Our Accra Restaurant Guide will have you licking your lips in anticipation of the great tasting Accra cuisine you can expect to enjoy while on your holiday in Ghana. Great meals, great shopping and great sites will ensure your Accra holiday is everything you hope for!

Food & Cuisine in Accra

Ghanaian food is greatly influenced by the local environment and surroundings. Located on the West coast of Africa on a wide and high plateau, Ghana has many rivers and lakes, which gives it a tropical and warm climate with a lot of rainy weather. Thanks to its location and climate, agriculture is quite well developed in Ghana. The country has numerous plantations and is the third largest global producer of cocoa. Other plantations in the country are of coconut, coffee and a variety of fruits. Fishing is also a major activity in Ghana and many meals, snacks and soups revolve around fish.

Local plants and fruit form the base of the Ghanaian diet. Fruits such as avocados, mangos, bananas, grapefruits, coconut, plantains, and papayas are used for the main course, sweet meals and the traditional stew. Bananas are used for their fruit as well as their leaves. Local vegetables such as cassava, maize, okra, which is called ngumbo in the local language, eggplant, sweet potatoes, chilli pepper, tomatoes, yam, turnip, and onions are used as the base for fufu or foofoo, which is the most important meal in Accra.

Food in Ghana is not restricted to local cuisine but has elements from across the world, such as Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern and other international flavours as well. Fast food in Accra is becoming popular due to its convenience and their family oriented meals.

There are many international restaurants in Accra, especially in the Osu and Kumasi neighbourhoods. Adventurous travellers might want to try out local dishes served in ‘chop bars' as well. The most popular dishes in Accra are fufu, which is a gooey pulped ball of crushed yam or cassava served in a light soup. Other popular dishes are kenkey and banku, which are made of fermented maize and served with a tomato relish. More familiar food in Accra includes fried yam sticks, which are the local equivalent of potato chips, beef kebabs, barbeque chicken, guinea fowl, as well as tilapia, which are all popular options at the bars. Jollof rice is a common dish, made of spicy rice cooked in tomato sauce with meat, chicken or fish.

Greater Accra

The primary traditional dishes in the region include banku, eaten either with fried fish and peppers or with okro, which is a groundnut soup; kenkey, which is eaten with fried fish and hot pepper, 'red red' or yo-ko-gari bean stew, tatale or fried plantain; Omo Tuo or rice balls, which are served with groundnut or palm soup. Traditional Sunday afternoon specials consist of fried yam eaten with turkey tail (called chofi in the local language) along with a hot and spicy ground pepper and kebabs of liver or meat that are dipped in a spicy powder. To drink there is 'asana' or the local maize beer, coconut juice, palm wine and the local 'Akpeteshie' liquor.

The trendy Accra restaurants are all located in Osu, one of Accra's suburbs, which is famous for its vibrant nightlife and its variety of restaurants ranging from Western to Chinese and fast food.

A famous restaurant in Accra to go to is the 'Marquis Tante Marie', which is located in Labone in the Metro TV building and serves a wide range of traditional African cuisines served in a pleasant garden setting. Try the chicken yassa as well as the couscous-veggie dishes that are quite famous here. With its open-air setting, there are lots of bugs around, so be sure to take your mosquito repellent along.

Western visitors usually favour Frankie's on Oxford Street in Osu. The food is mediocre, but the restaurant offers a clean and well air-conditioned atmosphere as a change of pace from traditional African food and life.

Nightlife in Accra

Nightclubs in Accra commonly play popular Western music and Afro beats in Accra and other major cities. The National Theatre hosts several concerts and The School of Performing Arts and the University of Ghana at Legon have a range of poetry, drama and cultural dance shows. You can catch up with both Ghanaian and foreign films at the Executive Film House and the Ghana Film Theatre.