Teranga Midtown

"Senegal-born chef and author Pierre Thiam, one of the modern pioneers of global West African fine dining, made a name for himself in New York City with his Bed-Stuy bistro/music venue Yolele in the early 2000s. ... before making the leap back to the U.S. for his hit restaurant Teranga, a counter-service spot which debuted in NYC in 2019." - Kovie Biakolo

"If we had a guide to NYC's Grain Bowl Restaurants That Won't Suck Out Part Of Your Soul, Teranga would top the list. No such guide exists, unfortunately. But take our statement as a sign to ignore most other fast-casual places in favor of this cafe in The Africa Center near the East 110th Street entrance to Central Park. photo credit: David A. Lee Teranga’s bowl components range from Nigerian beef suya to Moroccan chermoula and ancient grains eaten all over West Africa. Nothing on the menu costs more than $18, and there are plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. Choose from a curated list of specialty combinations (we put our favorites below), or take the mix-and-match approach and combine protein bases with hearty stewed black eyed peas and okra or spicy-sweet fried kelewele. Whichever path you choose, make sure it includes a heap of Teranga’s jollof rice. It's fiery and herbaceous, and it'll be the true star of your meal. If we used even a quarter of the time we dedicate to thinking about Teranga's jollof, we'd be able to write a children's book or maybe even develop a better personality. photo credit: David A. Lee As incredible as the food is, Teranga's communal tables, counter-setup, and cafeteria-looking space make the restaurant a bit too casual for an important dinner or lunch. We love this restaurant for a quick solo meal or a relaxed business meeting uptown. Teranga is also a great place for takeout the next time you’re planning a picnic in Central Park (which happens to be located across the street). Food Rundown photo credit: David A. Lee Suya Super Bowl This special combines a few different West African street foods into one incredible meal. Each bowl comes with a hefty base layer of joloff beneath your choice of suya skewer (either grilled hanger steak or chicken coated with a dry rub of nutty-fiery pepper), plus sweet ndambe stew and mafe sauce. We prefer the steak to the chicken, and we like to add a ton of scotch bonnet-based moyo hot sauce for good measure. Roast Salmon Bowl Teranga’s salmon bowl is a little lighter than the other options. Mostly because it has a generous portion of casamance salad in a ginger dressing. photo credit: David A. Lee Yassa Yassa Grilled Chicken Bowl This bowl makes us want to eat at Teranga every week. The combination of acidic and garlicky yassa chicken, spicy jollof, and vegetal okra stew provides levels of texture and flavor that many formal, sit-down restaurants would kill to accomplish. photo credit: David A. Lee Ginger Juice Want a pick-me-up? Or maybe a refreshing slap in the face? Teranga’s homemade ginger juice will make you feel like all of your pores are experiencing cold air for the first time." - Hannah Albertine

"Mosaic Foods, a Brooklyn-based frozen meal delivery service, has started an ongoing NYC chef collaboration series, according to a company representative. The series launches this week with Pierre Thiam of Teranga, whose dish is ndambe, a Senegalese stew with black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, okra, and spiced tomatoes, served with jollof fonio." - Erika Adams

"Though pan-African cafe Teranga is counter-service only, its seasonal bowls are 'as satisfying as many more formal meals in town,' according to New Yorker critic Hannah Goldfield." - Carla Vianna

"Teranga means 'hospitality' in Wolof, so guests should expect a warm, welcoming environment as soon as they walk through the doors of this new restaurant on the first floor of The Africa Center, located just across from Central Park. 'As our guests enter Teranga, they are greeted by a friendly staff and are transported in a cozy atmosphere, cadenced by curated music from Africa, beautiful artwork on the walls and lush tropical plants,' says chef Pierre Thiam. Thiam is one of the most renowned West African chefs in the United States, and previously ran Yolele and Le Grand Dakar in New York City, both of which closed towards the beginning of the decade. Since then, he opened a fine-dining restaurant in Lagos, Nigeria, but he is now back in the Big Apple exposing New Yorkers to cuisines from across the entire African continent. 'Our fast service menu, inspired by the cuisines of Africa, is designed to accommodate today's conscious consumers while keeping the flavors authentic.' The entirely gluten-free, pan-African menu consists of customizable plates, different seasonal bowls—such as the 'Fu-Fu' seasonal featuring red palm and plantain fufu with peanut sauce, ndambe (black-eyed pea, sweet potato and okra stew) and attiéké (fermented cassava)—and an array of snacks and beverages. One of the ingredients highlighted in a couple of menu items is fonio, an ancient African 'supergrain' that Thiam also sells through his food company, Yolélé. Fonio shows up at Teranga in a salad with beets, spicy pickled carrots and pomegranate, and as the base for jollof—a West African dish usually consisting of rice cooked in a spiced tomato broth, and over which there have been all out culture wars debating which country makes the best version. The 'Fu-Fu' seasonal featuring red palm and plantain fufu with peanut sauce, 'ndambe' (black-eyed pea, sweet potato and okra stew) and 'attiéké' (fermented cassava). Speaking to his goal with Teranga, Thiam shares, 'We believe that African flavors presented in a fast-casual setting are a great fit for New Yorkers' sophisticated palates.' And per a press release, 'Teranga is as much about propelling African food forward as it is about sharing Africa’s impact on cultural traditions all over the world.' Teranga officially opened to the public February 9 with abbreviated hours, but will expand in the near future to 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There are plans for 'a diverse evening programming schedule consisting of a dinner series, community-focused programming and family-style dinners.'" - Aaron Hutcherson