Dakar NOLA
West African restaurant · East Riverside
3814 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115, USA
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25172260/Dakar_AkaraPrep_JoshBrasted_082.jpg "Dakar NOLA by Josh Brasted/Eater")
Highlights
Senegalese tasting menu with communal dining and wine pairings
Senegalese tasting menu with communal dining and wine pairings
"With a slew of awards including Eater NOLA’s Best New Restaurant Award in 2023, the kitchen of Chef Serigne Mbaye honors Senegalese cuisine, paying tribute to his mother and to the enslaved Senegalese people brought to Louisiana. One of the most memorable dishes is deceptively simple: the Rice Connection — a cast-iron pot with steamed rice, finely diced bell peppers, and a sprinkling of chives, passed around the table to share among strangers. It was described as “the best rice I’ve ever tasted — each grain perceivable by the tongue, immaculately cooked.” The menu also notes: “In Wolof ‘benachin’ means one pot. In that one pot rice meets magic.” — Erin Perkins, Eater editor, South." - Henna Bakshi
"A New Orleans restaurant whose chef Serigne Mbaya served a black-eyed pea soup with Gulf crab at the post-ceremony party — a dish singled out by attendees as worth the wait." - Sam Nelson
"A New Orleans restaurant whose Senegalese tasting menu won Best New Restaurant; chef Serigne Mbaye wore traditional Wolof attire (mbubb ak sër) tailored by his aunt—choosing white and gold to convey celebration—and framed the ensemble as an expression of family ties, cultural pride, and West African heritage that parallels his culinary work." - Lisa Shames
"Dakar is one of the most unique restaurants in New Orleans. It’s a tasting menu, supper club-style spot where the chef and owner cooks dishes inspired by the food of Senegal, his home country. Not only that, but he’s right there with you for every course, telling stories and personal anecdotes about each bowl of blue crab seafood stew or pot of jollof rice. It’s a special occasion restaurant that will probably teach you a lot, while also simultaneously being a party." - chelsea brasted, zella palmer, carlo mantuano, megan braden perry
"At Dakar, the 2024 James Beard Award winner for Best New Restaurant, Serigne Mbaye’s dazzling Senegalese tasting menu is the pride of New Orleans. At a beautiful communal dining room on Magazine Street, Mbaye serves a changing menu of seven courses, elegant riffs on traditional West African and Senegalese dishes that incorporate Louisiana ingredients. The soupa konja may call to mind a gumbo, tangy with tomato and rich with palm oil, textured with crispy puffed rice and balanced with sweet, cool crabmeat. The crunch of the shrimp akara is otherworldly, and the sear on the Gulf fish yassa is delicate, nestled on a bed of soft mushrooms and eggplant in a citrusy sauce. This is transformational dining at its very best." - Beth D’Addono
