la.foodblogging

When people speak of African food, it usually leads to a discussion of Ethiopian restaurants. I was first introduced to Ethiopian cuisine when I lived in the Washington DC metro area where there are a number of Ethiopian eating establishments in the Adams-Morgan section of DC.

In Los Angeles, one can find Ethiopian food on Fairfax just south of Olympic in the Little Ethiopia district. Perhaps, soon, some of our LA foodbloggers and readers will weigh in on the ones they like and where else in LA one might find food with an African flavor.

Having said all that about Ethiopian, this post will be about an African restaurant that is not Ethiopian!

Ngoma offers a menu where on one page are dishes from East Africa and on the other page dishes from West Africa.

I’ve been to it a handful of times and on a couple of occasions with friends who have lived in Africa. They were pleased with the food and enjoyed chatting with the owners of the restaurant who were in turn delighted to know some diners have been to Africa.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is casual as it is a smallish locale on Wilshire near La Brea. One time I went there was live music with a decidedly African beat. Other times, the music is African from the CD player. On one occasion, the music from the nearby Conga Room pretty much provided the soundtrack for the diners. Service is usually good but occasionally a bit slow but this nice little place is ideal for friends to converse and linger.

Tonight, I went solo. I ordered from the West Africa side of the menu. The photo is of the Lamb Mafe which has a delicious peanut sauce. Main dish plus appetizer plus tax and tip was $22.00.

Location:
Ngoma Restaurant
5358 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036.
Cross Street: Detroit Avenue
Telephone: 323-934-1595
Fax: 323 934-1565

By Rene (see more of his posts). You can find more of Rene's writing at his own website Rene's Ramblings