Buka in Brooklyn
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Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, US
Site: https://bukanewyork.com/
- Monday:4–11PM
- Tuesday:12–11PM
- Wednesday:12–11PM
- Thursday:12–11PM
- Friday:12PM–2AM
- Saturday:12PM–2AM
- Sunday:12–11PM
Went here to try Nigerian food for the first time. We loved the appetizers! The main courses were a little overwhelming - the steak was very tough and the Ila Asepo has a lot of bones in it. Additionally, we waited a long time for the mains because one of us ordered shrimp, and only after 15-20 minutes did they come out to tell us that they were out of shrimp.
Omg get amala and ewedu. It was really really good. The restaurant is very clean and nice. Nice music too. WAY WAY BETTER THAN ABUJA IN JERSEY!!! IT WAS WORRH THE DRIVE. GO GO GO. I arrived here about 5:30pm. It was not busy. GREAT LOCATION. Bathroom was also clean. Waitress was very nice as well. I got suya it needed a bit more seasoning. The akara was not fresh. Jollof was average but still good. FISH WAS EXCELLENT. I would totally come back again for only local food because that amala and ewedu was ON POINT. The meat was very clean too. Food presentation was amazing. You can also have parties here the occupancy is 74. Lol FYI. Nice place. See you guys soon. Thank you ❤️
This is the best Nigerian restaurant in New York City located in Brooklyn. I was blown away when I walked in seeing the iconic Lagos Danfo bus parked inside the restaurant; that was the highpoint of my visit to this restaurant. The waiters were very polite and courteous. This place is a fusion of a restaurant and a tourist attraction. I ordered bitter leaf soup and pounded yam; it tasted like Im in Nigeria. This restaurant is pretty close to the road and can be easily noticed from a vehicle in normal traffic.#Naija #Spice #NaijaStyle #NaijaCuisine #FamilyFriendly #WheelchairAccessible #Amala #ComedyNight #Brooklyn #NYC
Terrible food, their Rice was burned and so stale lol like left overs, the food was cold.Very very disappointing! Never and I mean never go there i wish there was somewhere to upload pictures cuz I took pictures of their disgusting food.
The theme and setting of the restaurant reminded me of Nigeria. The waiters were not Nigerian although they were black - I personally feel the experience could have been better if the waiters were Nigerian.The food was just okay for me although a lot of non-Nigerians would love it- at least my non-Nigerian friend loved the egusi. Im not sure Ill visit again until Ive tried all the Nigerian restaurants in New York and Ive determined Buka to be the best option available.
So disappointing and borderline unsafe to eat. The taste and smell was not okay at all. We couldn’t finish the food (my husband ate more than me because I refused to continue because I was disgusted) and my husband broke out in hives all over his body and ended up going to the hospital because of this. unreal. Never again.Really love Nigerian food but this was just not okay. Such a shame
Appetizer was a great choice, the Akara balls reminded me of my younger days in Lagos! Brought tears to my eyes just eating and reminiscing... I recommend and encourage anyone to visit.
Great Ambiance, truly the number 1 naija spot. Revving that spirit of Naija. Try book the danfo bus ahead of time so you can have your memorable time in it. Dont forget to tip your waiters cos they sure render awesome services.
Do not order—food has zero flavor, seasonings and extremely charred. wasted $90!
Incredible food— just wow! Great flavor in the dishes, love their fufu. Cocktail menu was really impressive as well with bitters and beer from Nigeria and Ghana. “Go Slow” guava and gin drink — must try! Server was kind, good energy. Definitely recommend coming here and trying Nigerian food.
The danfo( mini bus ) is the highlight of this place . When I’m missing good Nigerian food I always find myself here , the prices are great and they have Nigerian beer too ( star ) .The waitress was diligent , keep up the good work Buka !!!
I really liked buka! Fried yam is my weakness and they sure did cater to it well! The pepper sauce hit the right places for me and service was very friendly. Felt like home. Oh, let’s not forget the SUYA!! 😋
Warning!!! The quality of food at this restaurant has declined drastically. The ewedu in the $17 ewedu soup is barely a tablespoon, the gbegiri is pasty and the stew is minimal. The beef is stringy, hard and the sauce was so salty, that the beef didnt need to be refrigerated to be preserved. There is nothing assorted about the meat, Cowleg was missing, shaki was quite tough and apparently beef is now goat meat. Dont even get me started on the catfish. At any price, this food is below par, especially since this restaurant used to be a destination for local Nigerian cuisine. According to my husband the jollof was passable, but i take that with a grain of salt. I certainly hope quality improves but I would be wary of visiting this restaurant in the future. This thing pain me sha!
The Egunsi tasted like what we have back in Nigeria but I ordered for pounded yam and I was served potatoes flours. I was so dissatisfied. Hence, the goat meat was more of bones. They can do better. Great atmosphere anyways.
Not good. The Food was very very tough, and cooked unevenly. The goat and catfish tasted almost as if they have been stored into the freezer for months and got freezer burnt. Please save yourself $70+ dollars and order food from somewhere else.
Spicy African food and good customer service.
Decent restaurant. Authentic food and you can choose to eat it in a cool bus.
UNDERWHELMED and NOT IMPRESSED. Waitstaff are very nice and treat you very well. As far as the food goes, they really do get the bare minimum wrong here [joloff]. I think the focus must be on a night time or late night bar crowd as the food was off. Egusi was fine but the Tuwo and stew was flavorless - only flavor noticed was palm oil, not even salt. I think the chefs may assume customers dont know what the food should taste like . My friend ordered fried fish and joloff - joloff was only peppery but had no other flavor. My friend complained to me that fish appeared to be deep fried with no seasoning or salt -- like they caught it and fried it straight away. They also mixed potato flour with the maize meal for the Tuwo and they assume no one knows. They should also fix the toilet handle which simply dangled, to flush you needed to reconstruct the handle. They need to get it together here. The owner needs to check on the business. Had so much hope for some good food.
The food tastes great, I like the settings and also the Nigerian songs playing in the air. The two issue I have is that their services are a bit slow and I tried speaking to two of their waiters and they couldnt say anything in Nigerian language, I mean It is a Nigerian restaurant😒
Its sooo good!!!! Its so good!! Its so goooooood!!!!!!! The meat is well done, its properly spiced! I wanna go home with this place
I was excited to try this place because of my love of Nigerian food but this was a huge disappointment. The server was nonchalant about everything, the okra soup was sooo bad. We told her one of the dishes was not up to par and she never even apologized instead told us that it’s our fault we are not familiar with the taste . Didn’t even offer something else but only apologized after I mentioned it to her about the disappointment, gave us pepper soup to go . It was the worst experience and I love west African food, I’ll go back back to festac. They are kinder and assertive.
Used to be a regular before moving out of state and I looked forward to this visit but I dont know if the chef changed something because the nkwobi is far from home taste. Very different from what I used to get. Very boring and tasted a little funky. ☹. The peppers soup also had a weird taste that different from what it used to be. 2 stars because the lady I spoke to was very sweet and pleasant. Im still mad I drove 2.5hr to be disappointed 😥 but atleast I know it has changed so I can save myself a trip next time.
I love it. African vibe and good food
The more expensive nigeria restaurant In NY. Not only they are expensive but their food portion is extremely small. Cant even feed a 5 yo kid. You have to buy double portion of everything to make sure that u will be full after eating. They wont give u enough sauce to eat properly your amala/fufu...When I buy food from other African restaurant the sauce always cover at least 2 others meals. The owner of this restaurant must be awfully stingy. Buka never again
Love this Brooklyn favorite. Authentic Nija vibes and food. Quite dark inside lights always low but food and music is awesome.
That was my first time there... The Okro and stew was very good . A+ for that . The place was very neat too... The lady that attended to us , a Yoruba lady .. she was nice and friendly . Thank you all.
Good scene and nice venue. Went with friends and was seated once we all arrived. Nice traditional Nigerian food. Not that pricey. Bad part was that I was given the wrong order and was asked if I could still keep it. I wanted the thing I ordered but they ran out... so why give me something I didnt order? Tasted and didnt like .. wanted refund and couldnt.. just got a discount. Not sure if Id recommend, Id have to go again to see my experience the second time.
The food was pretty good. My son was NOT impressed. He said he expected it to be more flavorful and better since its a special type of cuisine..... hes 12 & already a food critic.This was our 1st experience, so not much to compare it to yet.I had to call the restaurant while we were eating because my son started getting an itch in his throat... but the young lady who answered the phone assured me they didnt use peanut oil. He took a swig of benadryl just to be safe.
For the service we received, a 2 star rating is actually very generous. We went on a Sunday afternoon and they had been opened for barely 3 hours. We were greeted by the bartender who happens to be our server and manager. She seemed like she didnt want to be there, very unfriendly and not welcoming. We ordered 4 different Appetizers, only one of them came before the meal. Three of the menu items we ordered were unavailable and it took the kitchen and the waitress 20minutes to communicate that. Everyone who met us there was served before us. The food temperature was way off and the portion size was disproportionate. Our waitress never came back to check in with us...we ran out of water and it was never refilled. We were forgotten though we sat in the middle 😕. The food wasnt horrible but after such an experience my appetite was back in Delaware. Hence, my satisfaction came from the fried yam and the Danfo.
This is the worst restaurant I have ever been to. customer service is absolutely rubbish. I am a paying customer and I placed my order, you brought me something else saying this is what you have available without asking me if you should replace it. same restaurant served me rotten food that stinks so bad. I asked the waitresss, if she was a customer, would she order food from where she works? she gave no response. I dont like to write reviews about restaurant but this restaurant needs to be shut down. cold food, spoilt food, unethical behavior, not listening to customers, lying about what they have, bringing you wrong food, disrespecful.
They are very polite. I didnt know everything was spicy. My chicken came back pretty cold and tough. I sat next to a table of Nigerian people eating and enjoying themselves so the food seemed authentic at first. It just was NOT for me. When I got home I had the worst diarrhea.
Delicious food , but not so good service. I took a friend here twice. The first time the waitress was nice and the food was delicious. The second the food was still delicious, but the waitress was terrible and rude. As you know, bad experiences are usually the ones hard to forget. The waitress came to our table three times ( order, food, and check). The drinks came with the food and as we asked questions about the menu, she said please hurry, you are not the only customers I have...FYI there were two occupied tables, the restaurant was practically empty.Overall, i give it four stars because the food very closely mimicked the African cuisine I know.I absolutely recommend Buka.
I have been on the road all day and needed something nice to eat, I saw this place on the map and decided to pay it a visit. Only to be welcome with a nonchalant attitude from the waitress. It took her 30mints to even ask me what I would eat with no apology nothing.Africans!!! We use our own hand to bring down our business. Customer service is very important.I can drive for miles just to eat a decent meal, when something like this happens I cross it off my list.
I waited for my food for more than an hour and they came back to say they didnt have isiewu and refunded me. I waited another 30mins+ to get the rest of my food. I had to go stand at the counter and my food came in 5mins. After the food came, my friend couldnt eat it. He was so mad he lost his appetite. Almost 2hrs wait??? I wont be coming back!
Absolutely awful!!! I love Nigerian food... But this place is a hot mess! The waitress had no clue what she was doing, blamed the chef.. Who then blamed her. Waitress said the chef is misbehaving when the boss is away. Food came out cold and lukewarm. Silverware came only after the third request. Two dishes were rotten and smelled bad. Never going there again!!! Stay away... It will ruin your night and give you diarrhea
Ok...yes. The food is not bad. However, if I had to critique I would recommend that the owner higher professional servers. The one small girl they have there will put them out of business, read the reviews. She is often sitting at a table on her cell phone.. and she will proudly tell patrons that she doesnt eat the food... like is the owner looking to close down his business? Hire people properly.
Service needs some work. Food was good, but sitting at the bar you can see them microwave EVERYTHING!
Very bad experienceVisiting nyc and had a very expensive delivery. However the delivery was not the problem. The soup tasted like salt all over. I couldn’t even eat it. Mixed meet is a piece of meat and a bone. I feel totally ripped of. Called and one Mr Lukeman said : Next time I owe you a whole plate of food.” How about making my current meal to have at least tasted like food for human ? Am sure only a fool will have a next time. Absolutely ridiculous.
Wonderful. Reminds me of home cooked meals from Ghanaian side of the family. Someone said everything is tomato, pepper and fried oil like it’s a bad thing! 🤣 Love it. Even more vegan options would be great!
Server was super friendly. Not everyone in our group was familiar with Nigerian food and she was good at explaining everything on the menu and getting us each something we would like. I loved my perfectly cooked stew chicken with starch and veggies. The fish soup was reportedly very spicy. Service was not speedy but thats ok if you want to hang with each other. We enjoyed the slow pace and large beers!
The service here is very poor. Incredibly slow and inattentive, bottled beers were delivered to our table and 10 mins later asked if we wanted a bottle opener (we had our own, so we didnt need to ask).Appetizers were good and spicy, the mains were disappointing. The suya steak was incredibly tough. We were also informed 10 mins after we ordered that there only one of the suya steak remaining. It happens, but it added a further delay to an already late meal.I really wanted to like this place but I cant in good conscience recommend it.
I dont know what happened to this establishment but I was so disappointed with them this time around.My friends and I always enjoy coming here but today the food was horrible.The soup I ordered was way too salty, my friends looked like it was warmed up too many times already today. Another bowl of soup ordered tasted stale. The Chapman we ordered tasted like a glorified fanta. The only thing we had that was good was the Zobo.I think well give Buka a miss from now on.
Ambiance good, waitress very friendly and attentive. There was a guy low key stalking me and she stepped in, he kept coming over to charge his phone and she nicely offered to charge it for him so he wouldnt keep using the outlet right next to us. Suya had subpar meat parts, would pay more for better quality meat. Everything else was acceptable
I absolutely LOVED THIS PLACE! And plan to go again and again. The waitress that helped was fantastic and patient. Ive never been to a Nigerian restaurant before so for a first time I loved it. I ordered a shrimp dish with rice with a ginger drink(spicy tho lol) want a different experience go to BUKA!
Worse service and food I have ever had!!! Was seated - took waitress 15 minutes to serve us- even though there were only 2 couples there😳Called another waitress who went to get our waitress, finally when she came , she brought us a pitcher of water with really nasty stuff on it and then had an attitude because we pointed it out . Needless to say we did not drink from that bottle. It did not get any better after that! The meat was tough, when asked for a sharper knife, we were given the same knife!!!!!
Really enjoyed the food here -- its a great place to try different Nigerian dishes, as everything is relatively inexpensive. We ordered the suya and jollof rice to start. Both were great. Also got the beef stew with egusi sauce, which I loved!I am docking one star because, as others have mentioned, the service is insanely slow here (took about 10 minutes to receive our drinks, then there was about 20 minutes in between each course after that). The kitchen also doesnt have much capacity (for example, we were told at the beginning of our meal that the akara wed ordered was going to take a little longer than expected, which we agreed to...but it didnt show up until after we were finished our entire meal!).All in all, this place is budget-friendly and a unique experience, but dont go if youre in a hurry!
Snail used to be alot bigger so more for your money now its 3 small pieces not worth the price but still very tasty. I always thought they put too much meat in their stew but now theyve cut it down to like 2 pieces which is better. I noticed the restaurant is still waiting on its grade so hopefully they get a good grade.
The atmosphere was pretty decent, I got my food to go. The service is nice and hospitable. However, I wish I had gotten a larger portion of fufu😁
Interesting food. Some aspects delicious, some could be improved. Health grade pending. Had a large party the night we were in which delayed our food by an hour. Staff was *very* upfront about this, which I appreciate, but clearly kitchen has relatively low capacity - place wasnt full.
The Jollof rice with Stewed meats in my opinion is the Highlight of their cuisine. Aside from that their food is wonderful and the staff is great.
It is a hit and miss going to this restaurant. Some days the food is fresh and delicious and other days the food can get one sick. I have had half cooked suya, stale and hard rice, burnt snail (tastes rubbery), stale moi moi, cold food. I’ve seen food places on the counter to be carried to a guess and it sits their for 15 minutes before a server picks it up and deliver it. This restaurant needs a total makeover and transformation.Pros:- convenient location-variety of Nigerian mealsCons- inconsistency in cooking meal fully- inconsistency in cleanliness of restaurant-inconsistency in professionalismSolution:Maybe if they had competition in the area they would ensure they are preparing the best meal for every customer whatever time of the day or night.
I love it especially if youre from Nigeria you will feel at home. Every Nigerian that l know first coming to this country l always refer them to that place. A friend of my from Canada still talking about Buka how tantalize is thier food. I recommend this place to everyone who want to try a new food. They cook their food fresh and l had a drink call Go slow l love it. That drink itself make me want to go to that place though l dont drink but l got my occasional drink from their it tastes so good.
Love this place!! Normally come here on a regular but this time I came with my man. Hes American and he loved the food. The waitress Lola was amazing.. customer service skills out the roof and she accommodated us well. She also was concerned about our opinion towards Buka. I gave Buka a nice review.. also the food wasnt expensive at all.
Im just repeating here what others have said but it is important to keep the reviews up to date.Service was terrible, friendly but terrible, long wait times for everything, the waitress would disappear for LONG periods of time 10-15 mins leaving all the tables waiting. Other tables were served first and they received food and drink before us even though we came in first.Lighting is bad, room is laid out like a cafeteria, but prices do not reflect this, the music stopped and was never switched back on. The food was okay, the steak was dry and chewy and overpriced, the fried yams were tasteless. The Fufu and goat stew was very nice....extremely spicy.....which I like. We were set to order more food than we did but were scared to because of the long waits and incompetent waitress, who apologized constantly.Service was so bad that after receiving our beers we almost paid and walked out there and then and started to look for other places to eat in the area. I am not sure how they pay the rent and taxes on this business because it cant make much money! This place could be awesome with a new management team. We will not be coming back and I recommend you look elsewhere.
Food was delicious. No working ac. Waitress wanted to guide me to the stuffy back area; nope! Stewed beef was so tough, I had to chissel through it with my teeth. Anyone with dentures should not try it!! Red stew and pounded yam was finger-licking good. Music played was awful
This is the worst restaurant in have ever been to, I waited for 2 hours and still left without the food. The waitress ignored me and if I asked she would say there are people before me, she came back after waiting for an hour and half and said the food I ordered for has finished.I made another other and she still didnt ring the food until I lost my appetite and kedric the place.Shes so unprofessional, no customer service skill. They need to either employ more people or change their Management. They have only 1 person doing the serving of the food and 1 waiter, 1 waitress. It was a bad decision for me to go there and I felt so awful because I waisted the whole day just to eat some food and as toil left sad.
My first experience dining Nigerian. I had lunch here and the restaurant was relatively empty so customer service was not an issue.In terms of the food, it was a very good experience. The Fufu was tasty with the todays based chicken stew. The grilled shrimp is definitely worth trying.Price is relatively high, but how many Nigerian restaurants can you find in Brooklyn.
I am not sure how to review this place. I will start with the decor, it was okay. There are some pictures on the wall and it looks like they may have live music at times. I saw a band set up by the door. The restaurant is pretty large, there is a yellow mini van in the middle of the restaurant, probably symbolic of something, but I am not sure what. Let me first say I am no expert in African food and this was my first experience. The Joloff (rice) was good, Very SPICY, all the food was very spicy and by spicy I mean HOT. I had snapper and pounded yam (I did not like the pounded yam, I am pretty sure my disappointment was my own doing, I think I envisioned something else taste and presentation), however the snapper was quite yummy......just be prepared for the fire in your mouth, and your nose to run!!All and all definitely worth it.....I will stress again how spicy the food is, if you can get through it, you may be delighted.
We waited for almost a hour and forty-five minutes for our food. When the food finally came only one person at the table was served, appetizers came after the main course. Then we had to remind the waitress of what we ordered. There were people who came before us and they never received their food so they walked out. No one came to any of the tables to say why we had to wait so long for the food and their was only one waitress for the whole restaurant. Im only giving the place 2 stars because the food was okay.
The lady by the name ADA who attended to me and my family was very respectful, and she had a very good customer service. However this is the worst Nigerian Restaurant I have been to or food I ever ate, the Akara is tasteless & Nonsense, the soup is gabbage. I bought 4 plates of food, pounded yam and Edikaiko soup, puff puff, Akara, 1 star, 1 Orijin beer and liquor, and I paid $110.00. Me and my family got back to our Hotel room and my children refused to eat the food based on it was tasteless, my wife refused to eat her food too. Make matters worst one of the receiptionist a guy, claimed that it is the law that I have to pay a gratuity of 18% which they charged me almost $19.00 and if I didnt pay that he can call the cops on me, I told him to go ahead. Finally when he saw that I was not joking he then said I was joking ooooo, dont play like that with your customers. From the get go I already made up my mind I will tip the lady because she was nice to me and my family, I ended up giving her $15. I will never go back there again If I am ever in New York.B & B restaurant in East Orange New Jersey is better.
A place to go when you miss traditional Nigerian food. Very easy to locate and a good menu. I think they change their chef often cos this is my fifth time and the food never tastes the same. Only thing consistent at Buka is the service. Service is piss poor but what can you expect? Its like getting transported to Nigeria and setting the bar low. All in all, Ill keep going there for good Nigerian food until something better opens up.
Ordered take out and told them I’d be there to pick it up by 5:30. I got there a little early and had to wait a good 20 minutes pass my 5:30 pick up before my food was ready. The food was tasty but I paid $36 for 3 grilled shrimp, 1 beef skewer and 3 akara fritters. They didn’t give me the jollof rice I ordered and they charged me for it (realized that after I got all the way home in South Jamaica Queens). One waitress kept apologizing for the delay and offered me a drink on the house, very much appreciated. While waiting on my food I observed waitresses hanging around the bar checking their phones. One waitress picking up to go containers sat the top down on the counter sat stuff on top of it before taking to the table for the customer. I’m trying to be a big supporter of my people and their business ventures, but we have got to be better organized.
A ridiculously long wait!!! The waitress seated me and a friend....after 15minutes of waiting she seated 2 other clients and took their order before ours... and we had to wait another 30 minutes before the food came....The restuarant was almost empty because its new years eve.... and then I was charged for a dish that was never served ..Where the heck does that happen??? They definitely need to up their customer service!!!!
First time ordering takeout from Buka restaurant . Ordered Tilapia fish with fufu and sauce, , pounded yam , fish was fresh, taste ok ! Ordered Buka sauce with white rice ,didn’t receive white rice , give me Joloff rice ! Sauce was greasyAnd a very spicy hot Disgusting will give you a heart attack and raise your cholesterolEfo was greasy and too much pepper, I ask for mild without dry fish ! I will never order from this restaurant again !!! $50 order very disappointed!
Service took a long time to take our order, and the food came out luke warm. If youre looking for home cooked Nigerian, this is not the place. Some of the flavors were there (Egusi soup was good) but the temperature was lacking and the food was deconstructed to look fancy. But Im someone who enjoys my fufu and soup piping hot and in a bowl for dipping. Dont think Ill try this restaurant again.
Customer service is absolutely appalling.Food was served in bits i.e. rice then stew fifteen minutes later. Just a totally ghsstly experience, especially for New York. A total bad nams for Afeican cuisine. When I asked to speal with the manager, a young girl with her shirt wrapped around her waist came out and started arguing with me, cut me short and walked away. Totally unprofessional and an absolute no go!
Good vibes and a friendly wait staff. I had a decent time. Actually surprised by one of the dishes exceeding my expectations- it rivaled some of the best Nigerian home cooked meals Ive tasted.
I visit this restaurant today for a friend birthday. My first impression was the place look mediocore and it was cold. It is my first time eating Nigerian food and there food was terrible it needed more seasoning and the fufu was bland as hell. The only thing that was good was the jollof rice. The waitress was rude and she gave me a dirty fork and knife and my friends was asking her for a second set and the waiter ignore her. The food took so long to come out too. I ordered jollof rice, fufu, and chicken. My food was hot but it take like thirty minutes to come out. The place was freezing around that time and the waiter said they skip my order the hell. My friend in front of me order a drink and didn’t want it and the waiter the girl who is a thin girl said she couldn’t replace it. Then at the end she charged her for it still. I would of turned up if that was me but the place is mediocore and my stomach hurt when I came home. I am begging people not to visit this restaurant if it is the last place on earth the food is nasty and take too long to serve and if you see this place turn back.P.S. Don’t visit this restaurant nasty bland food and rude woman waiter.
I never had Nigerian before my friend took me here. Shes a regular and knows most of the staff and owners.I sat in the bar area up front, but he ceilings were super high and the back area is reminiscent of a beer hall.There were musicians playing music and a very positive vibe. My friend got me a cocktail that was interesting to say the least. It was peppers, vinegar, and alcohol, at least thats what it tasted like. I was glad to try something unique, but it wasnt for me. So I stuck with the wine.The ambiance is dark and could use a bit more lighting to enhance the vibe.The bathrooms are well maintained and cleaned.I had a whole bony fish, Jollof rice (amazing), seared shrimp. It was all delicious. Very comforting. It didnt feel too heavy at all. Everything was perfectly seasoned and simple. It was all spicy just how I like it.Some items on the menu werent available. Im looking forward to going back and trying something new. This was an excellent introduction to Nigerian food.
Honestly this restaurant is just a shadow of itself. So disorganized. It took more than one hour for our food to be served after the waiter came to take our order for the third time. He served us water with a broken glass and hot water. Used plates all over the table no organization. The owner came in and start being rude to customers because they werent satisfied with the services they got.
I visited with my sister and friend while in New York a few weeks ago. The service was a bit slow, but all in all we had no problems with the food. However, our experience was marred by the customer service.One of the servers (Yetunde) did not take the time to explain the menu clearly, so that there was an item listed on the bill that we had not expected. This resulted in my friend having to pay $31 for rice and stew. We queried the bill but nothing could be done, so we ended up paying the charge.What disappointed us was the conversation we could hear going on between the servers in Yoruba in the background. My sister and I are also Yoruba, so could understand what they were saying clearly. The general gist was that we had no reason to complain and were an annoyance for doing so.Heres a little piece of advice for the staff: customers in a Nigerian restaurant are likely to be Nigerian, so be careful what you say. I will not be coming here again.
Bad customer service. I ordered rice and because the rice I wanted was “too soft” he sent a different order without contacting me to ask if I wanted that substitution. The man I spoke to was very rude with me over the phone, and then hung up on me. How disappointing. I wanted food from back home, but back home they treat you much better than this.
Terrible!!!!!!! They have several chefs on rotation so the food here is no longer good. We ordered egusi which tasted like burnt beans, so we decided to order efo riro instead. The efo riro (dry vegetable stew) was watery and tasteless. The pounded yam was grainy! We werent able to eat a quarter of our food and since there is no management (the owners who are rarely there are the managers) we had to pay for our food in full $200+ for trash. The pictures shared were taken before the server cleared our plates, we barely ate anything.The third person in our party ordered efo riro with snapper and received a snapper and pieces of tilapia!The moi moi was watery and bland.The AC never works.If you want to waste your time and money dine here, but only order white rice with buka sauce. White rice seems to be their specialty.Our server actually encouraged us to write a review because the owner usually yells at her when she shares feedback from customers.My last time dining here.
The lady at the front had an attitude and when we were trying to ask questions she got annoyed multiple times.We tried the Fufu white yam flour with this yellow locust soup, soup was good but fufu had clumps in it .
Caution!! Food was not hot, ordered lamb and also had fish in my meal, thank god I was not allergic to fish. I was also charged more. Honestly if you want Nigerian food dont go here!
The waitress was nice suggesting the food to order, the food was very tasty not overly spicy (thank God), good timing.4 star because of the loud music.
I really loved this place: the food, atmosphere, and owner. But the service was slow and when I checked my credit card later, they over charged my bill/tip. Those are not proper business practices and I wont be recommending this place to my friends anymore (but I will tell them to try Nigerian food because its delicious)
My food was ordered for me but it was delicious! I had the goat knuckle dish with jofflo rice and plantains. I also had the fresh ginger juice and the palm wine. Both drinks were excellent too.
Sigh. Oh Buka. I went a while ago to meet up with the son of my dads friend, if youre African, you know how that goes lol. We went when it was snowing extremely hard, sign numbers one. Place was fairly empty, fee folks at the bar. We sat and ordered then we waited. And waited. And waited. Then waited some more. We waited over an hour before we finally received our food. Yes I know youre thinking, but why girl why? I was looking forward to some fried rice with suya. My food was okay but my dates food was a whole different story. Wont get into details, but he opted to proceed with the eating eat than waiting another hour for a replacement plate. Lets just say, I left hungry, exhausted, and with a bad taste in my mouth.
I think it possibly became to Americanize, that they are rushing and putting anything together. The fried rice was tasteless with no vegetable or even shrimp. The jollof was mushy, and no spice seems like from the bottom of the pan. The atmosphere is nice but the food quality is horrible even the puff puff was not fresh.
My friend and i ordered the jollof rice & i was terrible! It was hard and kind of cold. They serve soft chicken instead of hard chicken like we do back home. The chicken is more expensive than the rice!!! I wasnt fond of the taste.Our waitress was rushing us to order and trying to take our plates before we could even finish. Being that i took a friend there to try Nigerian food i was so embarrased.
We were very exited to go to a naija restaurant in NYC as visiting from Scotland. However, we were very disappointed with the service. Food came late, the hostess allocated us was a bit unfriendly with poor customer service, 75% of menu was not available. No water was offered until asked. On a positive note, my efo riro was delicious and kids had fun on the danfo.
I am a Nigerian meal connoisseur and I have to say, these guys should be a little bit ashamed to serve what they presented me and my partner. Decoration was good, but thats not what an African came there to do. Over seasoned or poorly seasoned, the soup tasted so so sooo wrong on many levels.I did not finish my partners beef that she normally gives to me, yes, read that again, I DIDN NOT FINISH THE BEEF AFTER TASTING IT, on top of that, I didnt crunch the bones of my fish, thats how painful the taste was. I felt like eating salad after eating here as an African man. Serving a cold or lukewarm fufu type meal is a strong no-no.The pounded yam & amala looked like it was prepared earlier in the day, then warmed for us on defrost, we can understand doing that with the stew, but the god damn fufu, haba!! We know the difference between poundi that was just recently prepared with hot water and one that was just warmed, I am not oyinbo.You then provide a huge bowl of unwanted soup with a toddler portion of amala and poundo, so we can request for more. The danfo lookalike van was a good touch to bring you back home and give you that nostalgia feeling.Put effort in your cooking guys, people arent stupid certainly not those who have years of experience devouring the great Nigerian cuisine.You cant bring someone who you want to convince that Nigerian cuisine is the worlds best secret to this place.They will hate it, I didnt think you could hate our cuisine until I came here.
I am Nigerian and I must say this was the worst Nigerian restaurant Ive been too in New York. They just give Africans a bad name, service was horrible had to get the waitress attention before even be able to get drinks. Waited 45min just to get bad stew with cold pounded yam I was completely turn off that I just asked for the bill for drink and walked out. I would never go back there and the bad thing is I came all the way from Queens thinking I was about to get some great food what a total let down. Never again before you waste your time try something else.
For someone who has never had Nigerian food before, this was absolutely delicious. I tried the chicken, which came in a savory and spicy sauce. Also had fufu, which is similar in look to a ball of dough but is actually made of yams. I dipped it into the chicken sauce and it was amazing. Would recommend to someone who is looking for a different style of food.
A local favorite I eat here every summer. The plates are big enough to share. Food is delicious. Suya spicy, fufu authentic. They even have Asaro!Service can be slow and hard to order. Music and events over weekends.
The ambiance and traditional African music was entertaining, the staff was very clean, professional and very knowledgeable about the different dishes.The young lady by the name of Shola assisted me in choosing some very delicious and authentic African dishes and the prices was reasonable,while we wait for the pandemic to be over me and latoya will continue to enjoy all their tasty and scrumptious authentic African cuisine, I will definitely be telling all my friends about BUKA.
Delicious food. I used to eat here often many years ago. My favorites were the tuwo (yam porridge), beans, suya, and goat meat stew. Honestly everything was tasty! I’m hungry just thinking about it lol 🤤
In the past, I have enjoyed the food when weve dined in. And, for the most part, I have had good service. But, its been about 45 minutes that Ive been waiting for a delivery that I was told would take 20 minutes. If that wasnt bad enough, when I called the restaurant to check on my order, it rang once then an automated voice informed me that the voice messaging service had not been activated. Freaking ANNOYING--no food and no way to find out why. See steam bursting from my ears. Tonight, Buka gets only 1 star.
SCALES STILL ON the fish. (I should not have to clean my own fish. Taking scales lost in the sauce out of my mouth not appetizing.) Long wait for food (even though not busy). Great portions. Decent flavor. Pleasant staff. Nice music.
EDIT:For the sake of my sister I didnt tell off the Owner last time I was there. I work in the industry and understand the rubbings of a restaurant. I have 0 respect for an OWNER SITTING DOWN COMFORTABLY AND LAUGHING AT WITH FRIENDS WHILE YOU HAVE ONE GUY TO SERVE AND BARTEND ALL BY HIMSELF. Tables were left unbussed. I brought my fiancé there to meet my sister and was embarrassed that it took 2 hours for food and we were all watching each other eat and they didnt bring food out in the proper order or timing. A table of 6-8 people walked out and the owner didnt bat an eye. The poor people had waited an hour and only 2 had drinks. I will NEVER return! Another African restaurant will open with better service and all your locals will leave. Seems the guy feels hes a monopoly. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! We have tipped the sever well as he was kind, friendly, as attentive as possible and. busted his butt. A real owner HELPS run the business when needed. I can not give my money to a jerk like this. Dont come here in a rush or if you want even decent service. They are understaffed and the owner has an ego issue. I have been here about 10 times and its the same issue everything. I WILL NOT RETURN!ORIGINAL:Food here is tasty. Yes service can be a bit slow. I would love to see bigger portions for the prices however. Also, I have eaten from here at least 7 times and they always seem to have run out from puff puff which is my favorite! Also please dont charge more than 5 dollars for 4-6 pieces of plantain or 4 strips of yam. Also, for vegans and vegetarians we would love if you offered some spinach without the fish in it? This shouldnt be hard I think. Or some sort of sautéed veggies. People are more health conscious these days and the menu is lacking items that arent fried and or heavily carb loaded.I am fine when I come alone as I am vegan and usually get the same quick items (jollof rice with side stew, yam with stew, and plantain.HOWEVER, when my fam came from PA for my moms birthday and they were not happy to have to wait over an hour for food. There were only about 2 other tables there. The appetizers took 45 minutes to come out (HOW?!). We almost got up and left. They could barely enjoy their food before they have to head back to PA as they had work the next day. They could use some help in the kitchen it seems and a bit more organization with servers.
I wish I could give this place zero stars. This is NOT good Nigerian food. Food is Definitely a very old . does not taste fresh at all almost making me sick. Service was extremely slow. The Goat meat is dry and rubbery. I was very disappointed by everything
This is the worst place to eat, all the food we ordered was trash the seasoning was bad and they sell yesterday food selling it very pricy. I will never recommend that place to anyone. Zero star for this restaurant
I hope someone is blessed by this honest review today. I WOULD NOT COMPLAIN about my food if it was ACTUALLY good, coming from a professional foodie who works for a well known food company. If you ENJOY waiting 2 HOURS for watered down and extremely soft white rice with 1 shrimp (fried rice) and tomatoes + extremely soft white rice (jollof rice), two pieces of COLD goat meat ($12 for 2 PIECES OF COLD MEAT btw). On top of that, the manager wanted to call 911 because we took our honesty to him and told him we were dissatisfied with the service and the food. He was that pressed. Like cmon, as a Nigerian I know a thing or a thousand things about PROFESSIONALISM. Cmon. This manager said because the food is Nigerian, it MUST take over 2 hours from being ordered to arrive to the table. Long story short, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT order fried rice orJoll of rice from Bu-Kini. To the other great reviews below, Im happy yall had an awesome experience. I will never support this business again. All the best.
Came for the first time on my anniversary. Food was good and plentiful had Moi-Moi and suya for appetizer then we both had the Suya steak, Yam fries were a bit hard . Hibiscus drink non alcoholic was refreshing . Will have to bring my children here
I love trying foods from different countries. It was my first time in this restaurant. A friend invited me out and i was excited to go. Everything was very normal. The wait time wasnt long and our waitress was very nice and informative as we didnt know what to order. I chose the grilled red snapper dish with spinach and plum wine to drink that would be in a bottle. Then everything went down hill starting with my trip to their bathroom. That room was so dark, I could hardly find the toilet and was scared I might pee on my pants. I went back to my table and my drink came in. I was expecting a small bottle but what they gave me was a whole wine bottle! And i was the only one to drink it! Ive had some japanese plum wine before so I was expecting the same taste. That s**t tasted soo nasty and rancid. I kept asking myself if this was normal since its a Nigerian place. I eventurally returned it and they didnt charge me for it. My food finally came and I tell you, that fish was the worst smell Ive ever smelled in my life. The worst smell you can think of. It smelled like it had been sitting out for days and it was tough to eat. I think they tried to mask the smell with ginger powder, like the chef knew it was bad. But I was still telling myself, maybe it was normal here because i knew what grilled fish is supposed to smell and taste like. I didnt want to tell the waitress about it because i already returned the wine so i stayed with it until i couldnt take it anymore and ate the other dishes. Worse came to worst for me a few days later when i ended up with severe and extremely painful constipation that lasted 4 days. I knew it was the fish because of that rancid smell coming from my toilet when i finally went. My friend also had stomach cramps for 2 days. Her food was spicy. Lastly, enter at your own risk. Make certain that your dish is well cooked and smells good. Dont hesitate to change it. I give this place an F- .
So heres the deal. Im all up for trying new places and when my friend mentioned about trying this cool nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn I was looking forward to it. (well, not entirely since Im a vegetarian and I know the options were slim for me). I get to the restaurant and my friends where already seated waiting for me. The place wasnt packed with people but it seemed like the service was slow as I wasnt asked if I would like to get a drink by our server. After we placed our order, it took 45 minutes for the server to get us our appetizers but only to let us know that one of the appetizers we ordered ran out (Really, after that long?). Those were my fried plantains. Luckily, there was yucca fries and my friends offered me theirs instead. After over an hours wait we started to get agitated about our food. I spoke to the host and she said this is typically how long it takes since the food is prepared from scratch. ok. So 45 minutes for yucca fries and my drink? (and all the sodas were FLAT, like theyd be sitting there for years, we asked for them to be replaced but were still flat) And our main order was in no sight. I basically had to bring it to the hosts attention that this was a case of being under-staffed and mis-managed. There were like 2 waiters on the floor for an entire restaurant on a SATURDAY NIGHT. The host didnt really seem like it was a major issue. Well, it is when you walk into a place with a certain set of expectations. My food finally came and my order of again, yucca something was missing. And another order of rice was missing. Throw in another 20 something minutes into the equation and I finally had my main course after an hour and a half. The waiter asked us if this was everything. I mean arent they supposed to know it since they took our order (and got it all wrong)? It was so unprofessional and slow. Never going back. And I never write reviews but the indifferent attitude of the staff makes me want to write for the managers attention. I dont think it right to blame the staff but they could be a little more attentive and responsive. Instead, they told us thats how its done. Basically, wrong. Anyways. nff harping. no more Buka for me at least. And those whod like to venture, have a LOT OF PATIENCE and guts to stomach whatever you may be served. (no pun intended).
Nice ambiance, good food, horrible service. Food came out quick but they forgot the water. Water took 10 minutes. The servers were just chilling in the corner like they were patrons. Ill be back for the food but fix your business.
We were greeted immediately & the food came super fast & piping hot. I had Chicken & Jollof Rice it tasted great & the Chicken was nice & tender. My friend had Iyan (pounded yam) & Tilapia he loved his food. I had sprite it was flat but cold & my friend drank Malta Guinness
Service could be a lot better. Their suyadoesnt even taste like suya. it was very disappointing. Their egusi left me wondering why I even visited. The bathroom was unkempt. The only reason Im giving a 3 star is because of the fish pepersoup. It was what saved the experience for me. The goat pepersoup was tasteless and I dont think it was goat. But anyway over all the fish pepersoup made me a little bit happier
Horrible service. We had this server who served us hot unopened beer, we had to go to the kitchen to ask for a bottle opener. I order a bean dish that was obviously spoiled. How on Earth ??? Also the lighting was poor and the food that wasnt t spoiled wasnt that great at all. I dint rebuked this at all. If you want African food try the Ethiopian place further down. Hate to give a bad review but I feel I might save someones life !
The wait was over an hour long just to pick an order of suya. Got home and it was undercooked and barely seasoned so it tasted like raw meat basically. Never going back there, only got a star cause the employees were friendly and polite.
I bet you the 5 start reviews are from mainly fake accounts or friends or paid folks asked to review positively. This place has lots of potential but the owner is too prideful to make sure his business has a better reputation so don’t believe the hype. Come to my kitchen and I’ll cook you fresh and more dignified, delicious, Nigerian food. So when native Nigerians like me get served whack food, trust our reviews— we know!The fish stinks from the head down — the reason Buka sucks is because the owner is really terrible at his job. Read my 1 Star yelp review of how terrible the owner treated me one fateful day —filter the options to look up 1 star reviews under Collie L.I’ve also been served spoiled soup — I repeat— spoiled soup from this establishment. That is uncalled for and disrespectful to your clients, BUKA COMPROMISES QUALITY AND DISREGARDS EVEN THEIR REPUTATION over making money. Rep Nigeria BETTER! Do better. Serve fresh foods. Make your fufus and Amalas fresh to order like the Ghana Restautant up in the Bronx does so finger licking well, and please throw out spoiled soured soups; come on for people’s health sake here.
Went for a Saturday night promoted event. Nice spot however......Promoters Janky (beware of events promoted on Eventbrite) tried to get us to pay after we paid already online. The owner, manager, or whatever he was RUDE. Given drink tickets by Promoter, ordered Remy with pineapple, handed the ticket only to be told my ticket wouldnt cover the cost and handed a Go Slow drink completely DISGUSTING. Wasnt even given the opportunity to pay the cost difference. Just assume I want white BOTTOM shelf rum and thick guava juice?? Then he complained ther Promoter didnt tell that he was giving complimentary drinks. How is that the patrons issue?? Rather waste the liquor than give it to me for free? Horrible customer service.
The food was excellent . I loved my server my first time and the restaurant with a 2 year old she loved the food too. We had the fried bean cakes the lamb also the white yams and eggs ... So good ...😘
I was really looking forward to this place but was disappointed. The service was incredibly slow and terrible. The lady gave us beers and then came ten mins later with bottle openers. Then brought water jugs but with cups ten mins later. The food was either too chewy or too oily.I might come here again. Maybe they just get a bad night. Overall Im disappointed.
The waitress was very nice. I wish I remember her name.
The live band was deafening- the fried rice was awesome, goat meat appalling. The bill did not arrive until i threatened to leave without paying which was after an hour, i did not mind because I was chilling with 2 shots of Jameson with nothing to chase
Not the Nigerian experience I expected. Overpriced food, everything is pepper, tomatoes and fried oil. Who mixes egusi soup with tomato stew? Fried plantain tastes like it was cooked 2 weeks before and the half cooked jollof was tasteless. My mouth and my intestine are still suffering the consequences of eating from here. Not coming back.
Had the puff puff and snail as a starter. Loved the outer crust of the puff puff, the inside was quite soft too. The snail is two big ones for $12! Not like 3 or 4. Was a misunderstanding there. My cousins had yam and suya steak which was a well done steak and a little bit of yams (needed salt she said) and ewa agoyin sauce amazing! I had ila asepo w eba and I usually dont eat goat but this was so good. Soo good. My cousin tried the bitter leaf soup w poundo and it was amazing. For real. The portions were big. We took half to go and will make some poundo or amala at home to eat remaining. Also had the okada and the VI iced tea, the zobo infused vodka hiiits in the ice tea and the okada was more mellow and my style. The vi iced tea is also smaller than the okada cause Im guessing more alcohol content. Other cousin just had zobo which was sweeter than expected also but not bad. I just like the sorrel/hibiscus to come out more in zobo. All in all, Im so happy to have been here as a Nigerian. Great good. And will be back when I want to trek from my borough to bk.
Food was great!!! Service was okay. Prices were expected. The waitress said that the food is shipped in from Nigeria to the USA weekly. Per person meal is about $25 with meal and drink.
Ok environment. Music a bit too loud. I had pounded yam and egusi soup which was great just enough spice, however if you dont like spicy food I wouldnt recommend. The dodo(plantain) tasted weird in my opinion, couldnt finish all 5 pieces.
It sad to say that but this restaurant is exactly as the other one star reviews mentioned. Customer service is extremely poor. You’ll wait forever to be served. The food takes about 30 minutes to come. I came on a non busy night and time so I cannot understand why service was so slow. Also to note, be sure to pay in cash, the server who waited on me added an extra $3.00 tip once I left the restaurant. I just noticed when I checked my bank statement. This is fraud and I will pursue with my bank.
The food was good had red snapper stew with fufu & the tiger strimp and lemon bitter soda everything was great the customer service was amazing great place overall!
Love this place anytime I go to New York. The food is so good, i always do take away. Edikaikan, afang, fish peppersoup. Yummy!! Courteous staff. Clean place. And i love the Danfo (van). Reminds me of home. Took some pictures with it.
My father is Nigerian. Hes always made Nigerian dishes at home as have my aunts and cousins when they come to visit. My dad and I ate here and it reminded me of home cookin. Loved it so much and cannot wait to go back. Its not lavishly decorated but the service, food and laid back aura made this a perfect Nigerian dining experience for me. Thank you. Ill be back for more!
We had the spicy Suya Lamb and fish with melon sauce - amazing!Lovely service and great drinks.Definitely would come back!
The Place is unkempt and run down, I dont know if they are going for a homey vibe as per same as Nigeria, but Jevnik is soooo much better. They are making all this money and they cant renovate and keep the place clean, the Chairs are broken and the tables have wobbly legs. This place is Unappealing and I would not come here again until it looks more like a proper restaurant and not a cave.
Service is disgustingly horrible. If your looking to build up your appetite then you should come here. You will be here waiting over 2 hours for your food. The servers dont come to see if you need anything. After 2 hours of waiting the manager came to tell me that my food was just getting prepared and there were barely and customers. Just disgusting! WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!
Missing/ cold food. Suya shrimp seasoning taste like sand. Couldnt get a refund because restaurant would not answer their phone! Highly disappointed
First time was Amazing, The second time wasnt good at all ..
Aweful. Came in company of friends with an average expectation..but they marred the whole time. I felt so ashamed being African. The Edikaikong was tasteless and stale.. It makes you wanting to puke. The amala got cold before the soup came for me, while the soup went cold before their poundy came. Waitress so disorganized. I wonder how they got their hype in the first place. Out of disgust, my friend said I will NEVER visit this place again, everyone chorused AMEN. Lol
So, were on a quest to try restaurants with cuisines weve never tried before and Nigeria comes up. If you can get over the inexperienced/inattentive/relaxed service (it took a pretty long while for us to get our food, and this was after they gave us someone elses order) and the unfortunate DOH rating in the window (the restaurant was really busy on Sat night, so at least the food is turning over), you can actually have a really interesting meal at Buka, one unlike anything youve had before. For starters, when you look at the menu, theres a number of dishes and ingredients youve probably never heard of before. Secondly, when they say something is spicy, they mean Serious Business, and this is from someone who loooves sweat-inducing, lip-numbing food. Lots of vegetarian-friendly options here, I really liked the akara fried bean cakes and the asaro (yams with unknown herbs and a super flavorful chili sauce). The tuwo cornmeal fufu was also good but a bit bland after the fireworks of the asaro; if only theyd served us both items at the same time, it would have been a perfect pairing. Finally, the palm wine was intriguing but its actually non-alcoholic and tastes like a herbal soda. Not something Id tried again, but a neat experiment and the label (bottled by the Authority of Federal Institute of Industrial Research and Technology) was worth some anthropological scrutiny. All in all, a very fun pseudo-trip to Nigeria!
The food was horrible, and I dont think the suya meat or shrimp was properly cooked. It was expensive for no reason. I was very disappointed, and would prefer to make Nigerian food in my house with the little knowledge I have. I do not recommend this place at all.
As a Nigerian you will eat the food and like it because its not that bad and you are deprived. The service will suck because they struggling keeping up with take out orders so dont expect much in that department.
That place is horrible they sell yesterday food and charge you more it was a bad expérience
It is a great place, the appetizer arrived in about 12min and the main course in about 20 min. I will recomend the place to anyone looking to eat an African home cooked meal.
I went to but suya, took over 20 minutes for someone to attend to me, the bar area in which I waited was dirty. I also waited close to an hour just for a small amount of suya. If I could give this place no stars I would. The guy running the store was very unprofessional. Needs so much improvement, and the suya was trash too.
The Nigerian food is awfully made. It’s extremely oily, tasteless and nothing to write home about. I didn’t enjoy the food and I hated that I spent so much dollars for so little to no value. Please change your cool or better still so something better
Suya steak was hard; service should be a bit faster for large groups; yam porridge had no meat; All in all, atmosphere was good, just need to work on the list mentioned.
Had some great dishes (veg) and not so great (fish) but overall it was good and Id go again and order more carefully.
The environment was good and the food was so great. From Ila asepo to edika ikong (with Poundo yam) and ewa agoyin with goat meat pepper soup. If you really want the authentic naija taste, Buka is surely the place to go. We loved every bitof the food, and whenever we come to NYC again, we are surely going there again and again.
Great food! Flavor was on point. Compliments to the chef!
My wife and I found Buka online. We had egusi and amala with goat meat and mixed meat. We both enjoyed our meal. Anytime we are in New York, we will definitely come again.
First time and food was excellent. Im sure it wont be the last. However, the service does take long. I wouldve rated it four stars because of that but the food is too good to put four.
A wonderful Nigerian restaurant in Brooklyn. I enjoyed their selection of foods and the environment is also welcoming.If you want to feel at home, you dont need to travel by air to visit naija, naija experience is here in Brooklyn. Lol
The food was great and the waitress, Cynthia was awesome.I will come back and recommend this place to others. The dish I liked the most was the suya, puff and pounded yams.
Food is good but found it a bit pricey, the prices online look wonderful for the portion is very small as well...you get what you pay for...lol but food is 👍
The jollof rice was amazing, but im a vegetarian and i ordered the tuwo—i ended up not liking the dish after a couple of bites, but the management refused to refund the price of the dish. very disappointed in the customer service
Worst customer service , food is not well cooked,zero taste, too much of salt and seasoning. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!
It was an ok place, food was ok had grilled tiger shrimp and jollof rice...it was ok
First time trying Nigerian food. Good to note that your tip will be included in your bill based on how much you bought. I think its a US thing.
Always slow. Any order takes 45 minutes to arrive. And that doesnt take into account how long it takes to place an order (they forget you).Their waiters have changed every month. Feels like a badly run business...
The food was okay. It’s always a hit or miss.
Ordered food that cost $80 + they left out 2 item and gave me smaller sized orders for the same money and refused to deliver missing items. I will never order from them again
The best African food and service I have EVER received . The food was great, priced great and the service was GREAT!! See you all soon again!!❤
Amazing food and drinks, employees are really attentive and give great advice on what to order :) also a great place to meet new people. I will definitely come back
Decent food but the service makes me never wanna go there gain. they dont give you attention unless you are a big man
Great music, atmospheric cozy place! Food is good, but too spicy for my taste. The van at the back is really cute.
The food here is absolutely crap. My stew tasted like it had gone bad. Jollof rice tasted like unseasoned plastic. I definitely wouldnt recommend
Lovely peopleLovely hearty food.Always a good time.Nice Vybz.
Authentic setting for true Nigerian meal. Fish pepper soup on point, ginger drink 1000% authentic. My Caucasian always asking for a return visit
The seasoning was interesting. I didnt care for the fish in the vegetable stew. I wouldnt try again but experience was pleasant.
This place they got black bosstys.they got danfo in the building.the food is not bad,but slow to get ready.
Terrible service. They seem to be understaffed. Also, food wasn’t great. The waitress forgot our order so many times.
Terrible service, never brought one of our drinks despite being reminded, food was really unappetizing. Did not eat it.
Worst experience ever, waitress can’t get herself together, no proper customer service, unnecessarily long wait, I spent 50 minutes waiting for my food that she lied is going to be ready in 10 minutes and I never got the food even after 50 minutes, just a terrible service, only go there if you’re willing to fall asleep while waiting for your food
Someone brought me here, food wasnt good, left disappointed.
The food is delicious. My fav spot for west african food in brooklyn. So glad we found it
Waited almost 20 minutes for cold food...ugh...the agusi wasnt what I expected...I dont eat locust beans..the decor was great the service can use improvement
Excellent customer service. But okra sauce was too oily
Food took forever to come, we were told 25 minutes but it took over an hour. The owner didn’t seem to care. Plantain was hard and the rest of the food was just ok. We won’t be gong back.
The food was really nice and flavorful, we enjoyed every bit, the prices are reasonable,nice Nigeria food.!!!!
Your go to for Nigerian Food. Without a doubt the food is authentic Nigerian. Hosts are professional, dim lights and decent interior.
This resturant deserve no star at all. Anytime yall see my legs in this resturant cut off my legs please! Fried rice tasteless, moi- moi trash....smh.....its just wrong choice dinner i swear☻👀
Service is unbelievably bad. It is clearly a dine-in restaurant with table service. Walked out 40 minutes after seating myself and not interacting with a single employee.
Worst pepper soup i have ever eaten. Tasteless and unpleasant. The suya meat was stale and too hard to chew.
The food was really nice. But the manager is a total peace of ........ he was very rude and disrespectful
Great and delicious food. A little bit of Naija in Brooklyn
Worst experience ever. Horrible food and customer service. Visiting NY and was there with a friend. Food was tasteless and purged my friend all night. Avoid this place if you ever in NY
Super narrow and hard to navigate in a crowded setting... And because of how narrow it is in the entrance leading along the bar to the back, it appears easily crowded. Music was good.
Really fun! Food was amazing! Music was great! Services were on point. Would definitely go back!
Didnt live up to hype, The food wasnt fresh and was too salty, The hygiene wasnt that great either, I dislike when waiters use their cell phones and handle food at the same time,
Good customer service. Also, their Oha soup was great.
Best gel of rice and chicken Nigerian style restaurant in Brooklyn also other African delicacy for dining in or take out bar service
Heres the thing about this place: they deliver! Stop worrying about the reviews due to the poor service, the food here is incredible
Had so many expectations... Wonder if they changed the chef..not bad but not exactly what we all dreamed of based on what it used to be in the past
Cool environment, and food is nice. And that touch of Danfo? Touche.
Good food, ok service but pricier than other Nigerian places, careful about not overordering the meats
Terrible food, bad customer service, egoist owner. Would not be going to eat there ever again!!
The place was just amazing and makes you feel closer to home from just the taste of the food.
Very good service and warmth reception from the management and staff, I must say have tried every other Africa restaurant, but Buka is the best food of all.Keep the good work ✴✴✴✴✴
Delicious food, beautiful ambiance and excellent service. Ill definitely be back
Poor customer service. Huge delay in getting seated, attended to or served. Complacent owner. Could be better.
They have nice nigerian dishes but a little slow when serving...
A great change of pace from the usual restaurants. The food tastes great, with assertive spices and a unique flavor.
A grungy looking decor, food that ranged from okay to inedible and slow inattentive service with the tip included. That was my experience of Buka.
Service is slow ..but food is great. Dont go too hungry ..you might be frustrated by the service.
Great place while it was open.
Total reviews rating 3.7
199 Reviews for Buka 2023:
Review №1
2022-03-01Nice place to get an almost ‘core’ Nigerian buka sauce. If you are big on aura + aesthetics, you might not like this place; Though it has some Nigerian feel. Food is okay but service is slow. You have to be patient to enjoy your time here.
Review №2
2021-11-08Friendly enough service but could definitely be improved. Also, I ended up getting severe food poisoning after eating there. I have eaten at many different Nigerian restaurants and never have I had food poisoning until them. I think they need to be careful with how food is prepared and make sure they are following hygiene protocols. Also, some of their dishes are overpriced for what they offer. Great decor though. Gave me nostalgia seeing the strategically placed danfo in the restaurant. Nice touch.
Review №3
2021-10-05My long detailed review was somehow deleted, so Ill keep it short. Food was cold, had no flavor, and goat soup tasted rancid. The female server admitted that it was not fresh. Hire a new chef, make sure your kitchen passes sanitation/safety guidelines and stop using the microwave to reheat old food. Do better or suffer the loss of more customers. All the best!
Review №4
2022-06-16When not so many Nigerians eat at Nigerian restaurants, they tend to not know what the REAL food supposed to look like. Ordered ewa agoyin with boiled yam. I was sold regular beans and FRIED YAM. Like seriously? What a shame, is this how Ewa agoyin or the stew supposed to look like???? .I also ordered EFO RIRO , they straight up served me plain green vegetables with some tomato stew on it and bad smell cow skin. Terrible
Review №5
2021-08-17So I took my 12yr old daughter here because she wanted to try fufu she got beef with egusi and fufu which she really enjoyed. The server was very helpful with helping her make her selection as a frist timer trying pounded yam (fufu) and the service was fast.you can eat inside or out side nice music playing inside too
Review №6
2021-12-21Terrible, food, size, I was even served soured soup, taste is nothing to write home about, they also manage to delete any review that doesn’t favour them, don’t know how but I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s experienced that with the reviews.Fraudulent people. Need to shut down.Worst Nigerian restaurant in New York.
Review №7
2021-07-06Food is always hours late if you order delivery. I’ve had to cancel and order something a few times due to this.Ordered goat pepper soup and got basically half a cup of water boiled in fat, and bones and fat (see picture). No goat meat, no pepper soup. If I didn’t know how pepper soup is meant to look and taste like this would turn me off from Nigerian food. But luckily I know this is just the very bad quality from Buka. The service and quality has plummeted over time as others have said. Anyways, this was my last order from them.
Review №8
2021-01-17I really wanted to try traditional food from African countries and came upon this place from twitter and just searching. The customer service was great. He recommended what I should get since it was my first time. So I got the Jollof rice, Tilapia with fufu and sauce (Egusi). And Goat with fufu and sauce (okra). I don’t like spicy food but it was mild and tolerable. The food is soooo good. 5 star rating. Must try if first time like me.
Review №9
2022-06-02The worst place to eat. I have never tested any worst food in my life, like what I ate in Buka restaurant. Spending 100 dollars and not getting value for it. I took a friend to the place to showcase my Motherland delicacy only to get the worst food. What is on their website is different from what you get. Buka restaurant is NO NO to eat. I asked for Edikigong soup only to be served Efo riro for Edikigong soup. The ise-ewu was like hell of a food. I have to abandon the whole food we order for and go to another place to eat. Buka need to make a big change and let their customers get value for their money.
Review №10
2022-06-08Yes yes yes Im so happy I visited this restaurant today for some authentic Nigerian food. I was in the mood for some Egusi and Efo riro wit pounding yam fufu the food was flavorful and delicious.