As far as food at a zoo goes, this is my least favorite out of the three zoos that I visit semi-regularly (KC and Omaha). Service staff is friendly, generally plenty of seating, food is food. You may be better served by packing a lunch and utilizing the picnic tables by the NW parking
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Safyre Elizabeth
Food was great but the line was excruciating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
CHIEF ONE
Prices are gettin out of control but i guess thats everywhere you go out now!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Kelsey Abell
A little over priced and there can be a bit of a wait but the food is pretty good.
Richard Miller
Ran out of food 3 hours before the zoo closed and refused to make more
Heather Mcgill
Long wait for no reason. You finally get to the window and the workers were standing around instead of taking our order for about 10min. Food is okay but don't get a bottled drink as we took our sealed lemonade back up cause there was stuff at the bottom and watched another lady do the same
Chris Remrey
Poor overworked HyVee kids. Food was ok. Price was good for a touristy place.
Cole Petersburg
Hell is waiting in line for food that they're out of. And they refuse to speak up to explain what they do have.
Hyacinth O.
The food is definitely better than the ambiance. Service was was very good. We tried the curry chicken and tilapia with the safari rice. Their sauces are amazing ! Ask for both green and red !
Courtney G.
This place is a great addition to Des Moines. We are severly lacking in any kind of African cuisine as far as I can tell, and this little gem on the North side is here to fill a gap most Des Moiner's didn't know we had. I went here with a young professional group. We were able to meet the owner, a gal from Somalia (I think). She came here and saw lots of immigrants and refugees coming here with no restaurants to represent their culture, so she opened this one. The menu is fairly limited, mostly beef, goat, chicken, fish, etc. with rice and maybe a salad. I can't find a good menu online, but they also have a spaghetti dish of some sort. While I didn't get that, it looked really good and the people I saw eating it looked damn happy. I ended up with the chicken plate, rice, salad, and a somosa. Everything was tasty. We had a large group, so it took a while to get all the food out, but we didn't wait a terribly long time, and while we waited the waitress gave us some tea (Chai, I think) to drink. It was actually really good, but unlike any tea I've had before. If you have this place on your list to go "someday", just go. It's good, they're helpful even if you look like you have no idea what you're ordering and the prices are great.
A local treasure! The staff was welcoming and helpful in describing the menu since we were unfamiliar. We had rice and spaghetti dishes with goat and vegetables. The Kenyan chai tea was perfect for the chilly winter day. They were out of samosas but the Mandazi sweet bread turned out to be a great appetizer. Would recommend, I will definitely be returning.
Rachel D.
My husband and I went on a Saturday night around 7 for dinner. It was our first time there so we didn't know what to expect. Ambience is nonexistent but it was clean and orderly. My husband first ordered goat but they had ran out around 1 pm they said so he ended up ordering the special and loved it. I had the Chicken Saqaar over Safari Rice. My first choice was naan but they were out of that too and, man, was that ok with me. The dish was delish! I loved the green hot sauce that accompanied the dish and went through 3 ramekins of it. It was very spicy but oh so good. So even though they were out of our first choices, our second choices were delectable.
Eric J.
Second time Safari African Restaurant!! The wife was with and loved it as much As I did. I would be more than happy with the appetizers and their wonderful Rice. The first time I ordered goat. As long as I kept the image of the animal out of my mind....very tender. Today wife ordered chicken and rice and I had chicken stew and rice. Amazing. What really makes this place perfect are the people working there. Very friendly, patient with explaining the menu and very willing to get to know you as a person. The outside building is nothing to write home about but don't let that keep you away. Open your taste buds and give them a try!
Arielle N.
Super tasty! We had chai tea, fufu, and chicken stew which were all awesome. I definitely will be going back!
Skyler Y.
This restaurant is very easy to find and the is parking lot was very accommodating. When you walk in, we were greeted by a friendly waitress and noticed they had a menu on the wall with pictures of the food. There were also an array of authentic decorations . We let the waitress know this was out first time eating African food and she was more than happy to share information with us about the food and history about Somali type African cuisine. Although I ordered a bottle water, I was tempted by the offering of mango juice. For dinner I ordered the Safari Spaghetti with Beef. Why is there African spaghetti? The waitress shared spaghetti is not common in Africa except in Somalia because they were colonized by Italians. The spaghetti consisted of beef (but you had your choices of many meats including goat), onions, spices, and noodles. It was also served with a green spice sauce on the side that had a taste of lime plus a kick to it. The noodles were moist and the beef was nice and chewy. It was a large portion so we didn't order dessert. Overall a great meal, I would gladly come back.
As far as food at a zoo goes, this is my least favorite out of the three zoos that I visit semi-regularly (KC and Omaha). Service staff is friendly, generally plenty of seating, food is food. You may be better served by packing a lunch and utilizing the picnic tables by the NW parking
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Food was great but the line was excruciating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Prices are gettin out of control but i guess thats everywhere you go out now!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
A little over priced and there can be a bit of a wait but the food is pretty good.
Ran out of food 3 hours before the zoo closed and refused to make more
Long wait for no reason. You finally get to the window and the workers were standing around instead of taking our order for about 10min. Food is okay but don't get a bottled drink as we took our sealed lemonade back up cause there was stuff at the bottom and watched another lady do the same
Poor overworked HyVee kids. Food was ok. Price was good for a touristy place.
Hell is waiting in line for food that they're out of. And they refuse to speak up to explain what they do have.
The food is definitely better than the ambiance. Service was was very good. We tried the curry chicken and tilapia with the safari rice. Their sauces are amazing ! Ask for both green and red !
This place is a great addition to Des Moines. We are severly lacking in any kind of African cuisine as far as I can tell, and this little gem on the North side is here to fill a gap most Des Moiner's didn't know we had. I went here with a young professional group. We were able to meet the owner, a gal from Somalia (I think). She came here and saw lots of immigrants and refugees coming here with no restaurants to represent their culture, so she opened this one. The menu is fairly limited, mostly beef, goat, chicken, fish, etc. with rice and maybe a salad. I can't find a good menu online, but they also have a spaghetti dish of some sort. While I didn't get that, it looked really good and the people I saw eating it looked damn happy. I ended up with the chicken plate, rice, salad, and a somosa. Everything was tasty. We had a large group, so it took a while to get all the food out, but we didn't wait a terribly long time, and while we waited the waitress gave us some tea (Chai, I think) to drink. It was actually really good, but unlike any tea I've had before. If you have this place on your list to go "someday", just go. It's good, they're helpful even if you look like you have no idea what you're ordering and the prices are great.
Restaurantji Recommends
A local treasure! The staff was welcoming and helpful in describing the menu since we were unfamiliar. We had rice and spaghetti dishes with goat and vegetables. The Kenyan chai tea was perfect for the chilly winter day. They were out of samosas but the Mandazi sweet bread turned out to be a great appetizer. Would recommend, I will definitely be returning.
My husband and I went on a Saturday night around 7 for dinner. It was our first time there so we didn't know what to expect. Ambience is nonexistent but it was clean and orderly. My husband first ordered goat but they had ran out around 1 pm they said so he ended up ordering the special and loved it. I had the Chicken Saqaar over Safari Rice. My first choice was naan but they were out of that too and, man, was that ok with me. The dish was delish! I loved the green hot sauce that accompanied the dish and went through 3 ramekins of it. It was very spicy but oh so good. So even though they were out of our first choices, our second choices were delectable.
Second time Safari African Restaurant!! The wife was with and loved it as much As I did. I would be more than happy with the appetizers and their wonderful Rice. The first time I ordered goat. As long as I kept the image of the animal out of my mind....very tender. Today wife ordered chicken and rice and I had chicken stew and rice. Amazing. What really makes this place perfect are the people working there. Very friendly, patient with explaining the menu and very willing to get to know you as a person. The outside building is nothing to write home about but don't let that keep you away. Open your taste buds and give them a try!
Super tasty! We had chai tea, fufu, and chicken stew which were all awesome. I definitely will be going back!
This restaurant is very easy to find and the is parking lot was very accommodating. When you walk in, we were greeted by a friendly waitress and noticed they had a menu on the wall with pictures of the food. There were also an array of authentic decorations . We let the waitress know this was out first time eating African food and she was more than happy to share information with us about the food and history about Somali type African cuisine. Although I ordered a bottle water, I was tempted by the offering of mango juice. For dinner I ordered the Safari Spaghetti with Beef. Why is there African spaghetti? The waitress shared spaghetti is not common in Africa except in Somalia because they were colonized by Italians. The spaghetti consisted of beef (but you had your choices of many meats including goat), onions, spices, and noodles. It was also served with a green spice sauce on the side that had a taste of lime plus a kick to it. The noodles were moist and the beef was nice and chewy. It was a large portion so we didn't order dessert. Overall a great meal, I would gladly come back.