To start the staff is great, they add the warm welcoming atmosphere we are missing these days. The food is amazing, great flavors and presentation stands out. Highly recommended for those who seek a different experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Mark Stencel
Zweli's Ekhaya offers delicious food, flexible options (GF, Vegan), and a wonderful staff. Jeremy offered great recommendations and service, even after I accidentally spilled my drink -- on him. I was there for the brunch menu and picked the Suya Chicken Kabobs, marinated in Nigerian spices (paprika, ginger, scotch bonnet) and topped with peanut. There's outdoor seating, beautiful decor inside... Even the restroom was lovely.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
april gregory
Absolutely amazing !! Definitely do as tapas!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rice Bomb
Keith Smith
First I must say the staff was great especially our server Jamie(she) because there were two. I was supposed to go to their other location but with a couple miscommunications on my part ended up at Ekhaya's. If you haven't been it's a must try, the flat bread with the cashew and beets spread..the chicken..the salmon with vegetables..were all delicious..I can't leave out the bartender he took a moment to come to the table to specifically find our what kind of taste buds we had and bought back a very satisfying cocktail!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Scott Jablonski
My wife and I were excited to try this place out for our date night. However we left a little disappointed. We got three small plates and two drinks for about $80. The plates were described as shareable, but wouldn't agree with that. The food was delicious, just not sure it was worth the cost. Everything about the evening was elevated, even the cost!
Ekhaya is an absolutely beautiful restaurant. The interior is small, but nicely decorated with great music adding to the ambiance. Because of the great weather, my mother and I opted to sit outside with a view of the water. My only suggestion would be to figure out a way to place speakers on the patio to also enjoy the music out there. It didn't take away from our experience though. There are many vegetarian and vegan options available. The food is designed to be enjoyed tapas style. As Europeans, my mother and I loved this. Each dish comes out one at a time, and is shared. The Dovi cauliflower was tender yet crisp, with a fantastic peanut sauce. The chicken kabobs were delicious. Most chicken dishes tend to be dry at restaurants, but not these. The chicken was juicy, and each bite was a flavor bomb. I cannot remember the name of the bread dish, but it was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever had. I wish I could bottle up that beet sauce and take it home. Jeremy W was our server, and he was a complete delight. The restaurant has done well to hire him. He was very knowledgeable about the menu, and overall we just enjoyed talking with him. Highly, highly recommend dining with Ekhaya.
I enjoyed the drink, food, and atmosphere of the outdoor seating the night I went. The manager and my server were very friendly, and I was gifted a small plate of chickpeas complements of the chef - they were sooo delicious. I ordered roasted golden and red beets, savory sausage rolls, and a dawa (cocktail). The beets came out very fast but the savory sausage rolls took a while to arrive. Overall it was a great experience and delicious food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sausage Rolls, Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese, Fried Chickpea and Bacon Amuse Bouche
Maya Hardrick
The food was flavorful, the drinks were tasty, and the service was excellent! A must-visit in Durham! We'll definitely be back :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel A.
Fantastic food, drinks, service, and atmosphere. My wife and I came in from Raleigh, and we can’t wait to go back to try other dishes. Everything was so flavorful and delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ashley Stacy-Boddapati
Everything was delicious. Best meal out that I’ve had in a while! While each dish was great, do not miss the sausage rolls with apricot jam! Loved the African 75 cocktail too. Well done, Ekhaya!
I have been super excited to try this restaurant; however, I must say the experience was truly disappointing. We arrived on a Wednesday evening. The ambiance is nice and quaint. There was a decent crowd, but not overly busy. We had to flag our server down to get his attention to at least order drinks. This is when we were told alcohol could not be served due to a permit issue. We were very confused because there were two tables that had wine bottles. We were told that these tables ordered wine right at 5pm; before the team was notified that alcohol could not be served. Disappointing, but we proceeded to ask about other options for drinks. Most of the party just drank water. Service was very slow and lacked attentiveness. We did not get refills on water. Our bottle and glasses stayed empty. This is even after food was being brought to our table. No one asked if a refill was needed. We eventually asked for a refill. When that got empty, we were once again left without water. There was also no refill offered on the soda a person in our party ordered. On to the food... the dishes we received looked nothing like the pictures posted online by the business. We ordered the Dovi rice bites. It came out in a small bowl with one large ball inside. Looked nothing like we expected. We expected more than one ball based on the pictures. There was no sauce at all. The one ball we had was dry. The scotch egg was okay, but the sausage itself was overcooked. The chicken was decent, but took a long time to come out. Overall, we were not impressed. Service and food quality definitely needs to be improved. For the amount of money we spent on each dish, we do not feel like it was worth it. Maybe it was an off night; however, a restaurant of this caliber shouldn't experience off nights. Especially being so new.
Ashley F.
I'm going to be a tough critic here but at the price point of this restaurant you expect an almost perfect experience and after waiting months and being so excited to try this restaurant, the experience was a little disappointing. So I arrived at the restaurant and was greeted and given water. I asked about a cocktail and was told they couldn't serve beer, alcohol, or wine that day due to a permit issue as they just opened a new restaurant. Most tables were empty of alcohol, however two tables outside of me had a bottle of wine that they were sharing. When I asked my server if wine was an option, he stated that it was not but the couple were the first table here and they found out just as they had ordered the wine that they couldn't serve so the owner allowed them to have a bottle. Now this could be the case but the optics of a table sharing a bottle of wine when you were just told that they aren't allowed to sell alcohol but a table can have a whole bottle on the table seems like a bit of favoritism. I'd imagine that if an auditor came in and saw a bottle of wine, that would also get them in trouble despite them being so diligent with other customers. I arrived 10 minutes early but the rest of my part arrived exactly at reservation time, and it took 10 minutes after that for us to be acknowledged. I actually had to wave the waiter down to give him to notice we were ready for some service after 10 minutes of full party arrival. However once he came he was very good. He had a positive and bright personality and was helpful in answering questions. There was a few times we had to catch him to get our waters refilled. So I would say the service is good but lacks a sense of urgency that a high caliber restaurant should have with their guests. So now on to the food. We ordered the Dovi rice bomb and it came out different from all the other pictures on Yelp including the business owners picture. In all the pictures it's a saucy dish served on a plate of sauce, however our dish was served in a small side dish almost like a sauce dish and had little sauce. This dish needs sauce because the rice bomb is on the dry side. It was just okay but the presentation was not good and the lack of sauce was off putting. The next dish was the steak kabobs, these were good not great. Next was the Scottish Egg, I didn't eat this but I was told by my husband that the egg was cooked perfectly but the sausage on the outside seemed over cooked. Next they brought out chickpeas and bacon as compliments from the chef. This was so tasty! It was nice to eat something that excited my taste buds. This was what I have been waiting for! I had the sausage rolls next and they were tasty but a little greasy but I liked them a lot. I also had the Steak and Mushroom pie. This was really good, not amazing but better than a few of the other items. Finally the chicken dish was the star of the show. It was cooked to perfection! The sauce was good with this dish. Some of the other dishes had sauces that didn't elevate the dishes. Finally I had the Maygwinyas and they were dry and there were 3 small balls for 12 dollars and served in a tiny container. I was expecting bolder tastes in some dishes. Some dishes seemed overpriced and if you go to other restaurants and order a $14 dollar appetizer (rice ball) it would be served in a big plate and enough to share. If you go to Ruecler and get the beignets you can get 6 for 9 dollars or so. There is just something off in terms of price to quality ratio for me. But I do have to give it to the chefs because they do cook all the food to order even if it's not all tasty to my palate. Overall I'd rate it as 3.5 stars if it was in regard to the food overall. The service is you place you order all at once and food comes out as it's prepared. I felt like it took a long time for some foods to come out, but it's also freshly prepared so that could be the issue. Definitely leave plenty of time if you are stopping here prior to a show. The restaurants decor is beautiful and has
Ciera R.
Our server was very attentive and described that we could order all the food we wanted at once note come out one at a time as it was ready. It's really amazing all the flavors were just undeniably good the cauliflower and peanut sauce, the beets and the scotch egg was our favorite, the chicken was the most moist and seasoned chicken we ever had. It was not overly salty at all honestly couldn't even taste of the salt. It was just perfectly seasoned with flavors that you just can't get anywhere anywhere else but here and it just truly added to an amazing experience for a midweek dinner. You know a place is amazing when you can have well-done steak kebab, and it's still have flavor and not be rubbery and have that perfect char and the scotch bonnet pepper sauce was absolutely chefs kiss. Amazing job to the team and cannot wait to come and try again.
Laura Steed Lorino
Delicious! We had the seafood curry special (it was Salmon tonight), Chipati, and beets.We had an Offline deal and tried it out. We will definitely be going back.I lived in Kenya for a year and half and from my experience, I would say the Chipati tonight was very true to Kenyan chipati.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan A.
I was really excited to try this place. The ambiance is cool the drinks were really good (shout out to the bartender). The servers were nice but not that attentive at all. Lastly I wasn't a fan of the food. The chicken skewers were okay but could use more seasoning. The dovi ball was super dense like could barely break it open dense I would not recommend. The chapati bread was good but it's served on top of "pepper sauce" so it got soggy. The pepper sauce lacked heat. It tasted more like marinara sauce. The sausage rolls were decent. All in all I was disappointed. I really was hoping I would like this place. Not sure if I would come back here.
To start the staff is great, they add the warm welcoming atmosphere we are missing these days. The food is amazing, great flavors and presentation stands out. Highly recommended for those who seek a different experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Zweli's Ekhaya offers delicious food, flexible options (GF, Vegan), and a wonderful staff. Jeremy offered great recommendations and service, even after I accidentally spilled my drink -- on him. I was there for the brunch menu and picked the Suya Chicken Kabobs, marinated in Nigerian spices (paprika, ginger, scotch bonnet) and topped with peanut. There's outdoor seating, beautiful decor inside... Even the restroom was lovely.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely amazing !! Definitely do as tapas!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rice Bomb
First I must say the staff was great especially our server Jamie(she) because there were two. I was supposed to go to their other location but with a couple miscommunications on my part ended up at Ekhaya's. If you haven't been it's a must try, the flat bread with the cashew and beets spread..the chicken..the salmon with vegetables..were all delicious..I can't leave out the bartender he took a moment to come to the table to specifically find our what kind of taste buds we had and bought back a very satisfying cocktail!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My wife and I were excited to try this place out for our date night. However we left a little disappointed. We got three small plates and two drinks for about $80. The plates were described as shareable, but wouldn't agree with that. The food was delicious, just not sure it was worth the cost. Everything about the evening was elevated, even the cost!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Dovi Cauliflower Roasted Cauliflower
Ekhaya is an absolutely beautiful restaurant. The interior is small, but nicely decorated with great music adding to the ambiance. Because of the great weather, my mother and I opted to sit outside with a view of the water. My only suggestion would be to figure out a way to place speakers on the patio to also enjoy the music out there. It didn't take away from our experience though. There are many vegetarian and vegan options available. The food is designed to be enjoyed tapas style. As Europeans, my mother and I loved this. Each dish comes out one at a time, and is shared. The Dovi cauliflower was tender yet crisp, with a fantastic peanut sauce. The chicken kabobs were delicious. Most chicken dishes tend to be dry at restaurants, but not these. The chicken was juicy, and each bite was a flavor bomb. I cannot remember the name of the bread dish, but it was one of the most delicious dishes I've ever had. I wish I could bottle up that beet sauce and take it home. Jeremy W was our server, and he was a complete delight. The restaurant has done well to hire him. He was very knowledgeable about the menu, and overall we just enjoyed talking with him. Highly, highly recommend dining with Ekhaya.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dovi Cauliflower Roasted Cauliflower
I enjoyed the drink, food, and atmosphere of the outdoor seating the night I went. The manager and my server were very friendly, and I was gifted a small plate of chickpeas complements of the chef - they were sooo delicious. I ordered roasted golden and red beets, savory sausage rolls, and a dawa (cocktail). The beets came out very fast but the savory sausage rolls took a while to arrive. Overall it was a great experience and delicious food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sausage Rolls, Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese, Fried Chickpea and Bacon Amuse Bouche
The food was flavorful, the drinks were tasty, and the service was excellent! A must-visit in Durham! We'll definitely be back :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic food, drinks, service, and atmosphere. My wife and I came in from Raleigh, and we can’t wait to go back to try other dishes. Everything was so flavorful and delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was delicious. Best meal out that I’ve had in a while! While each dish was great, do not miss the sausage rolls with apricot jam! Loved the African 75 cocktail too. Well done, Ekhaya!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rice Bomb, Sausage Rolls, Spinach Sauteed
Restaurantji Recommends
I have been super excited to try this restaurant; however, I must say the experience was truly disappointing. We arrived on a Wednesday evening. The ambiance is nice and quaint. There was a decent crowd, but not overly busy. We had to flag our server down to get his attention to at least order drinks. This is when we were told alcohol could not be served due to a permit issue. We were very confused because there were two tables that had wine bottles. We were told that these tables ordered wine right at 5pm; before the team was notified that alcohol could not be served. Disappointing, but we proceeded to ask about other options for drinks. Most of the party just drank water. Service was very slow and lacked attentiveness. We did not get refills on water. Our bottle and glasses stayed empty. This is even after food was being brought to our table. No one asked if a refill was needed. We eventually asked for a refill. When that got empty, we were once again left without water. There was also no refill offered on the soda a person in our party ordered. On to the food... the dishes we received looked nothing like the pictures posted online by the business. We ordered the Dovi rice bites. It came out in a small bowl with one large ball inside. Looked nothing like we expected. We expected more than one ball based on the pictures. There was no sauce at all. The one ball we had was dry. The scotch egg was okay, but the sausage itself was overcooked. The chicken was decent, but took a long time to come out. Overall, we were not impressed. Service and food quality definitely needs to be improved. For the amount of money we spent on each dish, we do not feel like it was worth it. Maybe it was an off night; however, a restaurant of this caliber shouldn't experience off nights. Especially being so new.
I'm going to be a tough critic here but at the price point of this restaurant you expect an almost perfect experience and after waiting months and being so excited to try this restaurant, the experience was a little disappointing. So I arrived at the restaurant and was greeted and given water. I asked about a cocktail and was told they couldn't serve beer, alcohol, or wine that day due to a permit issue as they just opened a new restaurant. Most tables were empty of alcohol, however two tables outside of me had a bottle of wine that they were sharing. When I asked my server if wine was an option, he stated that it was not but the couple were the first table here and they found out just as they had ordered the wine that they couldn't serve so the owner allowed them to have a bottle. Now this could be the case but the optics of a table sharing a bottle of wine when you were just told that they aren't allowed to sell alcohol but a table can have a whole bottle on the table seems like a bit of favoritism. I'd imagine that if an auditor came in and saw a bottle of wine, that would also get them in trouble despite them being so diligent with other customers. I arrived 10 minutes early but the rest of my part arrived exactly at reservation time, and it took 10 minutes after that for us to be acknowledged. I actually had to wave the waiter down to give him to notice we were ready for some service after 10 minutes of full party arrival. However once he came he was very good. He had a positive and bright personality and was helpful in answering questions. There was a few times we had to catch him to get our waters refilled. So I would say the service is good but lacks a sense of urgency that a high caliber restaurant should have with their guests. So now on to the food. We ordered the Dovi rice bomb and it came out different from all the other pictures on Yelp including the business owners picture. In all the pictures it's a saucy dish served on a plate of sauce, however our dish was served in a small side dish almost like a sauce dish and had little sauce. This dish needs sauce because the rice bomb is on the dry side. It was just okay but the presentation was not good and the lack of sauce was off putting. The next dish was the steak kabobs, these were good not great. Next was the Scottish Egg, I didn't eat this but I was told by my husband that the egg was cooked perfectly but the sausage on the outside seemed over cooked. Next they brought out chickpeas and bacon as compliments from the chef. This was so tasty! It was nice to eat something that excited my taste buds. This was what I have been waiting for! I had the sausage rolls next and they were tasty but a little greasy but I liked them a lot. I also had the Steak and Mushroom pie. This was really good, not amazing but better than a few of the other items. Finally the chicken dish was the star of the show. It was cooked to perfection! The sauce was good with this dish. Some of the other dishes had sauces that didn't elevate the dishes. Finally I had the Maygwinyas and they were dry and there were 3 small balls for 12 dollars and served in a tiny container. I was expecting bolder tastes in some dishes. Some dishes seemed overpriced and if you go to other restaurants and order a $14 dollar appetizer (rice ball) it would be served in a big plate and enough to share. If you go to Ruecler and get the beignets you can get 6 for 9 dollars or so. There is just something off in terms of price to quality ratio for me. But I do have to give it to the chefs because they do cook all the food to order even if it's not all tasty to my palate. Overall I'd rate it as 3.5 stars if it was in regard to the food overall. The service is you place you order all at once and food comes out as it's prepared. I felt like it took a long time for some foods to come out, but it's also freshly prepared so that could be the issue. Definitely leave plenty of time if you are stopping here prior to a show. The restaurants decor is beautiful and has
Our server was very attentive and described that we could order all the food we wanted at once note come out one at a time as it was ready. It's really amazing all the flavors were just undeniably good the cauliflower and peanut sauce, the beets and the scotch egg was our favorite, the chicken was the most moist and seasoned chicken we ever had. It was not overly salty at all honestly couldn't even taste of the salt. It was just perfectly seasoned with flavors that you just can't get anywhere anywhere else but here and it just truly added to an amazing experience for a midweek dinner. You know a place is amazing when you can have well-done steak kebab, and it's still have flavor and not be rubbery and have that perfect char and the scotch bonnet pepper sauce was absolutely chefs kiss. Amazing job to the team and cannot wait to come and try again.
Delicious! We had the seafood curry special (it was Salmon tonight), Chipati, and beets.We had an Offline deal and tried it out. We will definitely be going back.I lived in Kenya for a year and half and from my experience, I would say the Chipati tonight was very true to Kenyan chipati.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was really excited to try this place. The ambiance is cool the drinks were really good (shout out to the bartender). The servers were nice but not that attentive at all. Lastly I wasn't a fan of the food. The chicken skewers were okay but could use more seasoning. The dovi ball was super dense like could barely break it open dense I would not recommend. The chapati bread was good but it's served on top of "pepper sauce" so it got soggy. The pepper sauce lacked heat. It tasted more like marinara sauce. The sausage rolls were decent. All in all I was disappointed. I really was hoping I would like this place. Not sure if I would come back here.