I went there a few years back and I agree with Johnny the food can be spicy but there are some mild selections on the menu. I liked the food, it had nice flavor. The drinks and atmosphere are good as well. I dont know if they have made any changes over the last couple of years but my experience overall was OK…

I’ve had the goat here and it is quite tasty. There may be a lot of spices but I’d disagree that west african food is particularly “hot”.

Bukom Cafe was the first West African eatery to appear in town, and it can’t help but stand out from the plethora of Ethiopian restaurants that dot its Adams-Morgan neighborhood. Named after a popular bar-restaurant district in Accra, the capital of Ghana, Bukom is in every way West African in spirit and look. Bukom Cafe is located in the heart of Adams Morgan, a rich and ethnically diverse district in Washington, D.C.. Please visit us and let our bold flavors and kente-cloth decor take you on a quick visit to the Motherland. Choose from West African classics such as okra soup, fufu, egusi and oxtail stew.

The United Nations we have along 18th Street in Adams Morgan is great in many ways, but the food served at this place, Bukom Cafe West African Cuisine is as Johnny describes -sadly unpalatable and simply inedible for some of us.

I’ve eaten there once, back in spring/summer ’08. I can’t remember what I had and think they’ve changed the menu since then. I know I had something in a peanut sauce, with plantains and foo foo on the side. I thought it was pretty good, so did my date. Even though I haven’t been back since, I would go again.

@ Johnny: I was dying laughing at your description of the unbearably hot food. I’m Jamaican and I can tell you that after eating at many of the African and West Indian places in DC, I am truly appalled at the excessive use of hot spices. Back home these spices enhance the food not overpower them and I have eaten in West African homes and not needed to fan myself constantly or abuse the bar. I have eaten spicy food since birth and while a inner warmth and possibly a mild sweat is customary a tongue transplant is never necessary. Now, Jerk is a whole other topic lolol.

I had the worst dining experience of my life there.

1) They did not have my first 2 choices of beer. This I could deal with.

2) They brought the wrong meal for my friend.

3) It took two hours to get our food. A restaurant is never that busy.

4) I noted that the table next to us had people finishing, while others were just receiving their plates.

5) The food was cold and frankly not that good.

The waiters blamed the kitchen and would not go get the manager. They were very dismissive about our complaints and thought it was a joke.