Where to eat in Niamey

29 independent restaurants, bakeries and food spots in Niamey. Chains are left out.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

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Amandine Cakes
Lattes, goat cheese soup, pain de chocolat, pain des epinards, salads, sandwiches, Lebanese specialties, and many other good things. Bright, clean, and modern, it is a very popular favorite amongst anyone who enters its doors. Taxi to “Score” (by Petite Marché), and it’s right across the street.
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Bellissimo’s
A swanky rooftop escape overlooking Rond Point Maorey. Go up there for drinks, dinner, dancing late, pedicures, watching the world go by. Have a beer and watch the rond point for accidents and near misses.
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Baobab Senegalese Restaurant
Favourites include sauce d’arachide (peanut sauce) for CFA 800 including beef (more for chicken or fish), yassa (onion-based Senegalese specialty with veggies and meat) for CFA 800 including beef (more for chicken or fish) and spaghetti-poisson (spaghetti and fish) for CFA 2,000. They also have good bisap (sweetened hibiscus leave drink) for CFA 200 a small bottle. By some accounts, the best Senegalese food in Niamey. Good place to go if you are in the neighbourhood of either Grande Marché or Petite Marché.
Opens at 12:30, but the food arrives at 14:00. At night food is served from 19:00
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Byblos
Lebanese Cuisine. Take a taxi to "Pharmacie Yantala." This inviting restaurant offers the best in Lebanese fare. The mezzé is the meal to order: it’s a sampler platter of taboulé, hummus, baba ganouj, meat pies and other Lebanese delicacies for CFA 10,000: split it between 2-3 people. The falafels and chawermas are also very tasty. Service is friendly and efficient.
Opens at 19:30
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Chez Chin’s
Chinese. Good food and extremely popular. Has fresh noodles and hot pot (order one day in advance). Good date place because of its romantic atmosphere. Great for family meals because the service is fast and the kids can roam in the garden, look at the menagerie of animals or play on the swings and monkey bars. Located on Tillaberi Road, not far from Pharmacie Yantala. Taxi to OMS and it's across the street.
Lunch 10:30-14:00, dinner 17:30–23:00
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Dragon D’Or
Chinese. Dine al fresco or indoors. Air-con. Run by a Chinese family. The food is excellent. Can’t go wrong with this choice. Off the rondpoint Grand Hotel; look for the Christmas lights. Friday nights has Karaoke.
lunch 12:09-14:00, dinner 19:00-00:00
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Fast Food de L’Année
Delicious hamburgers for CFA 800 or teazburgers (cheeseburgers) for CFA 1,400. Probably the best burgers (stuffed with fries) in town. They also have egg burgers for the vegetarians, fries, omelettes, tuna burgers and lots of other stuff including soft drinks. There are two locations: 1) Take a taxi to “Centre Cultural Oumarou Ganda”, north of the Grande Mosquée. From there, walk north towards the yellow Sonitrav sign and look for their shop on corner of the next crossroads; 2) Take a taxi to Rond Point Grand Hotel and they are on the west side of the round point on the road that heads down to the Kennedy Bridge.
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Ghanaian Restaurant
Try the fufu, delicious at CFA 500/bowl, generous meat portions are extra. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, try the bonkou which is fermented corn dumplings with sauce. They also have soft drinks, PureWater, etc. Owners prefer to speak English. If you want a spoon you have to ask for it. Good place to go if you are in the neighbourhood of Grande Marché.
Open for lunch (around 12:30) or dinner, but usually closed Sundays.
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Grande Marché Hide-away
From Grande Marché’s Porte Principal (main entrance), head away from the marché. On your left, tucked in amongst other shops and hidden behind a bunch of street vendors, you’ll see a yellow-painted building with the Flag beer sign. Once you go in they have an enclosed shaded courtyard with wooden booths and tables. They have beer and cokes, and plenty of street food sellers are outside for various food options.
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Idrissa Nems
Cheap and good Chinese food. Tell the taxi Pharmacy Chateau Un. They will also deliver but you have to pay for the service and it is often a wait, so order early.
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Ile de Gorée Senegalese Restaurant
In Chateau 1 one can also have quality Senegalese food. Slightly higher prices than the other Senagalese places but still good. From the main Chateau 1 intersection, take the eastern road and it is just down a little way on the left.
Food is served from 12:30 until it runs out, and again in the evenings from around 19:00
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La Casbah
North African Cuisine. Coming from Tillaberi, turn onto Maurice Delens toward Mali Bero and then take the very first left. You’ll see the sign immediately. This delightful and attractively decorated restaurant serves delicious couscous dishes and traditional Algerian tadjines. Try the Salad Casbah as an appetizer with its variety of tomato, aubergine (eggplant) and green peppers. For the carnivore, try the Couscous Royale, which has a good portion of chicken, mutton and sausage brochettes. They also have a fine selection of cocktails including daiquiris. Service is first rate.
Opens at 19:30
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La Diamangou
French and African cuisine. On the Corniche Gamkalley. Dine on a boat. Sunday lunch by reservation only. Very slow service, but good food. Good for a change in atmosphere. It’s also possible to rent the boat and have your meal while cruising the Niger.
Serves lunch and dinner, but call ahead for times as it changesCFA 30,000 per person, minimum of 10 people
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La Pizzeria
Pizza and pasta. Take away or eat-in. A wide selection of pizza toppings, and the service is quick. Good, thin crusted pizza in a comfortable setting. Also great calzones. Great for children as they can watch the cook make the pizza. Near Rue de Combat, by Croissant d’Or on Rue du Commerce. Tell the taxi "Siege BIA", and it is just down the street on the right.
Tue-Sun lunch 11:30 - 13:30, dinner 18:30 - 22:30
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Le Bar Snob
Delicious and cheap food. Run by a woman of Asian descent. Call ahead the day before and order the Chinese soup (20.73.24.83). Ask a taxi for “Pharmacie Inikwara” and then walk north for half a block. Look for the big cement swan planters out front.
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Le Damsi Continental
Breakfast, lunch and dinner. A favourite among the expats because of its extensive and varied menu, including everything from burgers and pseudo-milkshakes to decent Chinese and even Japanese food. Try the pizza. Sonara I Building (same building as Air France) on Rue du Souvenir.
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Le Djinkounme
Great atmosphere, with dining outside or in a small hut. Food from all over western Africa. The menu has good descriptions, and the waitress helps you with your order to make sure you’ll like your meal. Excellent brochettes. Off Chateau Un on the same road as the BraNiger outlet, heading north.
Tue-Sun lunch from 12:30– 14:30, dinner 18:30–23:00
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Le Gawlo senegalese restaurant
Serves excellent senegalese dishes (not the fatty, oil-saturated dishes that you often find) for CFA 1,500, They also offer a range of natural juices like bissap, jus de baobab and ginger for CFA 250 a glass.
The restaurant opens during the day
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Le Gourmet
Another highly rated Lebanese restaurant tucked away in Chateau 1. Off the main road that turns into Maurice Delens. Look for the plaque, on the same side of the street as ChouBoy and Jojo Market.
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Le Pilier
Italian. Another expat favourite, especially for their desserts and their meals. Homemade pastas, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. They even have cappuccino and tiramisu. Everything on the menu is good. Located on Rue de la Tapoa.
Lunch 12:30-14:00, dinner from 18:30 – 23:30
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Le Shanghai
Chinese. Lunch and dinner. Dine indoors or outdoors. Air-con and private party rooms available. This restaurant is run by the same owners of Le Dragon D’Or. The food is very good. Located on Mali Bero, one block south from the intersection with Maurice Delens.
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Le Watta
Upscale Ivorian restaurant. Tell a taxi “Station Terminus” and then walk north ½ block. Not far from the Grand Hotel and Hotel Terminus. Serves “Western” and a variety of West African dishes. Friendly staff.
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L’Exotique
French and African cuisine. Service is a little slow but the ambiance makes the meal worth the wait. Located directly across from the Commisserate Central, 2 blocks past Dragon d’Or. Good seafood dishes and good pizza. Serves free bread with pimenty salsa. Local music groups Friday and Saturday nights starting at 21:00.
Opens at 18:00
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Maquis 2000
West African. Lunch and dinner. Very popular African restaurant for Westerners and Nigeriens. Owned by a Cote d’Ivorian, reasonably priced, nice ambiance. One plate and a few side dishes is enough for two. A little tough to find and very slow service but it’s worth the effort. Not far from the Eglise Baptiste.
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Maquis Africa Queen
Amazing food cooked by a sweet Cameroonian lady, plus cheap drinks, tucked away off the street. Ask what she has available for the day as the menu is flexible and the things that she has prepared for the day might not even be on the menu. Try the Soupe de Viande ou Poisson, an incredible meat soup with a Thai lemongrass flavour. Other delicious dishes are the Eba with sauce feuille (manioc fufu with a chapata topping that tastes like sautéed spinach), Eba with Ndole sauce (salty but good), and Riz Cantonais. (Again, some of the above are not on the menu so ask for them or ask what she has available that day.) There is also delicious steak with sautéed veggies, plus other basics like fries, petit pois, mixed salad, and aloco (plantains, when in season). Take a taxi to Rond Point Maourey. If you are facing the hotel, walk ½ block along the street that runs left of the hotel.
Prices are very reasonable, CFA 600-1,500 for most plates, and conjunctures are CFA 450
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Restaurant Atlantique aka Ziggy’s
Take a taxi to “Hotel Sahel”. Stop the taxi before he turns into the hotel. Walk 20 feet further down the road (east) and turn into the Piscine Olympique. Walk through the empty sandy ground, greet the friendly guardian on his pedal bike, walk behind the often-empty Olympic pool (but if it’s open you can go for a swim for CFA 1,000), and into the restaurant. Food and drinks are ordered separately and come on separate bills. Cokes are CFA 300, conjunctures (small Bière Niger) are CFA 600. Food options are brochettes (steak: say “filet”; merguez: beef sausage, tongue, liver, and kidney) for CFA 250, French fries, peas, green beans, and when in season, fried plantains; each of these dishes is CFA 1,000. They also have a tasty salad (at your own risk), ½ chicken, or full chicken. Great place to take newly-arrived visitors for sunset because of the unbeatable view.
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Restaurant Liberté
Take a taxi to Rond Point Liberté. Start walking in the direction of the Stade, and it is there on the right. It is run by a nice Sudanese guy who speaks English. The prices he gives you in English are in Nigerian naira, so you must multiply the price by 5 for the price in CFA. For instance, if he says CFA 200, it is really CFA 1,000. They have delicious steak, fries, salad, rice and sauce, etc. Nice place to go after a shopping trip to Grande Marché.
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Tabakady
French cuisine. Reservations required. A very pleasant restaurant, decorated with photos of the Sahara Desert and the Tuareg. If you ask in advance, the owner will show a slide presentation. The food is excellent. Off of the Place de la Republique, on Avenue de President Karl Carsten.
Opens for dinner at 19:30
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Zanzibar
Very small portions but a wide selection of good food, and a friendly owner from Australia.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Niamey (CC BY-SA 4.0).