About Us

We are a West African restaurant specializing in Senegalese cuisine. Our most popular dish is the Senegalese national dish called Tiebou Jeun (baked fish, joloff rice, and veggies). What makes this dish 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 speciality of the house. All our dishes are made daily upon request. The juices are all homemade and freshly made. In order to be a cook at Joloff Restaurant, you have to love cooking. This is mostly what distinguishes our cooks from those in other restaurants.

We are also one of the few West African restaurants serving vegetarian food. Our vegetarian food is also vegan. Originally, the recipies were developed in order to feed Papa's Rastafarian friends, who were vegetarians. Later on, Papa realized that there is a huge need for vegetarian food, especially in Brooklyn.

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 at Joloff include: Sizzla, AKON, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Eryka Badu, M1, Kevin Powel, Isac Debancole.

The restaurant was featuerd in the Daily News, the New York Times, the New York Amsterdam News, in Eat, and OCSNews.

"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."

History

" I learned how to cook here because I didn't want to eat junk food," says Papa Diagne, the owner of the restaurant. He started cooking himself, for the catering business he developed, for several years. Then, he got together with several siblings, found a convenient corner location, renovated it inside and comissioned an artist to do the African mural outside, and started the Joloff Restaurant. This was back in 1995, when Biggy Smalls was on the rise and when the Clinton-Washington stop on the A and C trains was considered part of the dangerous BedSty, now the trendy Clinton Hill.

"The logo represents a lady, because we always consider Africa as the motherland," says Paga. "But, specifically, the restaurant and the logo are dedicated to my grandmother, "Mami" Diallo, who kept our family together. The cooking pot that you see on the hair wrap, which is also in the middle of the map," explains Papa, "is the traditional way of cooking: there were no stoves, just wood."

Customer testimonials

"It is cozy and incredibly mellow, and the hearty food is the kind that makes you want to sit back and tell Mom your problems." Tara George, The Daily News.

Joloff Restaurant

Senegalese Specialties