Safari Restaurant NYC
“Food:
-Like : Hilib Ari, Hooyo Faduma's Mango Curry Chicken (great with pasta salada), Isbarmuuto”
“We had the goat cheese (halib Ari) and chicken with mango curry sauce (Hooyo Faduma's mango cry chicken).”
“Definitely recommend to try this place out if you are in Harlem and want some delicious food.”
Safari Restaurant NYC
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Safari is an amazing new Somali restaurant in Harlem. If you've never had Somali food, it's a very flavorful, unique blend of ingredients and most of the meats are stewed for a long time with fresh vegetables and spices. I LOVED their mango chicken curry, served with rice. It's a unique combination, but the perfect union of spicy and a little sweet. My girlfriend had the goat, which was also amazing. The portion size was huge and I loved the fact that the meal still wasn't heavy and was filled with fresh veggies. The quality of the food and warm ambiance is this is a testament to the owner, a lovely Somali woman who started this restaurant. She was so sweet and ever gave us free herbal tea after our meal, which was a refreshing way to end the meal.
Isbarmuuto ($4): Somali fresh white grapefruit juice.
Sambuza; Chicken ($5): Traditional Somali chicken with herbs, Somali seasoning, fried and served with Bisbaas sauce.
Hilib Ari ($16): Roasted goat served with Somali Basmati rice and Bisbaas sauce.
Hooyo Faduma's Mango Curry Chicken ($14): Slow-cooked mango curry sauce over grilled Berber Chicken; served with vegan Biryanni.
Busketti ($15): Flank steak marinated in house garlic ginger sauce, served with Pasta Saldata.
The food is phenomenal! The Hilib Ari/Roasted Goat was truly sensational. The meat and vegetables were aromatic and extremely flavorful. Plus, the Somali rice is fantastic. A standout dish – it's easily one of the best things I've eaten ever. I also adored the Isbarmuuto. The white grapefruit was really tasty and it was carbonated! The only thing we didn't care about was the flank steak. The beef was tough and its flavor was completely shadowed by all the other amazing dishes.
You'll find the bisbaas sauce everywhere and although meant to be really spicy, it can be adjusted! We asked for mild and though I could have used a little more spice, it was really pleasant. The flavor is wonderful and reminds me of a slightly creamy salsa verde. Either way, it's delicious and I was putting it on everything!
This place is amazing. I had wanted to try it for a while as the NYTimes reviewed it and liked it. My best friend and I came here and were so in love. It's a really small space but we found both the service and food to be perfect.
We shared the meat sambusas which were perfectly flaky outside, juicy tender inside. Just all around yum. For my main dish, I had the lamb (Hilib Ari) at the waitress's suggestion (she emphatically recommended this) and I was not disappointed. The lamb was juicy and flavorful, rice fragrant, and the bisbaas sauce was spicy and delicious. My friend had the busketti which is kind of like steak with pasta and she loved it too. Couldn't stop raving about how good it was. We also both appreciated that we had enough food to be full but not disgustingly full.
Our waitress was attentive but not pushy which is the perfect combo.
And this all came out to about $21 a person which is amazingly cheap for such delicious food. We will be back.
As an African restaurant, this one is amazingly clean, warm and comfortable. The owner is very friendly to all the customers. Somali cuisine served here is an interesting mixture of Ethiopian, Italian and Yemeni traditions. It is rich, spicy and delicious.
I'd not tried somalian food before, and this was delicious so I'd have it again. It was different to other African food I'd tried before. And really good. I particularly liked the veggie wrap starter thing. And the fish main was good too, tho the fish was very dense and heavy. The woman working there was very helpful and friendly, and chased the kitchen along when I was running out of time and had to leave (yeah the service is a bit slow).
The only downsides:
* the dishes were pretty similar, e.g. same mixed vegetables with the same spicing in the wrap and with the fish
* it was quite expensive for lunch – two people sharing a (huge) appetizer, with a main course each, drinking water came to about $50 – there are other great places to eat in that price range.
Nice hidden gem find in Harlem!
We were originally trying to drop by Amy Ruth's, but the line there was beyond ridiculous. Someone ended up looking for an alternative on the Yelp app, and this place looked like it had pretty good reviews. I've never had Somalian food before, so wasn't really sure what to expect. The space itself is quite small and cozy. No frills, simply decorated, but clean. The hostess/server was incredibly friendly and stopped by to chat a couple times throughout the meal. I opted for the hilib ari which is a slow-cooked goat dish and served with rice. It was very good, although the serving size was probably just a tad bit small given the price. It's served with this spicy green sauce on the side which was absolutely delicious (have no idea what was in it).
One of the best parts of the place is that it's BYOB! Also with no silly corking fees that seem to plague this great city. There's a liquor/wine store around the corner with decent selection if you didn't happen to bring anything from home.
Pros:
– First (and maybe still only?) Somalian restaurant in NYC
– Friendly/hospitable service
– Delicious food
– BYOB (with no corking fee!)
Cons:
– Slightly on the pricier side relative to serving size
Had a great time here and would definitely come back if I'm in the area!
Had dinner here after looking through the reviews on yelp. In one word- OUTSTANDING!! Every bite is pure heaven. More specifically- the location will make u think twice but take my word- try it! – the ambience and music will make you feel u r sitting in Somalia and eating:: v authentic- the fragrance of spices will make your taste buds liquify- the staff is all smiles and hospitable – then comes the FOOD- perfection at its best!! I had tge somalian traditional tea- black tea with cinnamon, cardamom and ginger with honey; followed by their super popular and most recommended slow cooked goat ;; with spicy traditional somalian chicken;; and then traditional somalian roti dessert. Every single item had a distinct taste. Flavors that leave your palate craving for more. Beautiful blend of Indian and italian spices.
This place for sure lives upto the reviews on yelp. Thanks to yelp I could find this gem. Try it!!
We stopped here for lunch after finding it on Yelp. The restaurant did not have posted hours so when we walked by the first time the sign said closed but they were really open, they just forgot to turn the sign around. When another place did not turn out we returned and had a very enjoyable lunch.
I got the mango chicken ($16) and the wife ordered the goat ($18). Both were excellent. My mango chicken was sweet but also had some heat at the end, how interesting. We were also given bananas to cut up and add to our dish, and it really brought an additional flavor level and balanced some of the heat.
We started with the sambuzas (2 for $8) that were homemade and so flavorful and light, not at all greasy or heavy like so many at Indian restaurants.
The ambience is quite modest. We were there on a hot day and I was dying from the heat when they saw me dripping away and finally turned on the AC. But you come for the food and it is excellent, so don't let the other stuff get in the way. Service was warm, friendly, and efficient.
If I lived in NYC I would come here all the time.