Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Mama Sambusa Kitchen

    4.0 (33 reviews)
    Open 4:00 pm - 4:00 am (Next day)
    Updated 3 months ago

    Mama Sambusa Kitchen Photos

    Business Info

    You might also consider

    More like Mama Sambusa Kitchen

    Recommended Reviews - Mama Sambusa Kitchen

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Chicken Tacos

    My girl friend and I went to Mama Sambusa not knowing exactly what the ambiance was going to be, whether it was take out or dine in, but we were eager either way. As we were walking around the corner (looking lost), Mama herself greeted us and asked us what were looking for. When we told her the restaurant, She let us know she had just returned from Africa, they were not ready with all their ingredients, and could only offer tacos and/or sandwiches. We were happy to order chicken tacos, takeout only. Even though the restaurant wasn't open to patrons, Mama was so hospitable. We waited about 20-30 minutes, but the food was well worth it! We ate the tacos in our car, and Mama even ran over to us while eating and offered us a Sambusa that was now ready (also so amazing). Be prepared for cash only. We hope to be back when their full kitchen is up and running!

    Updated menu!
    Alias H.

    I only tried the chicken and beef sambusas this time but will return to try the pasta (and get more sambusas). I took them to go and nearly drove off the road smelling them on my way home. Cooked by Mama Sambusa herself, the sambusas were flavorful and juicy inside. The outside was crisp and chewy in all the right ways. Not soggy or oily at all. Clean tasting. (They actually clean their oil!) The beef one is slightly spicy but not overwhelmingly so. It is the most traditional and I'm glad I had the foresight to get an extra one for "tomorrow" aka I devoured them all the moment I got home. You might have noticed that they are open until 4am. I confirmed that this is not a typo. I could see this being a handy piece of information on a Friday or Saturday night if you get my drift. Lastly, they accept credit card, but they use Square, so cash would probably reduce their cost of operations. Black and immigrant owned. Come to support, but keep coming back for the food.

    Beef Sambusa  Addictive

    The food is sooo good, and it really felt like I went to my friend's mom's house. And I never wanted to leave.

    Sarah's Spaghetti
    Je'Tara J.

    ven during the height of COVID, they delivered great service. I've tried so many items on their menu and they're all good but my favorites are the Sambusa's and Sarah's Spaghetti. Sarah's Spaghetti is full of flavor and has the right amount of spice. The meat sauce is rich but not heavy. The portion size is unbelievable. It's more than enough for two people or to eat over two days. I've had sambusa's from other places and these are by far my favorite. Non of the flavors in it overpower the others; that's key for me. Try their food and follow them on IG, you won't regret it.

    An online order placed.
    Lasha H.

    If 0 stars was a thing that is what they would be getting right now. I ordered on their website which is all over their instagram, waited the 40 minutes, paid and even called which the number does NOT work. Once I arrived someone comes out and says she has not done any online orders and she "knows nothing about the internet" she then proceeds to tell me to get request my money back but I can't request my money back on a online website. I'm very upset that I had to make the drive just to have her tell me my food was not ready nor going to be made. Unprofessional will not be returning.

    House Salad with Grilled Shrimp

    See all

    1 month ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Thank you for supporting it means the world!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alias H.
    7
    142
    51

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ev P.
    269
    29
    22

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 2
    Love this 3
    Oh no 1

    6 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Please do not waist your time going here they are not open at the moment save your gas , very great food though !

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Food is good if you can catch them open . The hours are super hit and miss which is super irritating and not great for a food business.

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of M B.
    8
    102
    31

    5 years ago

    Fantastic food. Kind people. Love the diverse menu, quality too! Cooked to order often! Amazing and always open late!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nehath S.
    272
    21
    3

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Honey M.

    Honey M.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    mamá sambusa is absolutely awesome. customer service is phenomenal food is delicious mama is so nice.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Mama Sambusa Kitchen

    When is it usually open? I go by there often and it is closed?

    It's always open when I go. I follow them on insta and if they are closed they usually inform customers via ig

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Mama Sambusa Kitchen

    I only tried the chicken and beef sambusas this time but will return to try the pasta (and get more sambusas).

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for African 1,683 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Jollof Hub West African Cuisines - Yasa

    Jollof Hub West African Cuisines

    4.4(32 reviews)
    14.7 miBitter Lake

    Food safety should be the number one priority for any food business, and Jollof Hub failed to…read moredemonstrate that. Don't get me wrong, the food tasted amazing, the portion sizes are great, and the price was justified. However, the negatives outweigh the positives for this restaurant. Me and 3 other people came in, and the store was empty. We ordered 3 okra soups, 1 with chicken, 2 with lamb, and 1 jollof rice chicken plate. The first plate took about 40 minutes to come out, which was an egusi soup to which we had not ordered. We still had to wait longer for all of our food to come out. Upon my food arriving, I noticed there was a hair in the Saran Wrap of the fufu, making contact with my food. Because we had already waited so long for our food to come out, I didn't bother to mention it to the worker. Comparing Jollof Hub to Pass D Jollof, this place has better portion sizes and better pricing. It was $26 for okra soup that includes protein and 2 portions of fufu whilst PDJ charges $34 for okra soup, you have to pay extra for protein, and 1 portion of fufu. That said, I don't think I'd come back here due to the food safety issue.

    Rating: 3.5 Stars. Rounding up to support a small business…read more Jollof Hub West African Cuisines in Shoreline is the third west Africa restaurant in our area that we visited. It ranks the third out of the three (sorry). They focus on Gambia, Senegal, and Nigeria. The west Africa region has their own set of spices that are uniquely flavored and so delicious. Their meats are perhaps cut traditionally - coarsely butchered with lots of bones (again, sorry). The interior of the restaurant is modestly decorated with tables that can support a group. The service is very kind though his English is limited; I did more googling afterwards to answer my questions. Business was very slow, not much take-out orders, either. One server covered two tables plus two takeouts during the time we were there on a Saturday night. I hope business picks up. They have their own parking lot with more spaces in the back. The Food: Lamb Afar, with vermicelli, $23.99 - 4 Stars The meat is very well seasoned and tender. It is difficult to sort the meat from the bones. Just be aware this is more of a hands-on dish vs a fork and knife dish. Serving size is so gigantic that hubby didn't finish, which is a rare phenomenon. This may have been a 3.5 Stars dish, but due to the portion, rounded up. Benachin (Jollof rice), $22.99 - 2.5 Stars I asked the server which is his favorite dish, and he named this one. The Jollof rice recipe is commonly the focus and signature of a restaurant or of a household. Both their rice and the meat are drier than I expected. We have had better versions of the Jollof rice elsewhere. I would have preferred more tender meat also. Most of this went home to be modified (which turned out great!). Meat Pies, $7 - 4.5 Stars I have found meat pies at West African and at soul food restaurants. I personally enjoy the seasonings used in the West African versions better. These are impeccably seasoned with a kick and perfectly fried. I preferred this dish over my entrée for sure.

    Photos
    Jollof Hub West African Cuisines
    Jollof Hub West African Cuisines - Afra

    Afra

    Jollof Hub West African Cuisines

    See all

    Bantaba African Restaurant - Delicious!

    Bantaba African Restaurant

    4.3(346 reviews)
    20.3 mi
    $$

    Just updated with pictures of food and front of the restaurant for pictures of some ambiance. The…read moreowners and staff are fantastic. You hear lots of French here from staff and customers interacting.

    I haven't had much West African food in the past so when we were looking for some new food to try…read moreout over the weekend, we came across Bantaba. As other reviews state, this is kind of a strange restaurant that seems more like it's for regulars rather than new customers. There's no actual printed menu other than hints of a menu on the signboard above the register (and we confirmed this with the cashier). I guess this is to save on cost, which coincidentally also allows them to adjust pricing on the fly? There are photos posted of the menu from 2024, but my guess is those are of an old pre-COVID menu, given that the prices increased over 50% at this point. Per other reviews, dine-in orders are also packaged in takeout boxes and can take a variable amount of time to cook. We don't usually get takeout much, but decided to call in an order for this visit. This was at around 5PM on Saturday and we were promised a 30 minute wait. We arrived 30 minutes later, paid for the order, and it ended up taking about another 10 minutes. Not too bad. Benechin Beef ($18.99) - As I learned, benechin is essentially a different term for the more commonly known (at least in the US) jollof rice. In this case, the rice has a deep tomato and spiced umami that combines a pleasant saltiness with a heat level that builds and builds. It's topped with a small side of cabbage that seems to be stewed in the same spices as the rice. There's then a piece of yucca root, stewed but still rather toothsome with fiber strands all in one direction like muscle grains. For the beef, they include four pieces of thinly sliced barbecued meat. The meat is extremely flavorful with what seems to be a black pepper and allium based spice mixture. In terms of texture, it's quite tough and chewy, almost to the level of beef jerky. (4/5) Afra Lamb ($20.99) - This dish comes with a choice of rice or salad, not both as the older menu states. We went with the rice which comes in a smaller container and is a long grain rice cooked until perfectly fluffy. It's cooked with salt, which is something that I'm not used to. The larger container includes a mound of bone-in lamb meat doused in a savory and tangy mustard based sauce. The meat is a very interesting mixture of off-cuts, a combination of cross-cut ribs, shanks, lamb chops, and some random other cuts. The lamb is mostly bone in and there are tons of small bone shards all over the meat, making it a bit of a pain to eat. The meat isn't very gamey and all and is much more tender as compared to the beef jerky in the benechin. On top of the lamb, they include mustard infused softened onions and whole quick-charred onion rings, resulting in a still crunchy texture. They include some powdered dried chilis is a small pile hidden under the onions. Be careful - it's starts out smoky like paprika to start and the heat only starts to build after a couple of seconds. (4/5) Bantaba is a great place to try some new food. While it's not the most beginner friendly restaurant, it offers some flavors and dishes that are hard to find around Seattle. Bathrooms - Single unisex room

    Photos
    Bantaba African Restaurant - Interior

    Interior

    Bantaba African Restaurant - Benechin with lamb

    Benechin with lamb

    Bantaba African Restaurant - Seating

    See all

    Seating

    Dijah’s Kitchen - Lamb dibi

    Dijah’s Kitchen

    4.2(54 reviews)
    22.4 mi

    Dijah's Kitchen in Lynnwood is our fourth West African restaurant. We continue to enjoy this…read moreregion's seasonings and flavors and find tonight's food delicious and enjoyable. By now, we are minor 'pros' and know to bring some patience to West African restaurants. Entrees generally take about 30 minutes. To fill the gap, we order an appetizer. Service was "shy". The server approached cautiously always with a big smile. English was good enough but don't expect deep detail replies. Luckily, we are familiar with the food. The restaurant is modest in décor and narrow in shape. A cluster of tables in the back can sit a large group. The Food: Shrimp Pies, $8.99 - 5 Stars This is the only restaurant out of four that offers a shrimp version of the meat pie. Perfectly fried, these were really good! The server said this is his favorite amongst the pies. Lamb Dibi, $21.99 - 4.5 Stars Well-seasoned lamb pieces are well grilled. It comes with a choice of starch; the plantain was great. A surprising delight is the dressing on the onions. Yummy. Grilled Branzino, $25 - 4.5 Stars Not for the faint of heart, this is a whole fish grilled. Honestly, I think the rest of world eats whole fish while US and Canada eat filets only. They made sure to give us the two inches of tail that had broken off. I have to admit I was amused. Perfectly cooked, hubby picked this fish clean. The sweet potato fries are also very good. Jollof Rice with Chicken, $18 - 5 Stars Ever since I learned jollof rice is every family's own recipe from our first W. African restaurant, I have ordered it from all others to try each variant. The Dijah version has a good chewy rice that is superbly well seasoned. The chicken is also very well prepared and flavored. Theirs might be my new favorite. I ordered it to go and sampled a bit at the restaurant. The 5 Stars overall rating is focused on the food. Don't expect fine dining 'ambiance'.

    Just ordered the grilled fish. It was great. I got it with vermicelli. The onion and sauce was…read morequality. Ordered meat pie and the sweet potato fries. Good stuff all around. I'll be back.

    Photos
    Dijah’s Kitchen - Inside the Restaurant

    Inside the Restaurant

    Dijah’s Kitchen
    Dijah’s Kitchen - Menu

    See all

    Menu

    Mama Sambusa Kitchen - african - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...