Africanne on Main

This is the first African restaurant I experienced in Richmond but I am aware there are others. First of all, I noticed they use hand sanitizer which is not sufficient to clean hands. It is best to wash your hands thoroughly at a self serve buffet. The styrofoam although cost effective for the business is terrible for the environment and the particles can get in the food. The plantain was cold. It was good but cold. I was very disappointed with lukewarm food given the prices. When getting my drink the dispenser fell apart and it sounded like they had the issue before, so an option to buy a bottled version might be a good idea. As a Ghanaian I was amused to try the Liberian Jollof. It wasn’t bad it just lacked spices and the sophisticated flavors you would find in Ghana, Nigeria or Senegal where the dish originated. I will come back again and see if there is any improvement otherwise I will try the other African restaurants in Richmond. I do like that they had a large vegan selection and clearly labeled dishes. I am West African and familiar with the culture, so I didn’t find the customer service to be rude, they are just direct and assertive. Probably overworked and dealing with rude customers.

Great food you can't normally get in most of the US. Buffet style so you can get in and out quickly if needed for take away. I love taking visitors here.

When I mean to tell you it felt like home here and don't get me started in the food. 10/10. I've been looking for some real African food and I tried this place today. I bought the seafood gumbo which came with fufu. when I received the bag I was skeptical because how small it was but trust it was enough. customer service was amazing and tbh I might go back for seconds in the next hour.

No actually what I expected but I was quite please with the selections of food and the cleanliness of the serving areas. It’s required to sanitize when entering but not every time you go back in to the self-serving area. Let’s be clear this is not an AYCE Buffet. This is a cafeteria that weighs your food at $9 a lb. Which is barely enough to stave off hunger for more of it’s 200lb plus guests. This place is very expensive and mostly worth it. I would expect more in the ambiance of the restaurant but we are greeted with nothing authentic other than the food. Some of the drinks were not traditional African drinks. As one attendant mentioned… well we needed another juice. 😂 Hilarious. So you will find Jamaican Sorrel and a few other American pallet prepared drinks. All in all this would have been a 5 star experience if the food was less expensive (giving the chance to sample more) and the ambiance was more culturally appealing. Music would have been nice and maybe a greeting or two in the native tongue. It would be nice to feel as if you have been whisked away for an hour. Give me a reason to come back especially being near the VCU campus. We expected a more budget friendly experience. This place is Expensive!!!

Absolutely, love the restaurant and staff members. They are always accommodating to my vegan request. For lunch, on Vegan Tuesday's, I enjoy the spinach, mixed vegetables, grandmas cabbage, yams, plantains, veggie tofu mix, vegan egusi and vegan mango cake. This is the best seasoned southern food in Richmond! We do catering orders during the holidays and the food is simply amazing, everyone loves it.

Food is tasty and nice place to get some good food. Place is nice and clean with good customer service. The only thing I’d like to see is more west african food on the menu.

I recently got into african food so this is the first African Restaurant I've been too! For starters the service is great, the lady at the register is always sweet, and they clearly pay attention to their customers because I recently started calling them to make sure they have egusi before I arrive and when I called today, the lady that answered said "Africanne on main, we have Egusi with goat meat and fufu." Which I thought was funny. Secondly the food is fantastic, and the prices are outstanding for the food's quality. My mom and I ordered two trays of food (One small, One large) that came up to 18, along with a small Egusi & fufu that came to 13 plus tax... So overall 10/10

This place is my absolute fave. And tonight I went for the first time in a while and not only was the food just as good as always but the accommodations they made? Superb I love it

The food was delicious and the ambiance was nice. For a buffet style restaurant everything was at the perfect temperature.

I decided to try Africanne on Main since it is so close to campus, and I wish I found them sooner! They are pay-by-weight buffet. For me, the pineapple ginger juice and cornbread were the highlights! I love how each day there is a different menu. There is also a good amount of vegan options as well. Staff were extremely kind and even came up to us to make sure everything was okay. Restaurant is clean and I liked how the buffet was organized. I highly recommend!!

We stumbled upon this place after hiking. We really worked up an appetite and this was the perfect place to soothe it! At first, the instructions are not clear so reviews from other Yelpers really helped. Whether you're dining in or taking out the process is the same. You fill up your plates/containers and weight out your food prior to sitting and chowing down. For both of us, it was $40 with drinks, not including the rum cake which was great value for everything we got. There was music playing which really set the ambience. Rex and I loved all the food items we chose and they were perfectly paired with the ginger drinks we got. The drinks were super sweet which paired well with the delicious and savory food. It was also our first time trying fufu and we appreciated the sign suggesting which dish paired best with it. My only critique would be that more interaction from the staff and guidance on the process would have been appreciated. They were friendly with the few interactions we had. We will definitely come back when we're in the area again.

Oxtails anyone?? I came here to try the Yelp 2023 Food Trend: Oxtails and it was DIVINE! ***LOCATION*** As the name suggests, this local gem is on Main st. It's closer to VCU. ***EXPERIENCE*** I had an amazing experience. Before I dive into how great the food was, let me start by shouting out the gorgeous ironwork outside. The facade of this building is stunning and will look great for any all all your Yelp/IG photos. The music is also great inside. When you come here, you can either choose to do it buffet style or order something from the menu. When you do it buffet style, you get charged by how heavy your to-go container is. I just ordered the oxtails this time. They were cooked in a rich and delicious cabbage stew. This dish was greasy in the best way possible. The fufu was the best side for this meal, its starchy wonderfulness sucked up all the oils in a very tasty way. The oxtail melted in my mouth (and the bone marrow was the icing on top). The people who worked here were very kind. ***PRICE*** I paid about $30 (tip and tax included) ***CONCLUSION*** I'm really looking forward to returning to try more of their delicious dishes! The buffet looked and smelled amazing.

The food was great! Both these plates came to about $50 with the water, a little expensive but worth it. Food was $9.99 per pound. Great experience and would definitely go back. Service was good and quaint spot with adequate parking.

After two hours of hiking, we were starving! Decided to get African food and this place had pretty good ratings. You come in here and it is a buffet style place. The price is by weight so you can fill your plate up with as much as you want. I liked that about this place, I love when the portions of food is in my control. Everything was tasty and we tried Fufu for the first time. It was an awesome experience. They also had specialty drinks and dessert. We tried out the rum cake and it was to die for. Definitely coming back in the future.

The food here is soooo good! I decided to stop in on a rainy day for lunch and it was so comforting. It's a buffet style set up. You can get a to-go box or a plate to eat in (about $8.99/lb). They had so much food to offer. I'm not big on spicy foods, so I skipped a few dishes. I tried the African spaghetti, spinach, a curry type chicken, mac and cheese, and a seafood gumbo soup. All of the food was super flavorful! The staff was there..... not too friendly, but also not rude. It's self serve, so I guess that's typical. I will definitely be going back to try some other dishes.

I came here after seeing an elite yelp reviewer talk about their oxtails. I was really confused when I came in, I didn't know where to go to order or where to sit. Once a patron told me which way to go.. take the send left to get to The clerk , who explained the buffet ordering ... so I went for that. When I asked where the OX Tails were she advised that it is a menu item. "OH, THERE IS A MENU?" The waitress looked at my plate and said, I guess it is a good day for fish. Well I have this plate of $8.99 a pound food..so my guest had OxTails. Once we were seated and eating, a very nice waitress came over and explained everything for next time. I hope I have made it better for other first timers. The tails took 2O which they tell you, but the cabbage part was still cold. My guest is disappointed.

Omg I love love loveee their chicken EGUSI soup it was my very first time having it ever and I was soooo scared! Now I'm in love with it and it was very delicious to my soul I will be returning for much bigger portion next time

The price is too high for small platters. My small cassava leaf dish had a small piece of shredded chicken breast and my egusi barely had meat. The food was good but not enough for the price

GREAT FOOD! I mean you cant miss with almost any selection!! I've been a weekly customer for about 3 years. So why the one star?......its the ATTITUDE!!!! They are not customer friendly AT ALL!! I have been trying to look past it, but after my visit today I will NEVER come back. I walk in a say "Hello", the two ladies behind the register pause their convo, look at me, roll eyes, and then continue talking. They then watch me hawklike and when I come to the counter she walks away and tells the other lady (laughingly) "You get this one!" and goes in the back. Again this has been going on for years, (I'm cordial, tip well, shower daily)...the younger women are more customer friendly, but the older ones......... And I've seen them act very nice to ........less melanated folks, but hey...self-hate is real. I'm done man.

The cabbage is bangin!!!! The food is super pricey...SUPER PRICEY especially if you are doing it to go. Can't blame it on high food cost, it's always been high!! However, I'll splurge on the cabbage!!!

I was able to taste this delicious food at Richmond Folk Festival and all I can say is that the food was delicious and I am going to make a visit to the location. I ordered the jerk chicken leg, egusi, jollof, and greens and alllllll I can say is Yesssss!!! Yesss!!! Food is delicious!! So happy I stumbled across this hidden gem in Richmond!!!

Came here for the first time today and it was very good. You walk in, grab a plate or box, put whatever you want in it, and then you're charged for the weight. The food was very good in general. Some stuff that I tried did taste a little too homemade. The chicken meatballs are amazing but they tasted a bit like your generic frozen meatballs just tossed in a sauce. They tasted great but easy to replicate at home. Also the restaurant itself was pretty hot inside for some reason. Overall I'd definitely recommend this place to anybody in downtown looking for a good quick lunch.

This was my first time trying African food, and this place allowed to try a lot of variety of foods. I got to taste the many different types of foods of African culture and everything was flavorful. My top 3 items: 1. Sweet Potato cake 2. Jerk Chicken 3. Senegalese flavored chicken(Not exact sure the whole name) Great place for trying African food for the first time, and close to places like Sugar Shack and VCU. I drop one of the slices of sweet potato cakes on the floor and the lady told me to throw it away and didn't make me pay for it. I just paid for another slice, THANK GOD! The cake was one the moistest and best cakes I'be tired in a while. I had never had sweet potato cake before and it didn't disappoint. Good pricing too, buffet style 8.99 a pound.

Buffet style. Very flavorful food. Plenty of carbs - rice, macaroni, potatoes. Good vegan options. Very friendly owner.

Chef Mamusu offers delicious African and Caribbean fare served buffet style and charged by the pound(6.99/lb). The food was in pans at a hot bar but the food wasn't hot. I was planning on warming it up later to eat so that wasn't a big deal to me. When you go in, there's to go containers and gloves and hand sanitizer. You put the gloves in and serve yourself. This is a strictly to go spot and open during lunch hours. Everything we had was delicious. Warmed up great in the oven. Good obviously made with love. I will definitely be back! Oh and they have sour sop juice, my fave! Recommended

On the plate is everything from the buffet. We also ordered off the "more traditional African foods" menu Egusi w/goat and the fufu. We had African fruit punch and Guava juice and carrot cake. Scratch restaurant is always best. Momma food, love, accommodations and happiness. Vegan friendly. Kid friendly. Nice music and a nice sound level. Sanitizer is at the buffet and you're gently reminded to use it. Great "people watching" windows. Great natural lighting.

Everything was DELICOUS!! I will be back. Seasoned tasty meal. Drinks delish. God bless Ate so fast didn't take a picture. I will next time. Love the customer service and the energy. Lovely ladies. Yes yes I am coming back.

This place has amazing food. Just be ready to pay like you weigh lol. It is by the pound. Everything was made fresh and seasoned to perfection!

My boyfriend and I went here for a late lunch/early dinner. You have to weigh the food before you pay at a price of $7.00 a pound (about half a tray/container). You have the option for a styrofoam tray or a styrofoam takeout container. It is buffet style, so you serve yourself. The restaurant was clean & they provided each guest with hand sanitizer. The food was fantastic! The drink options varied from ginger beer, ginger tea, pineapple ginger, lemonade, etc. I had the ginger tea, while he had the ginger beer; both were flavorful and sweetened just right.

The food was very expensive 8.99 per pound and there was not very many things to choose from. There were hardly any African dishes and they were soggy. I got very sick from eating there the best thing there was the gingery flavored drink. Never will I or my friend eat there again

So many options to choose from ! Very welcoming ! The food is very delicious and they have variety of Sweets and drinks to choose from! They also play great music if you decide to dine in

Clean restaurant and the staff are great. Older women cooking... food was fresh, plenty of selection. The meats like fish, chicken patty were a little too greasy for me so I'll stick to the many sides. Will be going back for home cooked food.

Recently moved to Richmond and wanted to try some good food near the VCU campus. A friend and I went there and were surprised to see a smaller buffet style restaurant. Food was pretty tasty, I would rate it higher but unfortunately a lot of the trays were simply empty so my plate was pretty much just rice, a spicier rice mixed with beef, and then Mac n cheese. Regarding customer service, I was kind of dumbfounded when I realized there was going to be little to no protein in my plate, and I assume the cashier lady noticed. She said, "can I help you with something?" with an interesting tone, so I just replied "I'm okay ma'am." As she was weighing my plate, the price was pretty affordable but I couldn't get over the fact she was having a abnormally loud conversation with her coworker in a completely different language as I was paying for my food. I don't know, it just rubbed me the wrong way, as someone who's worked in food customer service for quite a few years now, I've always been trained to look my customers in the eyes and engage with them to a certain extent. I don't think she spoke one word to me the entire transaction. Anyways, I assume if you go there at a good time and all the food is there, you're trying to get a bang for your buck and you don't really care about customer service, then this place would probably be a 4 or a 5 stars. But if you're like me, it was something to try but I probably won't be back there for the foreseeable future.

Incredible food! Loved everything I tried and the fufu was perfect and reminded me of living in Ghana, thank you!!

Food is decent it's just expensive as they weigh everything. The cashier normally isn't friendly so don't be offended. I watch my portions as this place will hit you deep in your pocket

So good! It was my first time here and the lady at the checkout was very kind in explaining how it works. $8/pound of food. The food was DELICIOUS. I will definitely be back and highly recommend! I tried a little bit of everything including bbq jerk chicken, curry chicken, and a spinach dish with fish and chicken. All were spectacular!

Great food. Loved all the spicy dishes. Will return.

The visiting was like going in and you can smell and taste the food in the air! When to each dish it look and vey well put togaether and clean inside. I tried a little of all the dishes and it was very very good!!! I recommend everyone try it!

Super excited to have eaten here and will definitely be back for this buffet style restaurant. I tried every item that was vegan and everything was super delicious. Even the ginger soursoup drink, ginger bread and the MANGO Cake. I must say, the vegetable medley was seasoned perfectly. I'm hoping in the future they have Vegan Macaroni and Cheese...fingers crossed because the non-vegan macaroni and cheese looked super amazing.

The food is always hot and delicious. Every time I think I'm bringing enough home to have left overs, there's never enough. It's too good to save for later. I've come here several times; but, it was my first time trying fufu. Outstanding! It was like eating a little piece of a dumpling with each bite. From this point fufu is required with each meal. It's okay to lick your fingers here!!! The corn bread is perfect for eating with savory food. It's indescribable, but spot on. Service is great. Food bins are constantly being replaced with fresh food. I generally grab food to go. However, the ambiance is nice. Great vibe. I've dined in once and I enjoyed the Afrobeats being played continually. No one rushed us out and we sat and ate for a long time. The owner is ALWAYS smiling and comes out occasionally to greet customers when she isn't in the kitchen.

I am so lucky that I got a chance to try the Liberian cuisine at its best. The proud owner is not just an amazing cook but also a great ambassador of Liberia. Very friendly and she did not have to talk because her food talked love. My pictures shows all the 5 star food - ox tails, chicken curry, chicken livers among other things. The food was surprisingly spicy. The owner believes that the most of the African food is spicy but many enterprises in America "tone it done a notch." Her food made me happy and I felt that I was in Liberia for a moment. The food is buffet style and you take what you want and at the end it gets weighed at the end. This is not-to-miss a place in hip Fan district in Richmond.

This was my first time visiting. I arrived at exactly 10:55, noticed the times of operation (11am), peeped inside and they were indeed not ready to open. No worries! While waiting, a gentleman came to the restaurant and went in the back door (it was unlocked). I waited a few minutes, then walked to the back door "from which the aromas lurked", knocked and asked if this was the way to enter. It was just a few minutes after 11. The kind lady said "No, we're not ready yet. Just about 10 more minutes and you can come through the front." I gladly waited with no complaints because I just KNEW it was all going to be delicious. They opened indeed in the next 10 minutes and I was the very first customer. I believe I tried every single thing I saw with the exception of maybe 2 items because it all looked and smelled so good. I tried the following items and listed them in the order of my favorites: Fried Curry Fish with sautéed peppers Sautéed Mixed Greens Roasted Jerk Chicken Curry Oxtails Curried Fried Rice Sautéed Mixed Vegetables Curried Chicken Mac and Cheese The only thing I didn't get was the cornbread and plantains. No particular reason why. I made sure to have enough for 2 servings, now and later. I paid almost $13 ... what a steal ... what a gem! This will forever be one of go to spots when in Richmond.

Our food was delicious. Plenty of items to choose from for vegans to enjoy as well. From the jollof rice, to plantains, to sauteed vegetables, every bite is flavorful. My friend raved about the fish, liberian jollof and ginger iced tea. She also brought home a slice of carrot cake which she said was tasty. The staff were courteous and friendly. Will visit again when we are back in the area.

Great variety of food . Awesome service. I tried fufu for the first time . The environment is so nice. Music atmosphere is everything. I had the curry chicken also great. Great location downtown. Not to busy. But busy enough to know that you should keep coming back.

Food is very good. I go at least once a week. Everything is fresh, taste is authentic. Seasoned very well. It's buffet style and they weigh the food to cost. Very small, but enough space to dine in. They have soup options, but I haven't tried any.

This place has some of the best food in the richmond area. Please try!! You can tell the food is made with love!!

I was super excited to try Africanne on Main because of the raving reviews. I was highly disappointed. The food is served buffet due to COVID (my assumption) and because of this the food was cold...saying it was warm word be stretch. The seafood gumbo was the only item I ate that was hot. The food lacked flavor, maybe a dash of salt would help enhance the flavors. I'm giving them 2 stars because they had a large variety of options. Overall, I'm disappointed because I had high expectations and this restaurant didn't meet them.

Great food, atmosphere is calming. Unique options that you can't get in the rest of the city. Will be a regular for me from now own.

I have been there twice. First time food was really good loved the goat egusi soup & fufu. The waiter seemed a little short when I asked her a question so I wouldn't say the customer service was great. The second time I went I brought a friend with me and we were very excited to go. The goat soup I ordered this time did not have any goat meat but rather one big chunk of fat. I tried to ask the waiter for help which was the same waiter from the first experience if I could get a new serving being I wanted goat meat in my soup and their food is far from cheap and she gave a lot of attitude and seemed a bit offended and told me "goat is fat!" I've had goat plenty of times and its definitely meaty. I was told to just get something else. So I don't think I'll be returning due to poor customer service and being jipped of meat in my soup which is very highly priced for the small serving given.

my oxtails where cold food wasn't that great customer service wasn't that great either can't get free refills when you are dining in .

Chef Mamusu's food is incredibly good. Every dish is a blend of mouth watering flavors that explodes with taste in every bite. I particularly love her African chicken stew and jollof. The plantains are a sweet treat to add to any plate. The atmosphere of the restaurant makes the experience even better, as it is self serve and I always end up scooping more onto my plate than I originally intended because the food looks so delicious. Saying that, I never regret this, because the pricing is so reasonable and the food is worth every penny. This is my favorite restaurant in Richmond.

Soursop!!!! Sorry just had to get that out of my system. This place has it all laid out for you right when you walk in. They say buffet style, but it's a system where you get your plate..serve yourself.. then weigh the plate and pay based off of the total weight. I enjoyed my brief lunch here & YES the drinks are CRAZY GOOD! (and good for you)

The food was soooooo good literally everything like my tastebuds were everywhere and my boyfriend loved it as well and he's not to big on trying new food lol! We will definitely be going back.

Nice jewel near VCU. Recently moved to Richmond from California so my taste buds have certain expectations me. Was a delight to find this place. I love how they mix dishes from a variety of countries . Most I've had and a few I hadn't . Everything was pretty good no real complaints. Definitely going on my regular visit list.

Me and my three daughters went Africanne on Main Restaurant today and I have NEVER had such wonderfully cooked, flavorful food that tasted like it was made with all the love in the world. I suggest EVERYONE try this restaurant. The food is ALWAYS hot and always fresh.

Bro y'all better stop playing with Ma Musa. The chicken go stupid, the fish is straight fire, the cornbread is on point, the oxtails is crazy, and I am ready to die bout them plantains. Long story short Africanne on Main is an amazing cuisine that not even gentrification can stop and any slander will be met with violence.

I had a good experience and would definitely go again. The food was diverse but was a little cold. However one of the staff kindly warmed my food for me.

I love it! If I could afford to eat here every day I would and I would become a vegetarian without hesitation. I wish they were open on weekends and evenings. I have many friends who miss out because of the hours.