Order jollof with plantain and fish and an order of moi moi. Jollof is smokey and savory. Very well seasoned. Fish was smacking a little spicy but be careful of the bones if you've never had whole pieces of fish. Plantain was cooked perfectly. Moi moi hot and a little spice. Also the owner was sweet and the vibe was like you're with family. I would like to try the egusi when my coins are up next time lol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jollof Rice with Choices of Beef Chicken or Fish, Jollof
DARLINGTON CHIMEZIE IKWUEMESIBE
This is by far the best Nigerian restaurant in Oakland. You should definitely give it a go. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egusi Soup, Jollof Rice with Choices of Beef Chicken or Fish, Meat Pie, Jollof, Puff Puff
alex ajayi
One of favorites for egusi
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
j4da
good food, nice spot
Jill Palmer
I came all the way from SF and it exceeded my expectations! I’ve always wanted to try fufu and egusi and this is one of the only places in the bay that make it happen. The flavor was incredible, spicy and fresh. The man serving us, Manny, was so kind and helpful. I can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marco Guerra
I found this restaurant thanks to a recommendation online and I’m so happy I found it! The jolloff rice alone is a reason to go, not to mention all of the other great dishes they have including the meat pies which are a must order every time
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
kimberly tan
it’s been v difficult to find egusi and fufu in the bay area, was glad to find ruth’s and even more delighted after actually visiting and eating here.
i got the egusi with generous amounts of stewed, mostly tender beef (you could also choose chicken or fish) and fufu ($25) my friend got the chicken and jollof rice plate with greens ($17, tho they have a lunch special for this i think around $10). i could have used an extra scoop of soup to go with all the beef, hehe. the fufu tasted like there was potato in it too.
with drinks, tax and tip our bill came out to almost $85-90. pricey but i understand how foreign ingredients are costly, these dishes are time consuming to make and the cost of doing biz in the usa is wild.
the food was really good, service nice and i love that they also sell african groceries! i’m excited to go back and eat again, plus grocery shop to try and make egusi at home.
i also really enjoyed seeing so much community loving on and supporting this biz. someone even came straight off the plane from an intl flight to eat here. soul food for real 🤎
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Arlei Ey
went with family because of the high reviews, and safe to say that we were NOT disappointed! the staff was super welcoming and we really appreciated Emmanuel for taking the time to explain their dishes to us since it was our first time ever.
most importantly, the food was ✩ delicious, satiating, and very tasty! ✩ the portions were great and modestly priced as well. i will definitely be back and highly recommend it to all of my friends and family!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egusi Soup, Fufu and Okra Soup
Lay Lay
The portion to price ratio is absolutely ridiculous. I ordered the egusi soup and got ONE scoop of soup with a couple pieces of fish for $30. The food is good but the prices are robbery.
Sonam Kumar
We ordered jellof rice. It was absolutely authentically made by Nigerian grandma’s recipe with smoky flavor in it. We couldn’t resist to buy a takeout after we had food right there. Highly recommended!
First-Time Visitor - A Bit Disappointed but Hopeful to Try Again
I’ve been wanting to try fufu and egusi soup for years, so I was really excited to find Ruth’s Buka not far from me. I ordered the chicken egusi, thinking it would be pieces of chicken, but it came with whole drumsticks instead which was a bit unexpected.
Unfortunately, the soup itself didn’t have much flavor and tasted like I may have gotten the bottom of the pot, which had a slightly burnt taste. I was really hoping for a more rich, savory experience, especially since this was my first time trying it.
I also tried what I believe was a beef pie it was cold, hard, and had that same burnt flavor.
I’m still hopeful, though. Maybe it just wasn’t their best batch that day. I might give it another try because I really want to enjoy authentic Nigerian flavors the way they’re meant to be experienced.
Food: 2
Shina Daodu
They only place to get authenticity in food from the motherland. Love this place, my favorite place to eat outside of my mother's cooking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Puff Puff, Egusi and Okra Soup with Eva
Tanya Crankson
I’ve searched a long time for an amazing Nigerian restaurant and finally found it at Ruth’s Buka! We had the meat pie (to die for! Definite try!!!) fufu and egusi soup with chicken (absolute must!), spicy beef suya (yummy)!, and puff puff (yes, yes!!!) we would make the four+ hour trip from home to come back here again! We also took home the kuli kuli and chin chin! Such a cute place and lovely staff! Lol they were quite surprised that a white grill ee so much about Nigerian cuisine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Pie, Puff Puff
Eren Zulfikar
The best jollof rice I have had in a minute, very clean and cozy atmosphere and a sweet waitress. Will definitely be bringing my family here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Earlecia Martin
Drove an hour and 20mins in traffic to be told they didn’t have fufu by the time I arrived. I attempted to place my to-go order over the phone and they said they didn’t accept phone orders, only walk-in’s. Had they let me place my order over the phone I wouldn’t have wasted time in traffic and could’ve been told long in advance they didn’t have what I was commuting for. Do better.
Order jollof with plantain and fish and an order of moi moi. Jollof is smokey and savory. Very well seasoned. Fish was smacking a little spicy but be careful of the bones if you've never had whole pieces of fish. Plantain was cooked perfectly. Moi moi hot and a little spice. Also the owner was sweet and the vibe was like you're with family. I would like to try the egusi when my coins are up next time lol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jollof Rice with Choices of Beef Chicken or Fish, Jollof
This is by far the best Nigerian restaurant in Oakland. You should definitely give it a go. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egusi Soup, Jollof Rice with Choices of Beef Chicken or Fish, Meat Pie, Jollof, Puff Puff
One of favorites for egusi
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
good food, nice spot
I came all the way from SF and it exceeded my expectations! I’ve always wanted to try fufu and egusi and this is one of the only places in the bay that make it happen. The flavor was incredible, spicy and fresh. The man serving us, Manny, was so kind and helpful. I can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I found this restaurant thanks to a recommendation online and I’m so happy I found it! The jolloff rice alone is a reason to go, not to mention all of the other great dishes they have including the meat pies which are a must order every time
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
it’s been v difficult to find egusi and fufu in the bay area, was glad to find ruth’s and even more delighted after actually visiting and eating here.
i got the egusi with generous amounts of stewed, mostly tender beef (you could also choose chicken or fish) and fufu ($25) my friend got the chicken and jollof rice plate with greens ($17, tho they have a lunch special for this i think around $10). i could have used an extra scoop of soup to go with all the beef, hehe. the fufu tasted like there was potato in it too.
with drinks, tax and tip our bill came out to almost $85-90. pricey but i understand how foreign ingredients are costly, these dishes are time consuming to make and the cost of doing biz in the usa is wild.
the food was really good, service nice and i love that they also sell african groceries! i’m excited to go back and eat again, plus grocery shop to try and make egusi at home.
i also really enjoyed seeing so much community loving on and supporting this biz. someone even came straight off the plane from an intl flight to eat here. soul food for real 🤎
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
went with family because of the high reviews, and safe to say that we were NOT disappointed! the staff was super welcoming and we really appreciated Emmanuel for taking the time to explain their dishes to us since it was our first time ever.
most importantly, the food was ✩ delicious, satiating, and very tasty! ✩ the portions were great and modestly priced as well. i will definitely be back and highly recommend it to all of my friends and family!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egusi Soup, Fufu and Okra Soup
The portion to price ratio is absolutely ridiculous. I ordered the egusi soup and got ONE scoop of soup with a couple pieces of fish for $30. The food is good but the prices are robbery.
We ordered jellof rice. It was absolutely authentically made by Nigerian grandma’s recipe with smoky flavor in it. We couldn’t resist to buy a takeout after we had food right there. Highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
First-Time Visitor - A Bit Disappointed but Hopeful to Try Again
I’ve been wanting to try fufu and egusi soup for years, so I was really excited to find Ruth’s Buka not far from me. I ordered the chicken egusi, thinking it would be pieces of chicken, but it came with whole drumsticks instead which was a bit unexpected.
Unfortunately, the soup itself didn’t have much flavor and tasted like I may have gotten the bottom of the pot, which had a slightly burnt taste. I was really hoping for a more rich, savory experience, especially since this was my first time trying it.
I also tried what I believe was a beef pie it was cold, hard, and had that same burnt flavor.
I’m still hopeful, though. Maybe it just wasn’t their best batch that day. I might give it another try because I really want to enjoy authentic Nigerian flavors the way they’re meant to be experienced.
Food: 2
They only place to get authenticity in food from the motherland. Love this place, my favorite place to eat outside of my mother's cooking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Puff Puff, Egusi and Okra Soup with Eva
I’ve searched a long time for an amazing Nigerian restaurant and finally found it at Ruth’s Buka! We had the meat pie (to die for! Definite try!!!) fufu and egusi soup with chicken (absolute must!), spicy beef suya (yummy)!, and puff puff (yes, yes!!!) we would make the four+ hour trip from home to come back here again! We also took home the kuli kuli and chin chin! Such a cute place and lovely staff! Lol they were quite surprised that a white grill ee so much about Nigerian cuisine!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Pie, Puff Puff
The best jollof rice I have had in a minute, very clean and cozy atmosphere and a sweet waitress. Will definitely be bringing my family here again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Drove an hour and 20mins in traffic to be told they didn’t have fufu by the time I arrived. I attempted to place my to-go order over the phone and they said they didn’t accept phone orders, only walk-in’s. Had they let me place my order over the phone I wouldn’t have wasted time in traffic and could’ve been told long in advance they didn’t have what I was commuting for. Do better.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
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