Kumasi Food Hunt!
Last year was the first time I fully experienced Kumasi - prior to that I had been there only three times and even then, I had barely gone anywhere. Kumasi is so calm and peaceful in comparison to Accra and my goodness, those prices! You get so much more for so much less there (Doesn’t necessarily mean better quality, if I’m being 100% Accra has better quality in some cases which is why it might be more expensive). I had planned to end last year with a Kumasi food crawl but a lot came up, so this month during my first visit to the city, I had a friend take me round to try a few places. These are 10 of the places we managed to squeeze into my super short visit which I would recommend:
1. Aca Poco Sports Pub & Restaurant
📍Dr Obeng Street
My last stop before my flight back to Accra. Aca Poco is about 30 minutes away from the Kumasi Airport, close to KNUST. Their menu is a bit basic, it’s mostly jollof, fried rice and yam with different proteins. They don’t have cocktails either. The waitresses who served me were really nice, and the food took about 30 minutes. It’s definitely worth the price - the jollof was good and the protein was so much. I left there really full and I didn’t even finish it. They’re open Sunday to Thursday 11:00am-9:00pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00am-12:00am.
Meat Lovers Jollof
💸¢35
2. Bamboo Thai
📍Kwabena Darko Avenue
I think this is the one I was most excited about. If you follow me on most of my socials you know I LOVE Thai food. I found out about this place via a fellow Thai lover who lives in Kumasi. Like most Thai restaurants, Bamboo Thai is both a massage parlour and a restaurant. Service is relatively fast (About 20 minutes) and the noodles I had were good. The pork was so soft and seasoned really well. Everything on the menu is moderately priced and the portions are good. Definitely worth a second visit. They’re open Tuesdays to Sundays.
Pork Noodles
💸¢30
3. Barbecue City
📍KNUST
Technically not a restaurant, but they have some pretty good wings. Their prices and portions are really something; for a pack of ¢25 wings and yam you get at least 15 wings. The first time I tried them I was so shocked, because God knowsssss you’re definitely getting about 6 wings for that price in Accra. Their barbecue wings are my favorite. They’re open Tuesdays to Sundays.
4. Bliss Bite
📍Melcolm Road
Easy to find. It’s a minute or two from the melcolm, on the main road. The food was just okay; I got a sandwich which looked suspiciously like a burger. Apparently its a lot busier after 5 and on weekends, but it was really quiet when I went. The manager was really nice by the way - joked around with us and lent me his charger when I needed one. They have a pretty broad menu and a decent amount of lebanese options available. They are open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11:00am to 11:00pm and Sundays 9:00am to 11:00pm.
Jumbo Sandwich
💸¢40
5. Golden Tulip Hotel
📍Rain Tree Street, Nhyiaso
Golden Tulip has been open in Kumasi for a while now, and just like the Accra branch they have breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. The go-to for an upper class experience. Prices per room in Kumasi are around ¢700-¢800/night and the buffet prices are
Breakfast - ¢90
Lunch - ¢110
Dinner - ¢110
6. Ike’s Cafe & Grill
📍Ghana National Cultural Center
Ike’s is easily one of the most popular restaurants in Kumasi and was actually my first stop when I got into Kumasi. It’s completely outdoors with various sections where you can sit and eat. Their menu is pretty standard and the prices aren’t bad at all; they are pretty regular (by Accra standard). The vibe is nice and we were attended to immediately (plus they let me bring my own xxl wine glass in). The only problem was there was a smell throughout the whole place, which I assumed came from the pond in the middle of the building. They have a bit of a fly problem too.
My starter took 15 minutes to be brought and the snails were amazing 😍. The main itself took about 40 minutes but the rice was extremely loaded with meat and tasted so good. Really big portion too.
It’s also obviously the go-to place for people looking for a nice vibe with good food and music. They’re open Monday to Thursday 11:00am-10:00pm, Friday to Sunday 11:00am till late.
Peppered Snails
💸¢30
Special Fried Rice
💸¢60
7. Night Waakye/Waakye Kumasi
📍Amaakom Roundabout
One of the most popular waakye places in Kumasi and they’re open at night only. Theres always a long line of people waiting to be served because the food is actually really nice.
They have plain rice which is really good too. They recently opened a branch in East Legon (Boundary road).
8. Noble House Restaurant & Hotel
📍George K Kusi Avenue
Noble House is already known in Accra for their Chinese. The Kumasi branch doubles as a hotel (with rooms starting from ¢400/night) and an Indian Restaurant. They’re generally expensive in both towns and their portions sizes in Accra are pretty big but in Kumasi they’re actually massive!
They’re open for lunch and dinner everyday.
Accomodation-wise though, I would really not recommend them. I’ve stayed there twice and from broken hot water heaters(which they were very unapologetic about - they basically told me to deal with it or leave) to rotting ceilings and dishonesty about bed availability during bookings, all I can say is please, stay somewhere else.
Best springrolls in Kumasi though.
9. Ol’Lady Sports Bar & Lounge
📍Major Kobina Drive
They have good jollof! They open at 12:00pm and I got there right around that time so I had a bit of a problem with the service - it took a while to actually be served. However my food was ready within 10 minutes of me placing my order. The waitress informed me that they dont have an actual menu yet which I found a little odd, she more or less just told me what was available. It doesnt look like much outside but the interior is pretty cute. It’s an open space with 4 different sections and they have live music performances weekly. Ol Lady is open from 12:00pm everyday and closes at 12:00am Monday to Thursday and 3:00am Friday to Sunday.
Jollof & Chicken
💸¢30
10. Sanbra
📍Paul Sagoe Lane, Kumasi
I had Sanbra once sometime around 2012 and I have been craving it since. I finally found it and yes, it tasted as good as I remembered it (I have a really good memory)! The price is definitely way higher than I remember it being, but it was definitely worth it - one plate feeds at least 2 people. It’s a hotel in the middle of a very busy market-like place. The food didn’t take long either, we were served in under 30 minutes. It was full of meat too which was such a plus.
A 7 year craving has been satisfied and it’s definitely on my always-visit list for Kumasi.
Sanbra Special
💸¢45
Sidenoooote! Kumasi is fufu central, so a. It would be ridiculous to not try it at least once here, and b. it would be hard to pinpoint one place to try - It’s a whole list on its own! You need to try at least one during your visit and based on the research I did, these are 5 places to get authentic Kumasi fufu (I checked, and you can find them all on Google Maps):
Yaa Serwaa Chop Bar (close to Kumasi Metropolitan Area)
Plus Two
Bush Canteen
SMS
Efie Fufu