A home away from home, Native Restaurant delivers authenticity and rich flavors to this Brooklyn neighborhood
One thing you can guarantee in Brooklyn is that there is no shortage of restaurants that remind you of home. While my family is native to the island of Barbados, indulging in the various West African dishes at Native felt reminiscent of home and awakened my palette.
The welcome home sign in the front entryway of Native African Restaurant Fusion and Lounge doubles as a greeting to those from West Africa and an invitation to those from the diaspora and beyond. By the end of my visit, Native had indeed felt like the home I knew and another home I was excited to learn more about.
I experienced a few firsts at this restaurant: Suya and Asun.
All of these West African dishes are definitely worth trying during your visit. However, if you don’t like spicy food you may want to ask your waiter about the spice content before you order. For appetizers we ordered suya and two rounds of asun. Suya is charred beef coated in peanut powder, cayenne and ginger. This dish was pretty high on my spice index. It was spicy enough that it cleared my nasal passageways, but not so spicy that I couldn’t enjoy the dish. The cole slaw that accompanies the meat is a much needed palette cleanser between bites.
Asun is smoked goat prepared with habanero and scotch bonnet. Despite its description, I found it to be lower on my spice index and less spicy than the suya. I couldn’t get over how packed with flavor this dish was (hence why we got two rounds of this). The meat was very soft and succulent to taste.
The Hibiscus Margarita transplanted me to a familiar place – one where the ruby red drink is a staple of the Christmas season in the Caribbean.
The aroma conveys the sweetness of agave and hints of lime. Between conversations with my girlfriends about career and summer plans, this refreshing cocktail made our time here all the more jovial. If your palette is still trying to recover from the suya, the restrained hints of ginger and splash of citrus brings everything into relief.
The evening hours rolled in and the DJ was playing Davido’s latest album, Timeless, with no skips. Hues of blue and purple lights filled the space. We discreetly danced in our sectional because this was the closest any of us has gotten to dancing in a club in months. The vibes were definitely there.
The kitchen team at Native knows what they’re doing – every dish we tried was served hot off the stove, flavorful and true to its roots.
My Nigerian-American friend who joined me for dinner said they passed the authenticity test. Thats all I needed to hear. For our entrees we had the Nigerian Red Stew, Suya Burger and Egusi Soup with Pounded Yam. We also had a side of plantain and yam fries. Tender, fall off the bone goat meat is a motif for the dishes at this restaurant. The Nigerian red stew and egusi soup were the next examples of this recurrence in our dining experience.
Egusi soup was another first…well kinda. I’ve had egusi dumplings which is a bite sized take on this hearty dish. Now that I’ve had both takes on egusi soup I will likely order this again.
Our delightful server brought over a bowl of warm water for one of my friends. She was instructed to clean her hands before eating her egusi soup and pounded yam. While some may eat their soup and pounded yam with utensils, the traditional way to eat it is with your hands. A practice I was happy is being thoughtful preserved at Native.
Pounded yam was another first for me, but after my first bite I recognized the taste. Cou Cou, the national dish of Barbados, has a taste similar to that of pounded yam.
From ambiance and customer service to cuisine and drinks, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit at Native. If you are looking for another place to call home, I believe you can find it here.
Comment below if you are new to this food or if you are a vet at eating these West African dishes!
Live abundantly,
Bethany
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