Food & Dining
A first-timer’s guide to eating jollof, waakye and banku in Accra
Greater Accra
Eating in Accra, Greater Accra
Chop bars, waakye stands and rooftop kitchens: how to eat well in the capital, from breakfast to late night.
Ghanaian food is built around a handful of staples: jollof rice, waakye, banku, kenkey, fufu and red red. Each comes with its own accompaniments, and every cook argues for their own version.
Waakye, rice and beans cooked with sorghum leaves, is a breakfast dish and the queues at the best stands form before eight. Jollof is a lunch and celebration dish. Banku with grilled tilapia and shito belongs to the evening, ideally at a table outdoors.
Osu and East Legon hold most of the sit-down restaurants, while the best chop bars are scattered through Labone, Adabraka and Nima. Prices at a chop bar are a fraction of a restaurant and the food is often better.
What to see
- Waakye for breakfast from a street stand
- Grilled tilapia with banku and shito in the evening
- Red red, fried plantain with bean stew
- A guided market walk through Makola before cooking
Getting there
- All the districts named are within twenty minutes of central Accra by taxi.
- Several operators run guided street-food walks in Osu and Jamestown.
Get directions
Visitor tips
- Eat where there is a queue of locals, it is the reliable signal.
- Shito is hot. Ask for it on the side the first time.