spinach stew think with plaintain and white rice. The other buddy got the turkey wings but sweet potatoes instead of rice. The portion is large. All our entrees were under $13 and each entrees comes with a bottle water. They go give you a bowl of water to wash your hand if you eat with your hands. There's hand soap on every table. The flavor was really good. There was a fish sauce that went well with the food. My goat was really chewy and hard. It needed to be braised longer. I tried the spinach dish and it was really good. They used a lot of spinach. So if you think you're gonna be sick. Get that to Popeye it up. Cc accepted. I will come back to try a soup. The nice lady running the place told me the soups are very large portions. I will call in my order if I'm in a rush. They make the food to order. We were there longer than I liked. read more

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The food was okay but the service was so bad especially the length of time waiting for the food and the woman in front had a bad attitude. Not worth my time especially when I'm on my lunch break which is timed. read more

Come for the jollof rice, stay for the meat pies! I took a friend visiting from Ghana to this restaurant because he said the food he had so far in Newark was lackluster. He loved the food so much that his cousin tried to go back the next day! (Unfortunately they're closed on Sundays.) If you're looking for authentic Ghanaian food, definitely check out Garden City. read more

As an update I came back to try the Jollof rice wasn't a fan of that nor the meat pies which come highly recommended on this app, unfortunately for me the meat pies were dry and could barely make it down my throat maybe it was a bad batch so I can't recommend those items, but I still will come back and support for the other items. Good spot overall for the other stuff. read more

Jollof good! Waakye good! I'm Ghanaian so I know GOOD waakye and jollof when I taste it. They have a good variety of Ghanaian food. Clean restaurant. Great service. The soups are good too. They give you a lot of meat and their food portions are big. Really worth the price (about $15 or less). Even the lunch special takeout is a lot of food and even cheaper. It's hard to find parking around the front of the restaurant sometimes, but there is parking in the back. read more

Garden City Restaurant - Fried yams & tilapia - African Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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The Jill of rice and turkey was delicious. The customer service was also great . Was craving some west African food and this place satisfied my craving ! read more

This is a low key cool atmosphere. A great spot for the mildly advantageous foodie willing to try another level of ethnic food with or without a spoon. Ghanaian cuisine is a lot of comfort food. Savory soups, flavorful rice and spicy main dishes that range from mild to " where's my glass of water!". I recommend the Jollof rice with Chicken. It's generally well made here and its mildly spicy. It's a great intro dish.. then work your way to others like FUFU and peanut butter soup. Garden city is an excellent example of classic Ghanaian comfort food. Dining in is quaint and simple. There are newspapers from Ghana and other parts of Africa, which provide a unique outside prospective of current affairs. Ok, some things I think they could improve. The lighting would serve the place better if it was updated to something more modern. The bathroom could use an update. It's not bad but it's not great either but its relatively clean. And second, I hate take out in Styrofoam. It doesn't take much to melt Styrofoam like steam from hot food. This is never good for food. read more

Garden City Restaurant - Chicken and Jollof Rice! - African Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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I ordered the Jollof and waakye at the Irvington location, and they were both delicious! Great portions! The taste really takes you back home. 10/10 recommend! read more

Egusi soup was horrible.. Let leave it for the Nigerians and when I ask the rude young man about Efo riro... and he said huh... I should of left... the best thing was the pounded yam... the spinach was to watery.. Never ever again... read more

Don't come here for the ambiance or decor or friendly conversation - you won't find it. You will however find delicious food! The goat was spectacular! Tender meat, crispy on the outside. The jollof rice is fantastic as well - make sure you try it. Affordable. Large portions. read more

Love this place. 1) The food is very affordable. 2) The portions are very large. 3) We got the jollof rice with chicken and chicken waakye. I will recommend requesting the curried tomato sauce with both the dishes. read more

Garden City Restaurant - Jollof rice with chicken. - African Near Me - Union, New Jersey

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As a Naija love love my Ghanaian cooking but there is one problem - garden city will test your patience with waiting time. Called union shop 10 times no pick up. Yelp said they open at 10am. I gave dem 2hrs 15min. Drove to the Union restaurant at 12:15. The door was lock. God help us. Call!!!!! For another 5 times no answer. Had to take my money somewhere else. read more

One of the only authentic Ghanian restaurants in the area. I placed my order in advance & got there, it was ready right on time. I like how everything on the menu is available. Just choose wat you want & they have it. They also take card which is rare for an African restaurant. Im from NY so a restaurant closing at 8pm is crazzzy to me! But I see thats a normal thing here in Jersey. The lady that served me was really nice read more

Had the goat soup with the fufu and it was really good. Not sure how anyone would eat all that fufu, I had half and was stuffed. The fufu was an interesting consistency and left the flavor delivery to the soup. The soup was delicious with a nice amount of spice. read more

Garden City Restaurant - Goat soup and fufu - African Near Me - Union, New Jersey

Heaven is the only word I have to describe this food. It did something to me. I felt it deep down in my DNA....Lol! I had the jollof with fish. The fish is reminiscent of Jamaican brown stew. Very flavorful - seasoned to perfection. The jollof was outstanding! The service was fast and friendly. I will definitely be back. read more

The other reviewers on this article are lucky as hell. They have a point of reference for West African food. Me, the schlub from North Jersey? I've only got Ethiopian and Moroccan cuisine experience to draw from. That's worlds away from the rest of the African continent. I mean, it's a CONTINENT - there's gotta be good stuff out there! Garden City has been sitting brightly on Stuyvesant Ave as one of a few nifty African restaurants in Union. After a rainy night driving around from Maplewood to Union and elsewhere looking for a Thursday night datenight option, we ended up thinking "to hell with defaulting to Van Gogh's Ear" (which is great, don't get me wrong, but it's a default) "why not check out that African place?" So we checked it out. Man oh man, lemme tell you, there is now in my eyes nothing - NOTHING - better than Ghanaian okra soup on a thunderstormy night. This soup was soup in the way that the Death Star was just a small moon. Big and powerful, impressive, and with a planet-destroying superla- I mean, with some awesome stewed goat. I had mine with kenkey (steamed cornmeal things - big dense fist-size globs of glutinous wonder) while my wife had jollof rice with goat. Oh man, her seared goat was AMAZING. The rice was flavorful and THE GOAT. It was savory and tender, which is wonderful. It wasn't the stewy kind of goat that I've had before. Man oh man, seriously, their goat. I also tried some African ginger juice - this stuff is POTENT. The lady running the place warned me that while tasty she always diluted it with water. While the sound of mind and body would take her advice, I am sound of only one of either depending upon the day. The ginger juice is great if you like ginger and burning sensations. I do enjoy both but next time I'm taking her advice. Garden City is awesome. Seriously, we felt welcome as hell and they were totally patient with our "What's this? What's that?" questions. I can't wait to go back and keep trying more food from them. read more

One of my favorite African spots. They're very consistent, check your food for accuracy before leaving though lol Its still an African restaurant. The jollof, suya,goat and fried turkey is on point. That's all I really order when I come here. My husband recently started ordering their soup, he seems to be content with it. Over all, I can't complain it's a great place in union. read more

FYI they serve Ghanaian jollof and fried rice. -signed, a slightly disappointed Nigerian read more

Never had this type of food, but loved it. Had both the fish (watch out for bones) and chicken Jollof. Cynthia is the owner and cook. And she is right there in the kitchen making everything from scratch. read more

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I found this restaurant while searching for African food. I work with newly arrived refugees, and we had a long day of meetings today. I wanted them to have a taste of "home" for the first time since arriving in the US last week and Garden City was the perfect place! The woman at the counter ( I did not get her name) was an angel to us. A fellow patron chipped in for our bill, and we were given appetizers on the house. Not only that, I asked where could i find a huge bag of corn meal... and could you believe that she graciously donated a 50 POUND bag? I feel so blessed to have met this wonderful woman of God. The family enjoyed their delicious meal, and we all walked out with our stomachs and hearts full. Thank you SO much!! read more

Garden City Restaurant - African Near Me - Union, New Jersey

This place was my spot during my undergrad, especially the Fried Yam and Fried Fish . I still try to make it in, when I'm in the area. It's an average looking place, usually not too packed. The food is good if you're into African Food. Anyway Nigerian Jollof is still the best, but if you must try, if you absolutely mustttt try Ghanaian Jollof Rice, this spot would absolutely be the place you want to do that. read more

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Jellof rice is so good!! The service is very friendly and the prices are very affordable. Nice family run/owned business. I'd definitely go back when in the mood for it! read more

Whenever I'm in the mood for some savory West African food, this is my go to spot. My favorite dish is the jellof rice and tilapia. It is absolutely delicious! It's a little spicy, well seasoned and just pure yumminess! On a couple of occasions when I ordered it, it's been a little bit greasy that's the only reason I don't give it five stars. But the service is quick and friendly, and the location is clean and safe. Their prices are extremely reasonable for the portion size. read more

The owner was more than gracious to us. We arrived 30 minutes before closing and we ordered grilled tilapia, attieke, jollof and plaintains. My husband and I loved the food. read more

The lady at the register was rude, and refused to accommodate me after she made a mistake about my order, worse place ever, first customer and last customer. And why cant I give half of a star, they dont deserve 1 star. read more

I tried the Big tilapia and acheke (spelling) and it was delicious. The fish had lots of flavor and the price was reasonable (12.50) the only thing was I called in my order and still had to wait awhile. I'm assuming that the fish is made to order. The spring rolls are also good but too small for my appetite. Overall, it was worth the wait! I will be returning indeed read more

Maybe I've been spoiled by my grandma's nurse's cooking (she's from Ghana) but I think her food is the best. I got the 'red red' lunch special at GCR which consisted of fish, beans, and plantains. The only good part of the dish for me was the plantains but I've had better. The fish had an odd, unpleasant taste to it. The beans were OK but were a little dry. The price of the lunch special is good though ($6). I just didn't like the food. read more

This place is lit. I always get the yam and stew with chicken and it is sooo soo good. Courteous staff with the aunties working in the back kitchen. read more

I live close by and I am a regular customer. Their Jollof rice is great. You should definitely try it! I am a student so the food is very affordable compared to other restaurants. read more

My family starting going to Garden a year ago and our first meals there were good show we continued showing support.. in the last 6 months we have continuously had our orders come without items.. like beans with no plantain, or jollof with meat and no sauce.. I was even charged 30 plus dollars for a 15 dollars and when I called to ask I was told by the young man that he is new and couldn't do anything about it.. (I should I reviewed then)... Despite this, we still tried to give another chance to this business .. today my sister called in an order to pick up for the family ..she was told 25 mins so she gave 40 mins before going to pick up ( because they tend to take very long to complete the order when ordered beforehand). Upon arriving my sister was told that the order was not done at all because they ran out of rice and that the people in the store already made their before we did so they prepared their meal an not ours.. this is the treatment our one year of custom gets us.. I would not advice going to this restaurant.. the are not professional at all and know nothing about customer service.. I will be taking my business elsewhere moving forward!! read more

The other reviews are correct - ambiance is super casual and nothing to write home about but the food will literally knock your socks off and the staff are super friendly! I was craving Ghanaian food this past weekend so popped in with the wife and kids. I had the yam with palaver sauce and goat meat and was instantly teleported to my mother's kitchen thousands of miles away. This is as authentic as it gets and the portions are gargantuan. The food took a little longer than expected to be served but one bite and I forgot that we'd been waiting for 30 minutes. read more

Being African American married to a Ghanaian, I was bound to get accustomed to trying and making the cuisine. I have never personally been here, but my husband brings me food. My favorite has to be the fried fish, banku and red pepper. The fish is so flavorful from outside in. The banku is soft, which I appreciate. I do not like hard banku. I have also tried the jollof rice. I make pretty good jollof, but here it is really really good. Soon I will move on to trying waakye and stew. read more

I love the tilapia and just tried the banku - WOW. The food is indescribably delicious, aromatic, exotic, succulent, fragrant and intoxicating. And the atmosphere is so friendly. The décor is lacking but so what. You go there for the amazing food which there really is no way to describe. I love this place. read more

My girlfriend took me here for lunch. I got the jolof rice. It came with grilled chicken and plantain and hot sauce. I also got an african soda called alvaro. The rice tasted like it had been microwaved (some bits of it warm some cold). The chicken was hard, the plantain tasted unripe. Worst of all the soda had expired BY 5 MONTHS!!!!!! I feel bad because I really wanted to like this place but in all honesty this place is a mess and should be shut down. read more

You have to try their spicy turkey. Amazing! I have ordered several times from them and have not been disappointed yet, they have catered at some events I have attended as well and they do a great job, very professional. read more