Safari

East African restaurant · Central Harlem

Safari

East African restaurant · Central Harlem

219 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

Highlights

Hearty Somali & East African specialties are cooked up in the kitchen of this casual, low-key cafe.

219 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026 Get directions

safariharlem.com

@eater

"After spouses, Maymuuna “Mona” Birjeeb and Shakib Farah opened Safari in 2014, it became the rare hangout spot for birthday parties, Mother’s Day celebrations, and iftars for the Somali American community in Harlem. Now, New Yorkers at-large demand their bestsellers: roasted goat, mango curry, and chicken suquaar (stewed chicken). They’re cooked in a base of cumin, turmeric, cardamom, bay leaves, garlic, and spicy green peppers, Birjeeb tells Eater. And they all come with an addictive bisbaas sauce that’s spicy and tangy with jalapeños and limes." - Caroline Shin, Robert Sietsema

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@infatuation

"NYC’s only dedicated Somali restaurant, Safari moved from its original location in the heart of Little Senegal to a corner on St. Nicholas Ave., after a fire. We’re just glad this casual, canteen-like spot reopened, so we can once again get our hands on their excellent plates of hilib ari with yellow rice. The roast goat is supremely well-spiced, and so are other dishes, like their chicken or beef suqaar, and the mango chicken. Everything on the menu is worth trying, and Safari also serves breakfast. Have yours with some cardamom-scented milky chai, or a lush mango lassi." - neha talreja, hannah albertine, bryan kim, willa moore, sonal shah

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@infatuation

"For a year, we had to live without the city's only dedicated Somali restaurant, Safari—one of our favorite restaurants on Harlem's 116th Street until it closed due to a fire. Thankfully, it's reopened a few blocks away, and we still walk into this place with tunnel vision. To put it simply, their hilib ari rocks. The tender, spice-soaked goat meat falls right off the bone, and it’s perfectly complemented by a side of fluffy yellow rice. Other menu items that make it hard to choose: beef suqaar, vegetable sabaayad, and crispy sambusas. Double fist some fragrant Somali tea and glowing mango juice, and leave room for some sticky-sweet malawax at the end. Safari is worth all the visits it takes to try the whole menu, but keep in mind that it is fairly meat-heavy (all the meats are halal)." - Neha Talreja

Safari - Review - Harlem - New York - The Infatuation

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@cntraveler

"Little Senegal along Harlem’s 116th Street brings the cuisines of West Africa to patrons at restaurants like Le Baobab Gouygui, Safari, and Pikine."

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Alexa Barsky Klein

SerpAPI

First time trying Somali food and we’ll definitely be back (came for breakfast but want to try the larger main courses for dinner next time). The sambosas and spiced tea with goat milk were highlights. Everything was so fresh, flavorful, and well spiced!

Brittany Snow

SerpAPI

First time trying Somalian food. Mango curry veggie was delicious and so was the hibiscus juice drink. There was one gentleman taking orders, waiting on tables, and preparing food but he was very nice, quick, and efficient. Would recommend if you’ve never had Somalian food and would like an introduction to it!

Colleen Connolly-Ahern

SerpAPI

Really outstanding vegetarian food. We had the vegetarian sambusas and sabaayad and even my husband, a total carnivore, fell in love. The mango curry chicken was also good. The grapefruit juice was delicious. Sorry I forgot to take the picture until after we dove in!

Uyen Nguyen

SerpAPI

Another participating restaurants for the current restaurant week event. I went on a Saturday and they don't do restaurant week menu on Saturday, but the normal menu price is pretty similar. They serve really good Somali/East African food; definitely check out this place! I really like the goat in Hilib Ari dish - a little too salty if you eat it by itself but the taste balances out when you eat with rice or the sabaayed (chappati flat bread). The beef imo is kinda similar to normal beef stew. The sambusa is pretty good. Their juice is delicious as well.

RT Y

SerpAPI

What? We were the only table when we got there at 6:30 on a Saturday. Feeling a little discouraged but decided to stick around (turned out many people ordered takeout). However, the food didn’t disappoint. I ordered hilib ari, the signature goat curry. Fresh off the bone, the meat was flavorful and tender. I enjoyed every bite of it.

anisha arora

SerpAPI

Hole in the wall place but super tasty food. I went with my parents who rarely ever like food at any restaurants but they relished food at this restaurant. We are vegetarian so we ordered the sambusas, the vegan wrap and mango veggie curry. Everything was super tasty and flavorful. The tea is really good too.

Jennifer Clark

SerpAPI

While the food was nice the portion was small compared to price, barely any sauce, and the mango lassi wasn’t even filled to the top of the cup. The interior is not nice. I don’t think I’ll be back.

Greg H

SerpAPI

The food was delicious. We got the sambusas (chicken and veggie…I got the beef on another visit), Hilib Ari, mango curry veggie, fiimto and homemade mango juice. The goat (hilib ari) was tender and just tasted so good. The rice had subtle notes and went well with the sweet onions and raisins on top. The mango juice was ok, but the fiimto was really good, a different experience from past hibiscus drinks I’ve tasted (Caribbean, Mexican). I also went for breakfast and got the Qaxwo(coffee) and Malab iyo Malawax (crepes). The coffee was really good with the mix of ginger (and I think cardamom and cinnamon?). The crepe was good too (I liked the syrup topped with cinnamon). It’s a laid back, cozy space, clean with music playing in the background. Service is good too. I will be back again to try a few more things from the menu (which is halal in case you were curious)!