Mataheko

Very frustrating experience especially based on the current reviews (previous to mine). So I took my time and drove to this location as I am a fan of African Cuisine, however upon entering this establishment, disappointment awaited me from the outset, I was in the mood for African inspired soup with the spiciness however I called in advance and was advised that the only soup bases that were readily available were either the simple soup base (comprised of tomato soup as the base) or the peanut soup base as the other soup base which is (palm oil base) isn't as readily available as based on popularity. Once I get there, I asked the nice young lady if I could have a small sampling of the peanut soup as I am not a personal fan of tomato soup bases and she quickly dismissed me and advised that they were limited in their availability and wouldn't be able to provide me a small teaspoon courtesy sampling. And.... I can ensure you I asked for a small teaspoon as that would have been all I needed to make a quick decision however she insisted that this wouldn't be an option for me under no circumstance. With that having been said she did offer me the okra based soup which she attested to and I quickly opted for but... Emma (that is the name she gave me for herself) came back out of the kitchen and advised me that  they were out of that as well. With all that having been said, I had no choice but to opt for their peanut based soup. I asked for the peanut based soup as a takeout with the fufu. That's when Emma advised that they were out of the fufu, but would have it ready in ten minutes if i wanted to wait. I agreed reluctantly because I opted for a replacement to the fufu based on their menu for the pounded yam but yet again that wasn't readily available. At this point I am aggravated with the level of availability and accommodation to taste what they advised they had readily available. In addition to this the young lady (Emma) told me that they only accepted cash however upon entering the restaurants establishment it clearly says that they accept several different  credit cards for payment. I asked Emma at the time of payment why she advised cash only when their door clearly advertises that they do accept additional forms of payment and that is when Emma decided to disclose to me that they do accept the additional forms of payment if the order is $20.00 and over. Ahhah!!!!,  why not disclose this from the outset? Customer Service is everything and surely this matters as its a form of communication that needs to be disclosed from the outset especially if asked. Emma further advised me that had I called in advance and placed an order for exactly what I wanted they would have made it for me since African Cuisine takes so much time to prepare. Whoo Hoo, was I supposed to know that from the outset? Good to know now, yes, of course. Am I happy about that? Heck No. I have been to far better African Cuisine restaurants to give them my money one more time. But nice that you offer the opportunity to reinvest my time and hard earned dollars into this unprepared establishment.  In addition they aren't willing to offer you a sampling of soup, come on, It's tough out here step up to the plate and stand up for your establishment to garner more customers and increase your ratings. Onto the food, my soup came in a large quart sized container, was filled 3/4 of the way, included a hunk of boned meat of some sort, lacked in soup broth and didn't stand out in the least bit, all for the cost of $12.00. The decor was ok, the bar stocked some basic wine and beer of which I wasn't interested in and won't be going back. If you ever want true African Fare go to this place which I am sorry I never reviewed but will now since I have had such a subpar experience here to compare it to. Go to African American Best Food @ 410 Lenox Avenue 130th and 131st street (place in upper Harlem), contact phone number @ 212-690-8052, the food is exceptional compared to this place, healthy fresh and you can get small samplings on some items before making a final decision on your actual order.

Tasty pan African cuisine in a cute decor with a full bar and great value pricing!
My new favorite NYC African restaurant....
Would recommend as destination( if you love good African cuisine) and as neighborhood joint if you need a nice place to hang and eat in Jamaica...
So like other yelpers  I came here on jury duty lunch break although in my quest for great ethnic cuisines of New York I have been meaning to check this joint out for awhile. First unlike the many dive hole in the wall places around Jamaica, this place is cute although tiny. Again unlike most of the African restaurants in the city this place is trying to cultivate some native decor with style. The food is a mix from Ghana,Nigeria and Senegal which covers a wide range of flavors and preparation. It's almost like a one stop tour of some major continent cuisine. Since it was only me dining , I did not get the tour just some plantain fufu with okra stew. The fufu was among the best I have ever had, silky smooth with enough salt to not make it tasteless mash with enough form to eat with the hand if desired but soft enough to eat with fork too. The okra stew was studded with mild spice and tender pork and beef pieces with a hint of dryed or smoked meats throughout. I did not get much chicken or goat although all are in the stew. For 12 dollars I was stuffed with half my stew and fufu and very satisfied.They also have 8 dollar lunch specials which are some of their stews served with rice instead of fufu.

Service was adequate. Seemed to be a change of shift so I had three different people wait on me. The first women who took my order was very limited English so there was a slow back and forth until she understood my questions on the menu. The other ladies no issues on the English front and everyone was fairly nice. I was impressed that prior to serving me the fufu,typically eaten with the hands, they brought a bowl of water with soap to clean the hands prior. Classy. None of the other NYC places that serve fufu have ever done that....

I will defiantly be returning...with a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon and some friends so I can sample cuisine from the allover the continent....and their cocktails!
They seem to try and be a music lounge at night with live music....not sure where they fit the acts....so might check that out as well....
It's super easy to get to as its a few blocks from the Jamaica LIRR, multiple buses and subway lines...

I, like other reviewers, looked here in the context of being on jury duty

I've certainly had worse food, but it wasn't worth it

I had what the waitress (with her extremely limited english) told me was the most recommended/popular item - jolla rice and spinach stew (?)

I proceeded to get a mountain of pretty good rice, a small bowl with some stew which was mostly just big pieces of fat and bone - virtually no protein or meat of any sort at all

I virtually had to ask to even get silverware - it seems like the waitress is also the chef?

the flavor wasn't bad, but they don't really have water other than bottled water and the above cost $10 which seems pretty steep for what it is

i won;t be going back and I recommend fellow jurors who must shlep out to, effectively, Long Island, for their "Queens" jury duty to avoid this one unless you speak... creole?