Restaurants in Burkina Faso
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Éspace Gondwana
Wow! Tucked away to the east of Ouaga, this stunning restaurant is the city's most atmospheric. The restaurant has a courtyard where music is often played, and the three dining rooms are richly adorned with masks (all for sale) and traditional furniture. Each room is themed in a different style - Gourounsi, Mauritanian and a Tuareg tent. The food is also splendid, from the brochette de capitaine, sauce Hollandaise and bite-sized tapas to the banana cake for dessert. It also has the widest selection of masks that we found in Ouaga, and prices are agreeable. Everything's for sale here (including the furnishings) except, as one waiter pointed out, the staff.
There's also a…
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Restaurant Akwaba
Friendly service, decent African food and spectacularly kitsch ceiling fans (they even turn them on sometimes but only when you ask) are the order of the day here. The mainly Ivorian dishes take a while to prepare but the foutou (sticky yam or plantain paste) is strangely addictive and goes perfectly with the poulet de kedjenou (slowly simmered chicken with peppers and tomatoes). The brochette de capitaine also stands out.
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Le Coq Bleu
You get what you pay for here - the menu is pricey but the French cooking is of the highest order. It's the sort of place to consider when you've been on the African road for a while and you're looking to stimulate jaded taste buds with a touch of class. The blue décor is tasteful and soothing, but the schmaltzy background music will have you scraping off the wallpaper. It also has a well-stocked bar.
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Sindabal's
Most travellers who come to Ouaga on a budget end up here at some point. It's a low-key place with a varied menu (including spaghetti bolognese and some Lebanese dishes) and the only downside - vaguely disconcerting street smells at the outdoor tables if the wind's blowing the wrong way - could easily apply to any outdoor place in town. It's not a brilliant place but it's one of a kind in Ouaga.
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Restaurant l'Eau Vive
This Ouagadougou institution is run by an order of nuns and promises an air-conditioned haven from the clamour outside; there's also a garden dining area out the back. The menu is mainly French but has the occasional nod to African flavours. Profits go to the order's charitable works and, for the truly surreal bit, don't be surprised if you're there at 21:30 and the nuns burst into song.
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Baratapas
Baratapas, just around the corner from the STMB bus station, comes very close to being our new favourite place in Ouaga. The courtyard is filled with the innovative work of local artists and occasional exhibitions, the food is excellent and creative, and Alain, the owner, is a delight. The salads in particular are enormous. In short, we can't recommend this place highly enough.
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Restaurant l'Entente
This simple restaurant has a wide-ranging menu of African and European staples, but it's a rare day that all menu items are available. Waiters are laid-back and friendly, but the best thing about this place are the street-facing tables on the veranda - a wonderfully chilled place to watch the streetlife of Bobo passing by. It's also one of the few restaurants to do breakfast.
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Restaurant de Chine
If you believe expats and wealthy locals (and there's no reason not to) this is Ouaga's best Chinese restaurant. After spending time in Ouaga's markets you'll wonder where they get the fine cuts of meat and the freshest of ingredients. Not surprisingly, it's a popular place, especially on weekends when the extensive and varied menu and the attentive service draw the crowds.
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Monopole Plus
This pleasant outdoor bar-restaurant does salads, brochettes and sandwiches for starters, and a range of African-flavoured beef, chicken and fish dishes for mains. The yassa poulet riz blanc is especially good. There's also a swimming pool around which are pleasant straw paillotes and, in the evening, wealthy locals looking to pick up.
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Maquis Le Pouvoir
This central and popular outdoor place offers good and well-priced African staples, with plenty of foutou and grilled meats, and a few nods to European tastes in the form of hamburgers. It's a slightly classier atmosphere than your average maquis and is as popular with expats as with locals. Highly recommended.
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Restaurant Dan Kan
With agreeable outdoor (but covered) tables, very reasonable prices and a varied menu, Restaurant Dan Kan is an excellent deal. It's kept spotlessly clean and service is attentive. If you just eat riz sauce or couscous and drink tamarind juice, you'll be well-fed. Highly recommended.
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La Sorbetière
This fine pâtisserie may lure you in with promises of ice cream, but there's rarely any available. There is, however, a spick-and-span dining room where they serve up excellent pastries (the croissants are good for breakfast) or reasonable sandwiches, pizza slices and hamburgers.
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Café des Pros
Inside the Village Artisanal, Café des Pros allows you to combine eating and shopping, and is therefore convenient if you're down this way. The food (spaghetti or riz sauce) is simple, and takes a while to cook, but it's quiet, pleasant and reasonably priced.
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L'Eau Vive
The sister venue to the restaurant of the same name in Ouagadougou, and also run by nuns, L'Eau Vive offers imaginative French cooking and a varied menu. Main dishes all come with potatoes or vegetables and the dining area offers a star-filled canopy of the night sky.
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La Forêt
One of Ouaga's longest-standing restaurants with African specialties, this upmarket place ranges around a pleasant shady garden. It's not the most extensive menu in town but they do offer a few selections each day, all well prepared.
reviewed
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Le Cave à Vins
Stepping inside this sophisticated, French-run wine boutique is like momentarily escaping Ouaga for the south of France. Although it's aimed more at the expat market, prices for French wines are surprisingly reasonable.
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Chez Tante Propre
Some of the more rustic places stay open as late as there are customers. Chez Tante Propre is a wildly popular hole in the wall where they turn out yogurt sandwiches and simple rice dishes.
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Le Québécoise
For a more Western experience, try Le Québécoise, which is Canadian-run and probably does Ouaga's best hamburgers, plus other North American specialties.
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Boulangerie Pâtisserie la Bonne Miche
A little bit cheaper but less spick-and-span than others, this pâtisserie two blocks southeast of the market has excellent bread and a range of pastries.
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Balmaya Snack Café Restaurant
If you're staying at Fondation Charles Dufour, try Balmaya Snack Café Restaurant, which belongs in the no-frills but cheap-and-cheerful genre.
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Marina Market
Opposite the Grand Mosquée, Marina Market has a wide selection (from Magnum ice creams to Special K breakfast cereal) and long opening hours.
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Top Senegalaise Restaurant
If you're staying at Fondation Charles Dufour, try Top Senegalaise Restaurant, which belongs in the no-frills but cheap-and-cheerful genre.
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Kiosque Nabonswende
Kiosque Nabonswende is a rustic place and is good for yogurt baguettes. It stays open as late as there are customers.
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Restaurant Yankadi
For a quick and cheap meal (mostly rice staples with sauce), try Restaurant Yankadi.
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Maxi Café
Maxi Café has good brochettes and they are open as long as there are customers.
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