Amala Joint Restaurant

It's a restaurant so the most important food, taste definitely 4 stars. I want to guess it's under new management because the photo that comes up is pretty much the place, except not much going on. Service only one person there so that should say everything. Atmosphere, definitely better for take out. Fridge empty, shelves empty.. like a business just starting up. But again, it's a restaurant and the food was 👍 great!!

Loook the food is amazing & delicious!! Me & My girl love the food here. Ask for ade! She is friendly always gives good portions. U want good naija food? U come here bro. I’m not cooking To night thanks to y’all. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ all day. Meat pie fire egusi fire,Ogbono fire. Every meal is tasty!! My girl lickin egusi off her fingers after the meal & is taking the leftovers to work! That’s a win for meeeeee.

The portions were very generous with three huge pieces of beef, shaki and ponmo. The amala is made fresh to order and the flavors are authentic just like you would get in any bukka in Ibadan. Hands down the best amala place in Houston!

Mrs. Ade gave excellent service and the food was extremely good! Ordered Okra and Egusi.👍🏽

I would not recommend based solely on service. I was excited to try the food but unfortunately the food I paid for was never given to me. First, I walked into to a fairly empty restaurant. There were 2 women chatting in the dining area and they told me I should ring the bell to get service since there wasn’t a single employee in the front. Now this was a red flag but I understand that it’s a small business so I did not let it deter me. What made it worst however is that someone yelled rudely, “I am coming!!”. A solid 8 minutes elapsed before the woman came out toting food for the women in the dinning hall. She barely even acknowledged me standing there. Finally she gave me a second of attention where I told her I ordered online. She rudely said “online? No. Only Uber. We don’t take online orders.” I went through my email trying to find out if I was at the wrong location or something. But nope, I was correct. I ordered on their official website and received a confirmation email that the payment was received. I continued to stand there while she spoke with the other women in the dinning hall and allowed one of them to place another order. Before she walked back into the kitchen to fix the woman’s second order she spat, “The online website is not right pricing, we only use Uber prices. You need to call and get your money back.” Basically like oh well, I know what my website says but it’s not my problem. I’m unsure of whether she doesn’t accept online orders or if she doesn’t want to honor it because she has not increased the websites prices. Either way it isn’t my fault and it’s false advertising to have an online ordering feature on the website that you do not accept. I was forced to contact Menufy to request a refund. They told me they needed to contact the restaurant to approve it. Over an hour went by of Menufy trying to contact the restaurant that allegedly kept hanging up the call. I finally received a refund from Menufy however I am unsure if the woman actually approved it. All in all, I would not recommend coming to this establishment. It really sucks trying to support small, ethnic businesses and being treated poorly.

My wife and I love food but west African and Nigerian food is something we don’t have in the Bay Area nor all the major cities we’ve explored. When planning our trip to Houston we knew we wanted to get some authentic West African and Nigerian food. Amala Joint did not disappoint. We got the okra stew w/ pounded yam and the jollof rice with beef. Let me first off by saying the food is flavorful and delicious. If you’re not adventurous and/or can’t handle spice this place may not be for you. Jollof rice — rice is so delicious, aromatic, fragrant and perfect chewy / al dente texture. It reminds me of jambalaya in many ways but more aroma. Beef is fried and goes perfectly with it. I wish there was 1 more piece of beef and less rice but otherwise delicious none the less. Okra stew — comes with mixed meats (not sure on which specifics) but dried salted fish, beef, and pork or beef intestine were some of the ones I was able to identify. Super flavorful, spicy (in a good way). It is a little messy to eat with hands due to the slimy nature of okra. Meant to be eaten with your hands but if you don’t want to messy I recommend using your spoon to flatten the pounded yam and add to the soup bite by bite. 5/5 for sure!

First time visiting this restaurant and trying red stew & fufu and it was great! Really friendly people and all of the food was fresh and cooked perfectly. Definitely going back, loved the whole experience!

The restaurant is located in a little shopping plaza which looks a little sketch at first glance, but I’m giving 5 stars because Amala’s joint was the perfect experience. I’m a fan of Nigerian food and have eaten at about 6 different Naija spots in the Houston area, but their service was by far the best. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how clean and tidy everything was. Sanitizer and hand soap at every table and they bring a bowl of water with your meal so you can clean your hands. Also, the dining room didn’t smell heavily like food, which was nice since I had somewhere to be afterward. I had Efo with pounded yam and tilapia. Y’all!!! It was soooo good. Perfect level of spice for those that can’t handle too much heat, but enough for those of us that really enjoy the kick of peppers. The tilapia was perfectly cooked. A little crisp on the outside, soft & flaky fish on the inside. The ladies that took care of us were absolutely sweet. I don’t usually rate on Google but I just had to rate on both Yelp and here!!! If you’re still reading stop and go to Amala’s Joint for some bomb food!!

This was my first time eating Nigerian food from a restaurant and it was delicious. The dishes are made to order so don't be turned off by the wait. Will definitely return to try other items on the menu.

I was really excited to try Amala Joint based on the reviews, but I should have paid attention to who was leaving the reviews and when the reviews were left. Sigh. My friend and I placed an order via UberEats on Sunday around 7pm. I got the jollof with fish, efo riro with fish and eba and she got ewedu with amala. We left notes about how we wanted our food and the restaurant called to confirm, which we appreciated. So again, I was hopeful this would be a great foodie experience. Our food got to us about an hour later and boy was I disappointed. The jollof didn't come with plantain (but the image on UberEats had plantain in it) and it was extremely spicy AND they used so much maggi. It was so disgusting that I threw it away. The fish wasn't seasoned well either so it was beyond a waste of money. The efo riro and the ewedu were good until we both got sick the next day. I'll assume we got the scraps after a busy day because there's no way this is what they serve on a daily to their customers.

I've been dipping my toes into the underrated cuisine of the African diaspora lately, so decided to make the drive to this unpretentious cafeteria-style Nigerian spot outside the loop. I think it's mostly frequented by regulars because the young lady behind the counter seemed a little surprised to see us walk in. There are no prices on the in-house menu, but the main plates range from $15-$20. Some of the flavors are certainly acquired tastes that will challenge unaccustomed palates, but overall I would give my experience a 3.5/5. Jollof Rice w/ Chicken - the prototypical West African rice dish which consists chewy granules stewed in a slightly spicy and sweet tomato broth. It was fragrant and mellow in taste. The chicken itself was well-cooked and juicy which some beautifully crispy skin. Egusi - a traditional soup made from ground melon seeds, stock, leafy vegetables, and meat. The taste of this dish was more challenging for me and featured funky, nutty, and earthy notes. There were off-cuts of meat and offal mixed in; the cow skin was chewy but didn't add much flavor and I'm just not a fan of tripe in general. I have had versions of egusi that I really liked, but this one wasn't my favorite. Goat Stew - this was probably my least favorite dish. The meat was overcooked to the point of being leathery, and the bone-to-meat ratio was less than ideal. The flavor itself was decent. Our "swallow" of choice with the above was fufu, or pounded fermented cassava, which was like a bouncier and milder form of mashed potatoes that clings to all the spicy sauces and stews. The staff took good care of us and I would definitely come back to try some of their other recommendations.

This has been the best Nigerian food I've food in Houston. The customer service was great and welcoming. Here are some things i tried: Egusi & Fufu Suya Jollof rice w/chicken If you haven't tried Nigerian food. I would suggest you start here !

Good food, authentic ambiance, service was good better than avg Thanks ! Suya and okoro was good

Ayyye my first try of Nigerian food and I'm thinking why did I wait so long?!?!??! The Egusi soup and fufu was dancing on my taste buds! It's quite delicious and spicy. I added goat which was an up charge, but the options were beef, tripe and fish(I believe). The restaurant was clean and they had a picture menu but no prices. My Egusi with goat meat and fufu was $24 I am not sure if that's market price but it was steep to me. However with that taste and the added health benefits (Egusi is high in fiber). I'm not mad at it and I will continue to explore the menu and cuisine.

I was traveling and found on yelp when search African food. Food great, fresh, wholesome. But they definitely need help with being polite to their customers. These days if hard to keep workers. But They got a crowd and instead of engaging with their clientele, it was like they ignored them. My group of three saw Some walk away angry. We just do happen to have time But even we thought for a moment they all went home. No one at counter for more than 5 -10 minutes at a time. I didn't mind the wait for such good food. But give me a clue I.e...like it will take so much time to fill this order. Or I will be right with you , etc

The restaurant is located in a little shopping plaza which looks a little sketch at first glance, but I'm giving 5 stars because Amala's joint was the perfect experience. I'm a fan of Nigerian food and have eaten at about 6 different Naija spots in the Houston area, but their service was by far the best. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how clean and tidy everything was. Sanitizer and hand soap at every table and they bring a bowl of water with your meal so you can clean your hands. Also, the dining room didn't smell heavily like food, which was nice since I had somewhere to be afterward. I had Efo with pounded yam and tilapia. Y'all!!! It was soooo good. Perfect level of spice for those that can't handle too much heat, but enough for those of us that really enjoy the kick of peppers. The tilapia was perfectly cooked. A little crisp on the outside, soft & flaky fish on the inside. The ladies that took care of us were absolutely sweet. If you're still reading stop and go to Amala's Joint for some bomb food!!

We've been wanting to try Fufu and gave this place a try. They were very helpful and suggested what entree we should try. We ended up getting Fufu, Egusi, Efo Riro with the tripe, the coconut rice with chicken, at the end the brought us suya to try and it was all flavorful! The flavor of the food was amazing! We will be coming back!!!

My first time here and first time trying Eugsi with fufu. One with goat meat and fish. First I was greeted so warmly!!! I was absolutely shy ordering because I didn't want to mispronounce the name but she knew what I wanted and helped me out making a choice. Racing home to try it, and goodness! I love it! I don't know what I was scared of but this is absolutely delicious! I will come back to try another dish, but I'm for sure getting Eugsi with Fufu to goooo! A must try! Thank you!!!!

My wife and I are foodies --- but west African and Nigerian food is something we don't have in the Bay Area. We got the okra stew w/ pounded yam and the jollof rice with beef. OMG --- so flavorful, delicious and not meant for those who can't handle spice. Jollof rice -- rice is so delicious, aromatic, fragrant and perfect chewy / al dente texture. Beef is stewed and goes perfectly with it. Okra stew -- comes with mixed meats (not sure on which specifics) but dried fish, beef, pork or beef intestine, etc. super flavorful although messy due to the slime lines due to the okra. Meant to be eaten with your hand but if you don't want to messy I recommend using your spoon to flatten the pounded yam and add to the soup. 5/5 for sure!

The food here is superb, the new recipe egusi is to die for mmmmmm yummy in my tummy . Unfortunately I finished the food before taking pictures

I love this place! The Jollof Rice is the Best in town! Very Spicy. The customer service is good! It's always a great visit. You can also buy, Imported Sodas that are sold in Africa.

Their food is always nice and fresh. The portion is very good (I've only had their amala) and they read / fulfill special request! The 3 encounters I've had have always been pleasant whether it's via ubereats or coming into the store to order. Highly recommend since compared to other Naija restaurants not only their food is good but also their customer service!

We were looking for a nigerian restaurant during our visit to Texas. I saw this restaurant online. The pictures enticed me. I must say, it didn't disappoint. We all enjoyed our meals. If we're ever in Texas again, we will definitely stop for more delicious food.

Love their food and their jollof rice is always bussing or their egusi soup. I love going there to eat.