Amina's African Sambusas

My partner and I were passing through Boise on a road trip and only had time to stop for dinner. We like to try new things so we selected this place since we hadn't had Kenyan food before. It exceeded our expectations with delicious food and also super friendly servers who taught us how to eat fufu properly and made us feel very welcome, even taking some time to swap travel stories. It was clearly a place with a regular community of visitors but was also welcoming to newcomers. Definitely recommend!

Amazing food. Amazing service. Had never experienced African food for and it was certainly a unique blend of flavor and spices that ive never tried before. Guy at the counter was so nice and excited to share his culture with us. Didn't get pictures of the food (it was in my belly too quick).

My wife and I were attending a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses Saturday Aug 30, we had brought our lunches. We stepped outside to eat our lunch on the plaza and then we past their stand. I had never tried African food from Kenya, it smelled so good we decided to bail on our lunches and get some sambusas. We shared one of each flavor. They were each delicious. The staff was very warm and friendly. I had to go back and tell them how much we enjoyed them. We’re looking forward to visiting their restaurant soon! We wish you the best success 😃👏🏻

This was the best meal and the best time. Chubongo is my new bestie in Boise. amazing goat and fufu (he taught me to eat it and once I let it cool enough I totally nailed it). a traditional sambusa that was just spicy enough. I'm going to crave this. I can already tell.

Truly unique and absolutely excellent. 100% recommend. I have a had a few sambusas before, but the goat one I had here was by far my favorite I have had anywhere. I have little experience with the other dishes (aside from the Ethiopian breads etc) but the fufu and chicken I ordered was absolutely mind blowing. It's sort of hard to describe but the fufu is a corn mush...I would liken it to grits, but a little more compacted and almost like a cake. It isn't sweet, it's mostly neutral (didn't try the rice but I saw some and it looked nice) and the reason it is mostly neutral is because the chicken dish that goes on top is like flavor-city. The main dish is a again a bit hard to describe but it's almost like a roasted chicken stew, but the chicken pieces are good size. Lots of vegetables and spices. I will advise these dishes would be spicy to some. I have some heat tolerance and I found it to be perfectly spicy, like just hot enough to be hot, but not so hot you lose enjoyment. I would say if you have no heat tolerance you may want to ask what they can suggest. The service was very friendly and informative. A quick note, this IS counter service but it is NOT fast food. It is clear they cook to order and the staff is small. It didn't take exceedingly long, but if you don't call ahead expect to wait a bit for your order. They are clearly focused on quality. This is a no frills place focused on making a selection of dishes well. The prices and portions are excellent.

Great place to stop and grab a bite. Affordable prices. Definitely delicious flavor. Glad I stopped in here. Two samboosa and I’m satisfied three would have been more on the full side, to give an idea of sizing. Came in here after a workout at any time fitness next door and I’m glad that I made the stop. Great family ran business.

There were plenty of places to park when I arrive at this restaurant one Saturday evening. I was surprised to see how small the restaurant is at first, but when I sat down I experienced a sense of coziness as I wait for my order near other customers enjoying their food. When I received my order (one Fish Sambusa, Goat and Rice), I was surprised once again when the waiter didn't bring any utensils (he mentioned the food is usually eaten by hand). Out of habit, I still asked for utensils and received a fork and spoon. But then, I confirmed that may in fact eat with my hands in the restaurant and so I did. The food tasted amazing. The Fish Sambusa and Goat and Rice had great seasoning and texture. The Sambusa reminded me a bit of Indian Samosas I've had and the Goat and Rice (Barees E Erang) tastes similar to Indian Biryanis I've had as well. This was my first time trying African food so I can't compare to other African restaurants. I can say that I am very pleased with my visit to this restaurant. Shout out to Chubangu for being such awesome waiter and letting me know I may eat with my hands!

The wife and I wanted to try something new today. We stopped in and got the fufu and beef and it was delicious. We will be returning to try more of their menu.

Inside out: there is plenty of parking when I visited- though it is a shared lot. The outside is very unassuming and the inside is vibrant and clean. The service: unreasonably kind. My 92 year old grandma and the young man at the counter had a lovely chat and it was wholesome. The food: my gods this is so good! All of us wanted to go back right away. This flavor packed and tasty food is an experience truly unique for flavors around here. This would be a great place for a fun first date to both try something new- they are very helpful in choosing options. What we got- Sore E umboga veggie and sore e beef a (fufu), excellent, the fufu is a really neat texture and the flavor is just packed into every bite with the accompanying food Goat sambusa and veggie- I could eat ten but they are just crispy, fried to perfection, packed with spice flavor (not hot- just taste) and truly just delectable. Malay grilled fish- honestly it was not a big portion but still reasonable for the price and the flavor and texture was phenomenal. I would get this to accompany any meal as a little extra protein!

Tried this place out with a friend and I really enjoyed the experience! I've never had Kenyan food before, but this was very tasty. The inside ambience is very homey. The service was good and the waiter was extremely friendly and gave us good food suggestions. I tried the goat stew, fufu, and chicken/rice plate. I did find the rice very flavorful but also very salty. Fortunately, i love extremely salty dishes so I enjoyed it but my friend said it needed veggies or something bland to even out the salt. I'm also not all versed with fufu but I don't think they use a lot of cassava because it wasn't sticky at all. It was more like a dried mashed potato consistency. Anyway, I still enjoyed all the food. Will definitely come back to try more dishes!

Thank God for Amina's African Sambusas! The staff are very kind, and the restaurant is very clean. The entire menu is full of delicious, diverse options. The sambusas themselves are cooked perfectly; just the right amount of crispiness without being overly oily. And the meat and spices are blended together perfectly, allowing one to taste both to the maximum. I highly recommend!

We highly suggest Amina's! The food is flavorful and the meat is local. You can really taste the care and love that gets put into the dishes. The employees are kind, helpful and truly uplifting. We were treated like family while we were there.

Great people, food too spicy for my taste. I walked in the quite plain storefront to order some food to go. I started with the standard (beef) sambusa--a hand pie full of ground meat, lots of spices, potato, etc. I'm not sure what spices were in that, but after a few bites my throat was feeling it. I ordered the beef and rice entree. Nice cubes of tender beef (think small stew meat) in a spicy sauce with hot peppers melted into it. If that's not hot enough, there was a hotter sauce on the side, which I actually liked. The nice rice had some spice but should be safe for most of us. I also chose some Roti bread, which tastes like a big, round sweet Hawaiian roll. That was soft and delicious. Perfect for sopping up all the juices. If you can handle hot food, you'll probably love Amina's. I'm getting too old for it. But the roti and some drained beef (or another that may not have the heat) would make a fabulous sandwich. I will be back to try the grilled fish. Not sure yet about the rest. I was handed a bottle of water while waiting for my meal which was nice. The nice gentleman said he was from Kenya and was very interesting to talk with.

Highly recommend this place a service was amazing and they were super nice and the food just had the perfect texture and flavor. It was super good and I highly recommend coming here.

A truly delicious meal from start to finish. Enjoyed a traditional sambusa followed by goat and rice. Everything was rich in flavor, and we had a delightful conversation with the gentleman who helped us out and gave us recommendations.

I brought my 12 year old for a culinary adventure and we were blown away by how good the food was. The goat & fufu blew. Our. Minds. We also tried the Helep and sambusas. Our favorites, in order were; Sore E Erang (goat & fufu), chicken Helep, followed by the sambusas. This place is a must try! The gentleman serving was so friendly and personable that we ended up chatting for 10 minutes when we were supposed to be ordering!

Great food, and customer service. I really enjoyed the Sore E Erang, my kids enjoyed the sambusas, they too bits of everyone

So delicious. Amazing seasoning! I had this 2 years ago and still crave it! Will be making more stops now that I'm local

We were traveling through Boise and thankfully found Amina's for lunch! The restaurant was comfortable and full of decor and adornments that were pleasant to look out. Our server was delightful and so generous with his time and service.

Every time we go to the Saturday market - Aminas is on my must-do list! Fresh, hot, tangy, delicious! I do not like spicy-hot foods. These have a teensy bit of a bite but are really just chockfull of flavor. Not expensive and one is all you need unless you're famished. Variety of fillings including vegetarian.

The food took a little while to get to us, but it was worth it. And the server was hands down the best server I've ever had in my life. He was so helpful and fun to talk to, and he taught my sister how to eat the food with her hands. The flatbread was really good, probably my favorite part. Other people in my group got fufu, and I kind of wished I did too. I think I liked it better than the pasta, but that might just be me. And we had two picky toddlers in our midst, and they enjoyed the pasta and sambusas as well! Over all, a great experience!

My three "Book Buddies" friends and I ate lunch here today, wanting to try African food while discussing the book West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. We could not have made a better choice! Our waiter was so friendly and helpful, answering our questions and explaining several different dishes to the four of us ladies raised on meatloaf, mashed potatoes, tuna salad, Campbell's soup...you get the picture. Everything we ordered was freshly made and delicious! Based on our waiter's recommendations, we even tried goat meat for the first time. And liked it! I typically eat plant-based meals, so I especially enjoyed my bowl of greens, cooked into a mildly spicy and flavorful side dish. The rice that accompanied our goat and chicken entrees was also full of interesting flavors, not at all your typical American white rice. I highly recommend the experience of dining here, and know I will definitely be back, next time with my husband. Oh, and be sure to give your taste buds an additional treat by ordering a mug of their tea, called shai. All four of us ooohed and ahhed over that. Hot, sweet, spicy tea that was perfect with our shared slice of cake for dessert.

Food was soo good and the portions are large. I had enough to share my leftovers the next day and still eat myself. Can wait to go back on our next visit to Boise.

Delicious, absolutely delicious. Don't hesitate to stop by and sample. Our server was very helpful and guided us on a wide variety of options. We're going back for sure!

Food is very well prepared, super flavorful. Service is great, spices INTENSE! I love it!

Amazing food! Service was great and we had such a great conversation with the guy working there. The chicken and fufu was hot and delicious. We also had the goat and rice plate which was tender and would melt in your mouth. Seriously one of the best meals I've had in Boise. Portions are huge, we have more than enough for lunch the next day. Can't wait to come back!

My sweet husband brought me lunch today from Amina's. This will be a nearly useless review because I took no pictures and have no idea what anything is called. :) He brought some chicken, rice, beef and veg sambusas and a sweet bread. I'm not a huge fan of bone-in chicken (I know I know) so I only had a small bite but the flavor was nice, if a tad greasy. Rice was good, nothing to write home about. The Sambusas and sweet bread were the stand outs! The veggie one was definitely my favorite. The beef had a little bit of spice to it which I also enjoyed. Don't expect to be in and out quickly. My husband said it took about 30 minutes. But we are always happy to wait for delicious small local business food!

Wow! We loved the sambusas here. We ordered the vegetarian, the traditional, and the goat sambusas. They were all very good. I think the goat was my favorite though. Can't wait to go back and try the rest of their menu.

I've been eating their sambusas for years passing by at the Saturday market and i've been obsessed since. I'm so glad they have a restaurant now because they've only gotten better. I love this place and their food! I can't wait to try everything on the menu!

Stopped in to.try the sambusa. Was hoping for a veggie, but settled on the goat. Spicy and tangy.

Fantastic family owned restaurant. Food was fresh, delicious and full of flavor. Waiter was able to explain food and ingredients in detail.

Amazing flavors and very friendly!!! The fufu and goat was phenomenal! This will be a frequented restaurant for us!

These sambusa's are amazing. Delicious flavor and friendly service. Highly recommend.

5/5. Not much to say other than I haven't had much food better than this. Will definitely be coming back 3 times a week. Let's just hope I don't get fat

It's got some spice! But it's a great option for something different! I liked having some chicken and rice Option to go with the sambusas as well.

Wow! I will be back asap! Wish I had taken some pictures but was too busy scarfing down some delicious African food. This little restaurant is nothing fancy, but they focus on serving up delicious food with great customer service. I had the beef with fufu and my friend had the goat fufu. Both were tender morsels mixed in with amazingly flavored veggie mix. Our server explained how to eat the fufu the traditional way, but certainly didn't judge when my friend ultimately switched to a fork lol. We also split some sambusas (the filling was so good) and the sweet bread. I took home a decent amount of leftovers and enjoyed them for lunch the next day! They also have several vegetarian options for anyone who might need it. I'll be taking all my adventurous foodie friends here!

This food is soo good I was kinda skeptical but I ordered and omg I do nottt regret thiss its amazing flavorful and bombbb will definitely come back

First time going and eating any sort or African food and it was genuinely the best experience ever. The Sambusas were so so good, especially the goat one. Highly recommend! And the fufu was messy but amazing in taste!! Definitely coming back again!

Best halal,good food and so delicious ,perfect service and nice guys.. Thank you guys!!!!!

Good spot to eat . Delicious sambousa and fish. The people there are great at service.

Wow the BEST food I have ever tasted. If anyone is in Boise... you NEED to go!! The staff is very friendly and welcoming, and you can tell they make their food with passion. A very nice place to try new foods and broaden your horizons.

Amina's African Sambusas is amazing!!!! The first time I went there, I had a traditional Sambusa and Baress E Dora (Rice and Chicken). The flavor was exceptional; I absolutely loved the sauce that came with the rice and chicken. It had the perfect amount of spice and lots of flavor! I have been back multiple times since my first encounter! It is so difficult to find authentic food here in Idaho. However, with Amina's African Sambusas, they allow you to step into a new culture and try an authentic African cuisine! Not to mention, the staff is wonderful. They are friendly, helpful and willing to help me learn the way to pronounce items on the menu! I can't wait to come back to try more of their delicious food!

Ive been in a few different times in the past week only and I just can't get enough of their delicious traditional food. I got a different dish every time and it never failed to please my taste buds. Great portions, great mixture of veggies and meat as well. Though its hard pick favorite dish because they were all so good, the goat and rice is a must. I highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone in Boise and/or traveling to Boise. This African food is hands down the best around. Amazing Family and people in generally with such great service.