Le Baobab Cuisine in Brighton and Hove

Good food cooked with soul. Recommend the lamb ribs and chicken. Hearty portions. Only 5 days in Brighton but we will be back.

Really enjoyed our meal at this cosy restaurant. Food terrific, service friendly and loved the gentle background African music. A great advert for Senegal and its culture!

Amazing homely African food in a lovely warm and cosy atmosphere. It felt like being invited into the dinning room of dear friend.

Wow what interesting tasty food. We had 3 different platters one meat, one fish & one vegetable. It was so flavoursome and delicious. Would highly recommend

a tiny place. 20 covers. lots of african elements and gentle music. african boho. warm welcome. excellent Mojito. limited, inexpensive but acceptable wine choice. good menu. wide choice of fish, meat and veggie options. true to its promise of authenticity. tasty and so different. delicious. one had yassa chicken the other lamb. 3 sides, 2 of veg and 1 of rice. sauces of onions, lime and french mustard. gently spiced. 2 mains, 3 sides, 1 mojito and 1 bottle sauvignon blanc for £67. We loved it. Would definitely visit again. Not your usual.

We had an amazing time in Le baobab. The lamb was soft and tasteful, the whole dish was really delicious. The staff is friendly and the chef came out after finishing. We can highly recommend!

We found Le Baobab on a Friday night where it was difficult to get a table at most places in Brighton. By rights, this place should have had a massive queue because the food was outstanding and the service wonderful. Extremely happy to have eaten here and I urge everyone reading this review to try it out.

This is a wonderful restaurant with a great chef. The food is delicious and menu varied, although I must say I never order of the menu I just ask the chef to cook what he wants and its always been delicious. It's only a small restaurant so best to book a table to save disappointment. The prices are very reasonable. Enjoy

I ate at Le Baobab Cuisine restaurant this evening and it was incredible. I am so glad a tried a new place in Brighton. I have never had Senegalese food before and now I have a new favorite place to eat. We asked the chef to recommend both food and drink and he served a stunning platter that was unlike anything I have eaten in a long time. I am looking forward to going back - for the food and the unique cocktails [Hibiscus Mojitos]. 5 STARS all the way. Totally unpretentious and completely refreshing. Check it out!

Ate here before a gig with friends. Really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. I'd not eaten Senegalese food before so it was really different but good. I recommend the Mafe Chicken. The peanut sauce was delicious. It was packed out on a Saturday at 7pm so I would advise making a booking.

We stumbled upon this gem when wandering through the lanes looking for a late night meal. We were greeted with warmth and top notch hospitality. The setting is cheerful and authentic staying true to the Senegalese theme. The chef created a fish of the day platter for us to share accompanied by some fresh mango mojitos. Delicious! So happy to have discovered this tasty delight - will definitely be back again!

Amazing quality lile home-made food, everything is fresh and super tasty. Great service and atmosphere. Even grater value for money. You must try it

just wondering down the North Laines for something to eat and came across this place that I was informed had only just opened due to the epidemic (was supposed to be last yr) they currently have a limited choice but were happy to accommodate and recommend and really went out of their way to make sure they had what you wanted and make you happy. Really friendly and helpful and I hope to visit again when hopefully their full menu will be available so that I can experience some more different tasty food. Also the mojito's were refreshing in the heat (weather)

Went to La Baobab on their first day of opening since lockdown. They accommodated for a group of us to celebrate a birthday, the host was lovely and the food delicious. We all had the chefs special tasting menu that they were offering that evening. Thank you so much, we all had a lovely evening!

This is the only Senegalese restaurant in England that I am aware of. It was a great experience with delicious food. The service was very friendly, and we all got little fresh fruit treats at the end - a lovely way to complete a meal and go home with a smile.

This is the first time I've tried Senegalese food and was delighted by the very reasonably priced, delicious fresh fish and friendly welcome. Will definitely go back again.

Not only is this an authentic experience, but the food is also fresh and very tasty. The staff at Le Baobab is lovely and inviting

Ottimo il cibo, il pesce é fresco e squisito, la cucina leggera e gustosa. L'atmosfera è intima e confortevole... Con mia madre abbiamo deciso di tornarci più di una sera durante la nostra permanenza a Brighton e non siamo mai state smentite, le serate sono sempre state piacevoli e ci siamo trovate davvero bene!

3 starters not available on the menu, vague explanation as to why, “sometimes he doesn’t make things”. Long wait for very overcooked prawns, we could hardly peel them. Main course was bland with more overcooked prawns and squid that was inedible. The bream was just about palatable, but I was very hungry. I pointed out the food was overcooked and the waiter said “hmm rubbery?” Like that was normal, then they walked off. Talking to the chef afterwards I quietly said I thought the fish had been overcooked, the response was “no one has ever said my food is overcooked, no one has ever complained about my food!” I felt a bit threatened and I don’t believe it for a minute, more a case of an arrogant chef who will not listen. The wine was cheap and nasty. There was no extraction, it smelled of old oil and I stank of it when I got home. Both the waiter and chef and my friend and I have lived in Bologna, a city of wonderful food and excellent standards in hospitality, it is unsurprising this team couldn’t compete there. But then Brighton is a friendly city too..

Encontramos este restaurante completamente por casualidad.La pareja que lo dirigió fue increíblemente amable y acogedora.La comida era absolutamente fantástica, y definitivamente fue la mejor comida que tuvimos durante nuestra estancia en Brighton.Nuestra fiesta consistía en dos veganos y un vegetariano, y teníamos mucha comida entre nosotros. Hubo algunas opciones, pero elegimos el especial vegetariano, que era básicamente 3 de las opciones vegetarianas. Realmente fue excelente.

Go for the Fish dish just amazing and the empanadas to start were lovely. Amazing food, cooked by a passionate chef and attentive and knowledgeable staff. All round amazing meal.

¡Acabamos de visitar este pequeño y peculiar lugar y quedamos impresionados por la buena calidad y la excelente combinación de especias! Podríamos sentir la pasión del cocinero con cada bocado! Mi prometido viene de África occidental y dijo que la autenticidad de la comida lo llevó a casa. Además de eso, la camarera estaba muy ocupada pero mantuvo su hermosa sonrisa todo el tiempo y también hizo un gran trabajo. ¡Ahora que conocemos este lugar definitivamente regresaremos a esta pequeña joya! También tocaron buena música que creó un ambiente aún más auténtico. ¡Sigue! ! !

I really haven’t experienced such friendly and welcoming people in such a long Time. There was a clear and genuine kindness. AND THE FOOD was fabulous. A different spice range that I really enjoyed. HIGHLY reccomended. :)

La comida está recién hecha, así que espera un poco, pero vale la pena. Teníamos pescado que era increíble y fruta fresca del desierto con una botella de vino y un cóctel cada uno. El precio era razonable y el personal era encantador. Una experiencia realmente agradable, aunque es pequeña, es muy acogedora y en un área en la que no he comido antes.

It was my husband's birthday yesterday and he had fancied going here for a while. I made a telephone booking a for lunch, but when we arrived it was closed and all shuttered up. Very disappointing. What happened?????????

I went there because it always looked incredibly cosy from the outside. I was very disappointed with my experience, especially since the pricing really doesn't reflect what is entailed in the service and food. Firstly we waited for at least 15 min for the waitress to take our order, and then another 45 (!!) to get our food, which was essentially just steamed fish and vegetables, bland and nothing special. The waitress apologised and said that they had gotten the order mixed up, but no money was taken off our bill or anything offered to make up for it. Then we waited for another 20 - 25 min (!!!) for them to give us the bill after we had requested it. In the end we went up to the bar and just paid for it there. And I have to add that there is zero ventilation in the venue, so that my eyes kept burning/watering and I had to go out for fresh air a few times. The only good thing were the mojitos, which were actually quite nice.

This place is just amazing! Fresh fish and seafood cooked in a perfect way. And if you don’t eat fish, the vegetarian dishes are also great! The chef, Abou, is from Senegal and he mix his African cuisine with some Italian touch and it’s just delicious, he is a very good chef! His wife is sometimes working there together with one more girl and they are both very sweet and caring and want to make sure that you get the best experience as a guest. I brought my boyfriend there who’s also a chef and my family (my father does a lot of fishing back home) and all of them loved the food. I also love how the place looks like, a very nice and simple atmosphere with some African music in the background

Perfect service, the food was the absolute best we've had in ages. Huge portions and perfectly cooked. We will be going regularly 😁

This is a cosy little Senegalese place and we had been meaning to check it out for a while. The waitress was very friendly and welcoming and did her best to make us comfortable in the somewhat cramped interior. We ordered 2 rum cocktails, although I was sorry to see that there was only white rum - I love a dark or golden rum and that would have been perfect with the mango juice (not fresh, from a carton)! Sadly also, the mango and mint combination did not work for me, I think it resulted in a bitter taste.

After walking around for about an hour we stumbled across this tiny restaurant. Although they had reservations they squeezed us in. Food was delicious and even my 7 year old ate all of it. To top off the evening the lady maked me a cake that wasn't on the menu while we ate. It was beautiful and delicious. Staff very friendly and cocktails are cheap. Thank you

i went on a friday night arriving at seven we waited 20 minutes to get a menu the foodthen took nearly an hour for the first course to be served during which time people came in waited at there table and left (three groups).the main course arrive at 9-30 and was not what was ordered the people i was with ate theirs my order was contained substances to which i am allurgic and was taken back by 10-00 my hunger over took me and i left and got a subways sandwich

We were looking for somewhere to go for dinner and stumbled across here.

From the minute we walked in we knew we'd found something special, the place is so different to anywhere else we'd been to in Brighton - the music, and the uniqueness of the room made us feel like we were on holiday somewhere exotic.

I had not tried Senegalese food before. I had a tasty vegan meal and was offered a small taste of a couple of juices I had not had before to make up my mind (I went for the baobab one). My partner had a good sized plate of well cooked seafood.

We stopped here randomly for dinner, and were ushered inside by the lovely wait staff. The atmosphere was vibrant, music was great, smells from the kitchen were amazing. The wait staff were all so attentive and friendly!

Small, quaint restaurant a little off the beaten track but the food is amazing. Would thoroughly recommend a visit as you will not be disappointed!

Even though the restaurant was not quite open I was welcomed in and seated & offered water I requested a fish dish and left this to the chief Aboo’s discreation he presented me with a wonderful plate of African vegetables rice salad and a fantastic whole fish the decor & music complimented the whole experience as a person with a mild disability it was so nice to have been treated in such a wonderful way nothing was too much trouble for the lovely lady who served me

I was walking through North Laines with my girlfriend and we stumbled across Le Baobab. The menu looked interesting so we sat down. I ordered the salad Ocean La Mbourise. Which has prawns, calamari, grapefruit and orange on a bed of green leaves. It was delicious and the prawns were huge!!

Beware - website out of date. Opening times incorrect. We travelled ten miles to eat and it was closed. Needs further research.

The restaurant is informal and friendly, the staff are friendly, the menu is small and pricey but vegetarian/vegan friendly. Most of all, the food is amazing. To me it was something completely new and I had never had Senegalese food before but I loved it.

I have never tried Senegalese food before, and I’m definitely feeling it!

When we arrived, the chef came from the kitchen, said no starters were available as he was short staffed.

This is a small friendly restaurant serving Senegalese dishes. Having never been to Senegal I was not sure what to expect but anticipated spicy food in line with using scotch bonnet chillies on their website. On this count there was very little evidence of any kick and to my taste the food was too bland.

The food is excellent. We tried veggie, fish and meat dishes and they were all amazing.

This is the first time I had been to Brighton and it was our last night. We were walking by the restaurant and a warm man spoke to us, welcoming us into his restaurant. The warmth of his smile was an instant attraction to the place so we decided to choose to eat here for dinner. It's a little independent place with a cosy atmosphere and relaxing traditional music. As suggested by the smiley female waitress, we ordered the Easter specials, including a vegetarian dish made of black eyed beans, a lamb dish and a seafood dish. We waited around 20 minutes for the food, which we considered acceptable, as the chef cooked the food from fresh (it was only 1 man in the kitchen). When it came out, it smelt delicious and it was true. It was the most beautiful, wholesome meal I had eaten in a while, warming us up from the cold wind outside. I can't fault it really, the flavours were powerful, not spicy but not bland. A unique blend of flavours! I can't fault the service either. Both the waitress and the chef did a fabulous job of meeting our needs, balancing time between the several customers. Overall, a brilliant experience and I can't fault anything! See you again soon :)

This was the first time I’ve tried Senegalese food and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The flavours are delicious and you can tell everything is freshly prepared. The menu is extensive and there are wonderful choice of treats to pick from!

I had been wanting to go to Le Baobab for a long time, and maybe I built my hopes up too high. First, it took them MORE THAN AN HOUR to serve us. At this point we should've just left. They forgot our coffee until when we were about to leave, despite the fact it was the first we ordered.

It's my first time trying Senegalese food and it didn't disappoint. I ordered the Senegalese Chicken Curry

it was our fault really we could see the disappointment coming and still stayed. It is a charming if not particularly clean place. we tried to order fish, but that was sold out ( in Brighton?). we then settled for pork chops. I ordered potatoes as my side and my sister went with roasted veg. somehow they both got the exact same thing with some beans on the side. it felt like we were given everything they had to get rid off. The wait staff was nice but uninterested. A shame really because the other groups at the neighbouring tables look very pleased.

Having travelled frequently in West Africa, we were delighted to discover a West African restaurant had opened in our home town of Brighton. We certainly weren't disappointed. We went with two friends and therefore had a range of starters and mains. My sardines were delicious and my husband's avocado vinaigrette was light and tasty. The seafood dish was huge and well cooked as was the chicken curry, which I had. The spices and seasoning were done to perfection. We all had a starter, a main, side and a shared mango and only paid £70 for the four of us. Be prepared with cash as their card machine wasn't working and remember toBYOB as they don't have their licence yet. The music, decor and atmosphere are great. Definitely worth a try!

The place is nice decorated and the staff is very friendly. The food was simple but nice so it fulfilled my expectations. I recommend to go if you feel like having a little taste of something different.

La comida estuvo muy buena y la atención de primera! muchas opciones vegetarianas y veganas! Es una gran alternativa.

Ho scelto di andare in questo ristorantino perchè curiosa di provare la cucina senegalese ma sia io che la mia amica siamo rimaste un po' poco convinte. Il posto è davvero microscopico e bisogna prenotare, l'ambiente è comunque quello che ci sia può aspettare da un ristorante senegalese ed è grazioso e accogliente. La ragazza che prendeva le ordinazioni è stata sempre sorridente e gentile e questo è sicuamente un valore aggiunto del posto ma i piatti non facevano onore al resto. Abbiamo preso Fataya (empanadas) e Pastel (dumplings) come antipasto e li abbiamo presi in versione Veggie. A parte la forma, sembrava che il ripieno e l'involucro fossero gli stessi quindi non è cambiato molto dall'uno all'altro, può darsi anche ci fosse realmente qualcosa di diverso ma non abbastanza da farsi notare. Poi siamo passate al piatto principale, la mia amica inglese ha voluto assaggiare l'Orata (Sea Bream) che non l'aveva mai provata, purtoppo la ragazza asiatica al servizio (non la stessa degli ordini), ha portato un Sea Bass e quando lo stava per appoggiare al tavolo le ho detto "Sea Bream!" e lei ha risposto "Yes, sea bream" e l'ha lasciato alla mia amica. Purtoppo per lei sono italiana e riconosco bene la differenza fra l'uno e l'altro e questa cosa non mi è piaciuta molto, ho comunque tranquillizzato la mia amica inglese dicendole che il Branzino è comunque un ottimo pesce e similare all'Orata, la cottura era buona e la mia amica non si è lamentata. Io ho preso le Thiou Boulette (Fish balls), nel complesso non male, piccole tenere polpettine di pesce, leggermente salate però, ma questo non comprometteva il piatto che ra completato da riso e verdure. Come dolce abbiamo preso il soufflè di cioccolato ma in realtà era un tortino di cioccolato fondente e non un soufflè. La mia amica ha preso infine un tè alla menta che aveva già provato un'altra volta solo che la volta prima lo han servito con la menta fresca e questa volta con la bustina...insomma è andata un po' così così. In generale comunque mi aspettavo una cucina più speziata. Da tener presente anche che non hanno la licenza per gli alcolici e se si vuole bere una bottiglia di vino bisogna ricordarsi di premunirsi, noi l'abbiamo fatto!

For a larger person it is very difficult to sit at the table as they are very low.

Such a great little find, tucked away in the lanes near the station, this a cute little place to head for dinner with fab atmosphere. Only about 5 or 6 tables so it feels very intimate and cosy. The food is fresh and delicious and unusual. We had a big plate of fresh fish, cous cous, sweet potato and various other sauces (as pictured). Very rare to find Senegalese food in UK. Can't wait to go back.

This small restaurant in heart of Brighton has so much to offer. We went on a Thursday night but the place was full. There was only one server but she managed the situation really well. Food was great and serving size is larger than usual, which makes it a great value for your money. If you are in town, you should definitely go to Le Baobab Cuisine. It will be worth the visit!!

A perfect place for dinner during the calm of summer holidays with only four couples dining. Delicious and very reasonably priced meals. The empandas are wonderful. Great Senegalese (I assume) music in the background. Smiling service from Giulia, but if there's a bigger crowd and Giulia's alone in the tightly-spaced dining room I can imagine the service could become challenging!

I was already familiar with Laye's excellent cuisine from Bologna, Italy. Laye's stand was often present in conjunction with Bologna's diverse multicultural food scene, especially in relation to the "Human Rights Night Film Festival", a festival on human right films that Giulia Grassilli has been organizing in Bologna for more than 15 years. In conjunction with the festival, there has always been a variety of food shacks and among these Laye's stood out for quality and freshness. A true expression of love for his Senegalese roots, especially in the preparation of seafood. I knew that both Laye and Giulia had landed in Brighton lately and, on the occasion of a visit there, I had the pleasure of checking out their new creation, Le Baobab. Here was a small miracle! Without much else than their enthusiasm and entrepreneurship, they had realised a small but beautiful, welcoming, cosy, little place right in the centre of Brighton, where Laye was finally able to devote his attention, in a more systematic and focused manner that had been possible in Bologna, to the preparation of his beloved Senegalese food. I was served the specialty that I had always savoured, wonderfully prepared by Laye, a precious sea bass, fresh, juicy, delicious -- that Giulia and Laye go and get fresh every morning from Brighton's own fisheries. My companion tasted some great shrimps, done in a Senegalese-style tomato sauce that I also strongly recommend. I came away from Le Baobab sorry that Bologna had lost wonderful food but certain that Brighton would secure it for future visitors from Bologna in an even more wonderful version!

I went with my brother to try something different. We were both really impressed firstly by the nice decor and the welcoming staff.

As a Vegan couple we are always looking for new restaurants to try that offer Vegan options. A firm believe that if someone is going to offer Vegan food then we should give them a go!

The food was nice, it's just a real shame the service was so slow. We waited about 40 minutes for our starter to arrive then another long period of time for the main course. We were very hungry! All in all a strange restaurant experience.

This is a newly opened restaurant and has an interesting Senegalese restaurant. The food was excellent and the joint Italian owner offered very friendly service. It's a fairly small place so I would recommend booking.

I have been to Le Baobab twice. [It has not been open for long]. The decor is striking- vibrant Senagalese art hangs on the walls, and a picture of a big Baobab, and it looks very cool. The food is why we came back again...the pastal fritters were the best thing I have eaten all year! The chicken was also good[not quite enough sauce, perhaps].

AbsolutelyI yummy Senegalese food. Food well seasoned. Vegan and vegetarian type of food also available. I will definitely come again.