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Wilson (Red)
Mon-Wed. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I came here not knowing what to expect. This was my first foray into African food. I was greatly comforted by seeing that the place was almost entirely populated by people of African descent, and knew I was most likely in for an authentic meal.
As reviewed previously, the staff is extremely nice and welcoming, especially to people obviously not of African descent staring wild-eyed at the unfamiliar food in front of them. A few samples later, my friend and I ordered far too much food.
Bean Casserole - Flavorful, spicy, best thing ever. Would give 6 stars on basis of this alone.
Jerk Chicken - Really damn good, and was very tempted to get more.
Coconut Rice - Great and flavorful, but got to be too much real fast.
Jollof Rice - A welcomed alternative! It was awesome all around.
I will certainly be back when I am on the Far North Side/in the Uptown area!
I really had high hopes for Lyanze, but it really didn't exceed my Bolat experience at the Taste of Chicago. I ordered the goat stew and jerk chicken with coconut rice. While Amish A ordered catfish stew.
The goat was extremely flavorful, but the meat was too tough. And of course, the coconut rice was plain awesome. The jerk chicken was way too salty, and I think I would have preferred almost any Jamaican jerk in Chicago over this. Catfish was way too bony to be enjoyed. When you're sifting through what feels like more bone than meat in your mouth, every single bite, it can get annoying. Also, the stew that the fish was simmered in was tasty, but it didn't really percolate through the fish.
The owner of the place was welcoming and let us sample a few items. The space is appealing. I know it's hard to live up to the standards left by your older sister, but I guess I'll give it another try, maybe for the lunch special.
So yous pays your moneys and yous takes yours chances--this is the way of dining out, where a restaurant can be brilliant one night and positively atrocious the next.
But to experience such a dichotomy within two bits of the same piece of food? That, our Prince of Denmark would tell us, is madness.
Aye, it happened: we had a chunk of goat that was tender and toothsome one bite, dessicated and inedible on the other side of the bone; I had to spit it out, it was that defeated. We had a spinach stew that was like a brilliant veggie hash--until crunching on unbeknownst fish bones buried within. Egads, mon!
The rest of the food was more than serviceable: good oxtails, plantains, and fufu; rices were competent. Skip the bean casseroles. Take note: you ordered by the piece or side here; it adds up--about $15/pp for us.
The staff couldn't be nicer, giving us three plates of samples to work through before ordering...but then they botched multiple parts of our actual order.
It's like that, huh.
Incredible food. Absolutely incredible. I especially recommend the goat.
Yum yum! Iyanze is so so good! I go to Iyanze at least once a week because it really is that good! There are so many options that I usually get a different thing every time I go.
The only weird thing is that sometimes, the food is undercooked - I have gotten a rice dish and a meat dish a couple of times that are just not cooked the whole way through.
Overall though, always a very pleasant experience.
Came here with the misses in our first night in Chicago for the long labor day weekend. The staff were so friendly and helpful in helping us choose our food. We've had Nigerian food before, but never had so many choices, so we were confused. The food was good, but the atmosphere was what made is so special. The man who seemed to be the manager brought us samples to help us decide. Great experience, and a nice walk in the neighborhood after. Also, try the Nigerian palm drink!
I was really, really excited to get West African food before the Amadou & Mariam show. I am so lame. The place was super cute, and although we were a little confused by how it worked and how many dishes we should order and what goes with that, the food was pretty good. The peanut soup (which is really more of a curry sauce that I wanted to dip everything into) was pretty delish. Jerk chicken and coconut rice was my second favorite. The pounded yam (Fufu) tasted like a dense mashed potato but you could dip your balls into that peanut soup and it would taste awesome. We also tried some goat which my buddy Ben swears by but I thought it tasted like janky greasy lamb, which is already something I don't like.
Here's the weird part. This place, although the tables and decorations are really super modern/cute/welcoming/not-ethnic-janky-at-all, there were big screen TVs everywhere. That were playing a documentary. That was about the black market of organs in the Middle East. And it started showing kidney transplant surgery. Graphic kidney transplant surgery. That looked a lot like my goat and peanut soup.
I don't know if it was the documentary or the soup but I felt really, really sick for the next few hours. It hinged on ruining the Amadou & Mariam show for me.
I don't care how new of a business you are, there's no excuse for me to be watching surgery while eating unfamiliar ethnic food.
THIS is what I'm talkin' 'bout...
CHEAP eats on the north side, true ethnic flair + Uptown revitalization. I'm happy.
Seriously, Iyanze is a beacon of hope, a star of guidance, a sign of the ever-changing Uptown, a new day.
You see, THIS is what local businesses CAN be. No need to sell out to Starbucks or Chili's, but a ma 'n pa can produce a thriving, attractive, productive business. An ethnic one at that. African food, even. It's doable, it's possible, and it's necessary.
And our job? Is to go and eat. Very easy.
I had NO idea what to expect upon entering this new eatery. I'd hear the rumors of Bolat's goodness (same owners), and decided to give it a whirl Saturday night. The bright, beautiful awning, full windows, comfy dining room (large) called to me along this somewhat desolate (though recovering!) strip of Broadway. Mere steps across the street from the Wilson red line stop (yes, Wilson, you heard me), and just a short jaunt off the 145 or 36 bus route. It's reachable, and it's not that scary. I promise.
What is this? Cafeteria style. Not what I expected, but I can get on board. Actually, being able to view VERY foreign foods is a blessing. Descriptions can sometimes be hazy and don't translate well...so seeing the offerings and getting some helpful input from a smiley (read: AWESOME) Iyanze staffer was an added bonus.
We picked out some experimental dishes, some safe ones and some sodas...and then took a seat. Shortly after that she checked on us, and then brought over a bill. It's kind of a hybrid cafeteria/sit down place. Very comfortable, open, and GREAT for large groups. They'll split the checks, and everyone is SO nice.
Hand washing stations are available as well. Nice touch :)
For $25 we split:
Jerk Chicken: Spicy, comes with a side sauce.
Goat in some floating sauce. Yes, I ate goat. It tastes like lamb.
Fried rice: similar to Chinese, with little chunky veggies.
Pounded yam: like a big ball of mashed taters, in a ball. Odd, filling!
Bean casserole: BEST dish of the night, spicy and flavorful!
Orange Soda & Diet Coke
Really, it was enough for 3 people...maybe 4, if the last one is smallish. An excellent opportunity to try something new, very cheaply.
Viva Uptown! Viva Iyanze! I'm a fan, I'll be back for some takeout, most definitely too...
BEWARE! BEWARE!
I can't remember the last time that I had a meal where I ate so much I COULDN'T BREATHE! Well I just had one at Iyanze- I tell you, this place could be harmful to your health. Definitely allow at least an hour of recovery time after a meal at this place before you decide to take the night by storm.
This place was lovely! As a African food virgins, we were greeted by Emmanuel (manager?) who warmly greeted everyone in our party with a hearty handshake. The place was a brightly colored, airy space with a lofty feel. All the food is served cafeteria style- my favorite as you get all your food quickly, are pestered by servers, and save $$$ on tipping. It's BYOB as well- we put our case of beer under the table and helped ourselves.
Emmanuel, after seeing our dazed looks as we confusedly eyed the chalkboard, quickly offered a tasting! He quickly whipped up sample platters of rice, beans, fufu, and meats. Winners? All of the rices were stand-outs, with the coconut and orange rice (name escapes me) being particular standouts. The jerk-chicken was to die for- falling off the bone and served with a spicy brown sauce that I wish they bottled and sold. Also mouth-watering was the bean casserole, which is a mash-up of beans and yams with fried plantains on top. I even took some leaps of faith trying the goat, which was also delicious.
Warm, bright place will lovely people and even better food. I will be back and often!
Iyanze is casual, inexpensive, hearty and vegetarian-friendly.
This bright and open dining space cheers up a pretty bedraggled strip of Broadway. The staff is friendly and it's definitely helpful to see what you're ordering, thanks to the buffet-style presentation.
We both had the $4.99 lunch special, which gets you two items + drink. Excellent value! I had the bean casserole, which was perfectly spiced and very filling, along with the fried plantains. The BF had fish and jollof rice. The rice was less spicy than the Ghanaian version I've had before, but delicious nonetheless. The only disappointment was they were out of kenke, a variety of fufu made from fermented corn meal that is sooo good.
Highly recommended, especially if you love ethnic food but have little or no experience with West African cuisine.
i'm a recovering spice wimp/picky eater. i'm not ashamed. that being said, i was a little nervous about venturing to an african restaurant, as my only previous experience was tasting a friend's sierra leonian fish (that sounds dirty) that was spicier than 10,000 hellfires and left me literally crying for about 2 hours.
imagine my delight when i walked into iyanze to be greeted by 3 of the friendliest employees ever! upon noticing our confused stares as we looked at all the tasty looking food lined up cafeteria style in front of us, we were given a complete run down of each dish, and even got to sample many of them! AMAZING customer service! and say what you will, but i like knowing what i'm about to put in my mouth....
i spent $13 (+ tip) and got 3 enormous meals worth of food! there were some great flavors here, and the food is so cheap that i got to try some of everything that i liked! standouts were the plantains, yams, spinach with melon seed, and my favorite- smashed beans with black sauce.
the prices, proximity to my apt, delicious food, and absolutely outstanding staff guarantee that i'll be back!
also, BYOB!!!!!!!!
I went there for the first time and I have to admit i was quiet impressed. It was pretty empty but the decoration gave a good vibe to the restaurant. It could be friendly place where you could watch soccer games on the flat screen TVs sipping on some Palm wine or just a place to go with a bunch of friends to grab quick and tasty Nigerian food. The food was good (Fish and goat stew over rice = deadly combination).
I know you can find similar type of food in the area but I thought this place stood out because of it's setting.
I was invited here by a friend and it was not my favorite. I am not a big fan of spicy food and most food has a lot of spice or hot flavors. Most meats have bones. Another friend did enjoy the food. For me, the goat was tough to eat (though it was my first experience). The fried rice and plantains were ok. Rice and Beans were pretty spicy. They sort of have a cafeteria style of ordering. The night we went, they had a show upstairs, which was very nice. I probably would not go back again.
Seriously: I don't get the enthusiasm for this place. I ducked in one Sunday afternoon, after a long day of cleaning house, for a quick and cheapish meal. The place was hopping with African groups and families, and I liked the celebratory Sunday vibe. But, oh, the food. Sigh.
The server who helped me was really sweet - everyone behind the counter seemed to be a teenager, for some reason - and she made a point of going to the kitchen to get me some just-cooked catfish stew to go with my yam fufu, because the catfish in the bin was running low (it was part of my order). All of this cost less than $6.00, but while it was a cheap meal, the taste left a lot to be desired. The fish was a hair undercooked, and the stew it comes in tasted mostly of hot chilis. After a while, when my taste buds had become used to the slightly raw taste of chilis, I could taste an undercurrent of tomatoes. But it was a hard dish to eat, unless you're willing to go in with your fingers and pound the fufu into the stew, which I wasn't in the mood for. I can eat with my hands, but I wasn't in the mood for it on this harried morning. Combine one slightly undercooked and extremely bony piece of catfish with a tiny lake of red hot stew, and you end up with a somewhat haphazardly made and sloppy dish entirely lacking in complexity.
Iyanze's chief merit is that the food is not, as far as I can tell, frozen and then defrosted, as is the tendency with most West African restaurants in Chicago. It's the place to go if you have very little money to spend on freshly cooked food, and don't expect too much. I think this place has potential, and could be a great go-to neighborhood place for cheap and good food. Right now, it's cheap and not-so-good.
Meh. They like white people here. I'm a person of colour, and I feel that definitely affected the… Read more »
Oh man, am I ever glad I picked this restaurant to adventure to! SO.....DAMN........GOOD!!!!! I had no idea what I was doing, so the very friendly woman at the counter gave us a couple dishes with some things to taste, and we picked from there. We had jerk chicken--reaaaalllllyyy juicy and good.....so tasty! The bean casserole--to die for! Super good! Coconut rice, which was obviously good, as a combination of coconut and rice would have to be. We also had plantains, which tasted different than I thought they would, but not unpleasant. Kind of like a cross between a banana and a potato. Peanut soup--yummy!! Fufu, which was different......kind of like firm mashed potatoes, but with hardly any flavor. Again, not unpleasant. I dipped small bites into the peanut soup, which was tasty.
Lastly, and most memorably, was the bright red goat stew we had. Oh yum! Yum yum yum yum yum yum! This was my fave. Not only was the goat meat delicious, the stew sauce was crazy good. I could drink the leftover sauce, it was that good!
All in all, I was super pleased that my meal was fabulous, and that things tasted just as good as I was hoping they would. I would recommend it, and will definitely go back!
See this? *points to stomach* This is where my baby lives... my food baby.
I had read about a new West African restaurant opening up a few weeks ago in Uptown on Broadway, I became curious. Intrigued if you will. Many northern African food stops, but one claiming some West siiiide! vibe to it? Investigations must be made. A monthly dinner visitation of the Sarah G, Jeff B and our friend Matt became the perfect opportunity to sample this cuisine.
Let's talk about where you are eating this phenom food. Basically Wilson and Broadway. Is it homey and comforting? No, its a little like a really nice cafeteria, but you know what, the staff totally makes up for it, including the owner, Manu. His staff is over the top friendly, encouraging, smiling, helpful, because that is the way the owner is, let me explain. We came in with bottles of wine, because as of right now it is BYO however in a few weeks they will be going full bar style, hearing that we did, he explained that there was a corkage fee and then asked us if we had ever been to Iyanze. Nope. Never. He made us feel like it was his personal mission to make us feel like a welcomed member of his family. He took us through the entire menu, kept having us try and sample all sorts of dishes, chicken, rice, beans, sauces, etc... I was a little worried we would fill up, don't worry we didn't. He also explained everything, how it fit in to the meal, how what typically worked with what, but how did it taste? Damn good. Not just good. Damn. Good. The goat was great, the sizzling chicken and jerk chicken were dishing out more flavor than I thought was around. Coconut rice was addicting, the fufu was an experience, (think a stiffer mashed potato, its made of a root vegetable, rolled in to a ball, picked up and ate with your sauces), the list goes on and on. Too be honest my mind was just overwhelmed, but my mouth followed right along. A couple of notes, don't expect most cuts of meat to be prime rib, may are stew meats, but that means they are cooked long and slow and are tender and flavorful. Also, do be careful when eating, some dishes are cooked with fish, which means bones, so heads up.
We ate two and a half tables worth of food, or probably about two dozen or so dishes, for just over $85.00. $85? For four people? If you saw how much we ate, (um and again, if you could see our food babies growing), its totally affordable. It just opened up, but we also got the low down of the reopening of Bolat in early August late July. Just. You. Wait. What you shouldn't wait for is getting your butt down here for an experience for not only your mind, your eyes, but for sure your taste buds!
It's the resurrection of the now defunct, venerable Bolat West African restaurant that was on N. Clark street in Wrigleville. This new Iyanze restaurant is bigger, better, modern, beautiful, up to date... and the food seems to have followed suit with the upgrade. You get everything in bigger quantities. Basic staples like jolloff rice, fried rice, pounded yam, white rice with stew, fried plantains, goat meat, oxtails, fresh vegetable soups, fried fish, meat pies... i mean it goes on and on. Patrons will appreciate the more cohesive process of food ordering, almost like a buffet style, but it's served for you - as you get to see your food before you as you order.
Big, flat screen TVs grace the walls, and there's also an upstairs spacious dining room that may double at a lounge or space for dance parties. Bathrooms are bigger and better, obviously, and convieniently located on each floor, as opposed to the former location.
This is a wonderful addition to the Uptown Neighborhood... residents will find it to be a refreshing alternative when it comes to "ethnic eats". Can't wait to go back.
Writing this review as I dine on Iyanze's delicious food...very tasty. I'd only ever tried African cuisine once, and was clueless as to what I would like. The staff there made a whole plate of samples for me to try and waited patiently as I tried each one.
The ordering was a bit confusing. They have lunch specials for 4.99, most of which includes a rice and a meat or fish. I wanted rice and a vegetable (not included in the lunch special) and ended up having to pay for each item seperately, and it was more expensive to do it this way.
The food though is fantastic. The staff really smily and helpful. I took my food to go, but the dining area looks really nice too. Hope this place sticks around.
I've been here twice, and both times the owner gave us platefuls of samples for the uninitiated in the group. He also said, endearingly, "Welcome to Africa!" I love the quick, cafeteria-style service and the fact that you can spend about ten bucks a person (including tip!) and leave completely full. The plantains are some of the best I've had, and not as greasy as they are at most restaurants; every kind of rice is fantastic; and the bean casserole and bean cake are two things I'll order every time I go. And I plan to go regularly.
As others have pointed out, the staff here are very very friendly and enthusiastic about their food. The three of us walked in, and obviously had no idea what we were doing. One of us was absolutely sure he would not like the food (he's definitely not the most adventurous person around), so he was just gonna watch us eat. The host immediately started bringing out samples of 1/2 the items they had, describing in detail the differences and how they should be paired. After sampling the various items, our dissenter had changed his mind, having found the food to be quite tasty and palatable, even for his narrow view of food. All three of us ended up ordering different items, and we all walked away very satisfied and pleasantly surprised with the experience. If I lived in Chicago, I would definitely go back, and it is a great place to take some for an intro in west African cuisine, as well as a great place to slowly warm up the timid or ignorant into trying something a little more exotic than Applebee's. I can't compare it to other African foods, but I have made my way around the rest of the world's cuisines, and it definitely has its place as a must try.
Extremely friendly place. Most definitely worth a try, especially during lunch.
Yesterday I didn't even know what West African food was. Now, I have a new favorite cuisine! Although this isn't in the best location (I wouldn't go alone at night), don't let that deter you from trying one of the BEST spots for good ethnic food I have found in Chicago. While most ethnic spots have less than stellar ambiances I found the interior at Iyanze to be warm and inviting! The real draw though is the food. I had the coconut rice (out of this world and a must order) along with a traditional Nigerian bean casserole. I usually don't care for beans but this was one of the tastiest dishes I have ever tried in my life! The plantains were great too (although they are pretty hard to screw up) and I had a spinach side which was good but I probably wouldn't order it again. For all this I spent about $13 and only needed about half - portions are BEYOND HUGE! Before I digged in I was kind of excited to have leftovers for two days but everything was so delicious that I kept eating until there was nothing left and I had to unbotton my jeans. Always a good sign! Another great thing abut Iyanze is that you order at the counter so you don't have to tip which also makes this a good place for a group. Highly recommended and just remember to try the beans and coconut rice!
Did you like Bolat? Me too. Did you sometimes not want to go to Bolat because of the invariably long wait for the meal to transpire? Well then Iyanze seems to be the solution. Do you mind cafeteria style service? No. Me either. Do you mind paying less for reduced table service? No. Me either. I really enjoy the food. And they are very accommodating to vegetarians (i.e they made something fresh and brought it to the table when ready). Peanut soup with pounded yam, Bean casserole with fried plantains, and the spinach with tomato sauce are my favorites. Inexpensive, quick and delicious = Awesome.
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