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We are a West African restaurant specializing in Senegalese cuisine. After almost 20 years serving the community, we have taken a significant part in transforming our restaurant and environment into a "Taste of Senegal." Each of our customers have the opportunity to join in at our table as family and fest in our traditional dishes.
Over years our most popular dish has grown to be the Senegalese national dish called Tiebou Jeun (baked fish, joloff rice, and veggies). What makes, Joloff's dish so special is the way the rice is cooked. It is a "broken" rice, with a jasmin flavor, cooked into a deep tomato sauce. This is what we call the "joloff" rice, which is also the specialty of the house. In order to be a cook at Joloff Restaurant, you have to love cooking, which is mostly what distinguishes our cooks from those in other restaurants. All of our dishes are made daily upon request and with tremendous love. Our juices and pastries are all homemade and freshly made.
Unlike a lot of other West African restaurants, we understand the value of a healthy lifestyle and wholesome food. Originally, the recipes of Joloff Restaurant were developed in order to feed Papa's Rastafarian friends, who were all vegetarians. As his popularity grew in the catering business, Papa realized that there is a huge need for vegetarian food, especially in Brooklyn. Therefore, our menu also features an assortment of vegetarian and vegan options to support all of our customers needs.
Joloff has become a home to all people, of all traditions! Since 1995, Joloff Restaurant has been visited regularly not only by the local community but also by a number of celebrities. Some celebrities who have been regulars and event hosts at Joloff include: Sizzla, AKON, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Eryka Badu, M1, Kevin Powel, Isac Debancole.
Our restaurant was featured in the Daily News, the New York Times, the New York Amsterdam News, in Eat, and OCSNews, as one of the best eats in Brooklyn and we are always focused on growing but maintaining that reputation.
"When I see people come and enjoy themselves eating Senagalese food, I feel very good because this shows that Senegalese food can be eaten and accepted by anybody anywhere in the world," notes Papa. "As a Senegalese foodmaker, I feel that I have to represent my country one way or another. The restaurant helps people discover not just the food but also our way of living, our culture. The Joloff Restaurant is also a preview before going to Senegal: my customers are not just Senegalese, they are a mix, they come from different nationalities, and so we are a melting pot on a small scale. Senegal is a very welcoming country: by coming to the restaurant you can get a taste of how welcoming my country's people are."
For over 19 years Joloff Restaurant has been privileged to serve our community in unique ways and we have been blessed with the support of our community in return. Joloff created a community that brought strangers together, who became long lasting friends. We were the venue for celebrations large and small, contributing in many ways to the greater good of the surrounding community through raising many dollars for charity. Friends were made here and lives were changed. Our lives became richer and fuller.
Although an end of an era, it is also the beginning of a new one for Joloff Restaurant. We are excited about our new location at 1168 Bedford Avenue. Our new restaurant will continue to feature the excellent food and ambience that we known for, in addition to various special events that we are unrolling this spring.
Rama and I are eternally grateful to those that have graced our tables, supported our causes, and have made Joloff the institution that it has become.
To all of our talented staff, our customers, our friends and our supporters...you have enhanced our lives for more than 17 years and we want to say
THANK YOU for the journey!