My fourth and last birthday celebration was to be with old friends Queen Viv and Miss America. African cuisine is one of those cuisines that I’ve enjoyed immensely in the past but is a little harder to find. Certainly there aren’t that many restaurants and most are concentrated in the Glebe/Newtown/Enmore area. The Second Wife, always a trusted source for restaurant recommendations enthused about Lat Dior and about the stunning woman in traditional African dress that works there. So of course we just had to try for ourselves. As they use native African ingredients which are often hard to find here, they import a lot of it from France where there is a large existing African community.
Traditional African wooden bowls
There’s a no booking policy and as it’s Sunday night and people need to work the next day, we decide to eat at 6.30pm which also assures that we get a table. The menu is charmingly written with things such as “Tangy!”, “Delicious!” and for the broccoli dish “Quite green in appearance!”. There are dishes from all over Africa with some marked according to the country of origin. We make a selection of mains and sides and entrees. Our waitress is the gorgeous African woman in traditional dress that The Second Wife mentioned.
Flower drink (left) and Ginger Drink (right) $2.50 each
We can’t resist ordering the drinks: a Ginger drink and a Flower drink. The ginger drink is heady in ginger and pungently refreshing. The flower drink is deliciously sweet with a flavour and sweetness similar to Ribena or a Hibiscus syrup.
Fataya pastries. From top to bottom Lamb $3, Fish $3.50 and Vegetarian $3
The pastries come out warm in their puff pastry shell and we divide them into 4. Miss America and I prefer the beef one which reminds us of a pastry laden beef pie whereas Queen Viv and Mr NQN prefer the Vegetarian one. The fish one is very fishy in taste – stronger than any of us really like. The accompanying tomato sauce is mild and tastes like tomato and capsicum and is nowhere near as fiery as it looks.
Flat bread $2 per piece
The flat bread comes out and it is delicious, like a folded crepe. As the kitchen is small and on this evening the restaurant is full, things tend to come out when they come out and we’ve finished the bread by the time the mains come out.
Yassa $10.50
The Yassa is chicken off the bone, marinated for hours with mild African spices, fried and them steamed with onions. It’s said to be tangy but we don’t find it tangy as such although it is creamy and delicious, like a non spicy curry.
Tajine Lamb $10.50
The North African tagine lamb is boneless lamb marinated for hours with fresh Tahitian Lime pickle, olive oil, saffron and pepper. It’s soft and falls apart easily and is great with the bread to soak up the juices.
Perfumed couscous $10.50
The evocatively named Perfumed Couscous consists of boneless lamb cut into cubes steamed with a mild African sauce with vegetables on a bed of grain couscous. The meat and vegetables are soft and delicious with the sauce soused couscous.
Sossou Gorgiguan $12.50
The item that was described as “Has to be tested to be believed”, the Sossou Gorgiguan is originally from Senegal. We were lured by the description we admit, particularly the part that said “the name Gorgiguan literally translates to “Homosexual” in Wollof”. It’s a Tuna fillet steamed with netetou (african spice) and tamarind. Unfortunately it’s as dry as dusty cotton wool and I have trouble forcing my bite down as do the rest of us as it is incredibly overcooked. We presume the same cooking method of slow, long cooking which works for chicken and lamb was used but of course the same principle shouldn’t be applied to fish. We leave most of this behind.
Lat Dior’s Delight $6
The green beans steamed with African spices and a blended celery sauce are perfectly cooked with a nice crunch to them. The blended celery sauce is unusual but works.
Bamia $6
The item described as “Quite green in appearance!” is indeed very green in appearance. It’s broccoli steamed with green blended tomatoes and tamarind and again the vividly hued broccoli is perfectly cooked with a crunch and the green blended tomatoes sing with tamarind flavour. Perfect Winter cuisine.
Tell me Dear Readers, does you diet change considerably with the seasons?
Lat Dior
150 Enmore Road, Enmore, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9557 4467
Open 7 days, 6pm until late
http://www.africaneatery.com/about.php
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37 Comments | Add your own
It all looks very good.
I do have a question though, do you have to snorkel or scuba dive to get there?
Looks delicious (apart from the fish dishes)!
Yes, we tend to eat much lighter in summer – lots of salads, fruits, barbecues etc. And in the colder months, it’s more comfort food … slow-cooked casseroles, soups, shepherd’s pie, lasagne etc. We also enjoy fruit and vegies whenever they are in season – they are much tastier and more of a treat that way.
I would go for that Yassa and Lamb Tajine, they both look wonderfully warm and inviting.
Answering your question: My diet doesn’t change dramatically with the season (although it does with freshness of fruit and veggies). I tend to eat nice warm curries and dishes all year round, maybe a little less when it’s boiling hot here
How interesting, I don’t think I’ve had much African cuisine before. Love the excited descriptions on the menu, hehe that’s too cute. The last dish is extremely green but it looks so tempting! I’m not too keen on places that don’t take bookings though
Looks great, the menu is very West African. Have you tried Ethiopian? It is my favourite African cuisine.
Here’s to ongoing birthday celebrations! The food here looks magnificent – so rich and colourful and spicy – yum.
Oh, when I visited last year the beans with celery sauce was my favourite. We had the gay fish too, but as I remember ours was tender and pretty delicious. I wonder if it has changed, but I had a bit of a fight with the owner here as they refuse to serve tap water. I got pretty uppity about the whole situation to be honest, and haven’t been back since which is a shame because I remember some dishes were very tasty.
Looks devine!
I can see my diet has changed to more comfort food and my butt grows with that
Lots more pasta has been consumed since it got colder.
x
Oh, this place is on my to-eats list! Thanks for the review! Those green beans and broccoli look very intriguing..
My diet DOES change with the seasons – and it consists of not so healthy but oh so yummy dishes (thai, indian, malaysian curry, anyone?). I’m not a fan of lamb, but that tajine looks sooooo temptingly good!
Sounds like this restaurant has a lot of character! I do love African food – it’s the spices… yum! Food here in Japan tends to be very seasonal, with most of the veggies available being grown locally (at least here in inaka Kagawa, can’t speak for the city!). You can buy some imported food, but it is soooo expensive so why bother (most of the time)? Back in the UK you can buy pretty much anything at any time of the year, but there is of course an ethical price to pay for this.
Very interesting post. Thanks for showing us the diversity of eateries available in Sydney.
How lovely is African food. I didn’t know what to expect before trying the cuisine, but found it very tasty and similar to Malaysian cuisine. I went to one further down King St in Newtown,food was lovely but wasn’t too particularly impressed with their customer service. Because it was so busy, they started clearing our plates before we had even finished our meals! Not the best place to go to if you’re catching up with long lost friends.
“Like a non-spicy curry” is just how I’ve thought of the African food I’ve tried. I love the look of that rather green broccoli dish, and the painted glasses are gorgeous!
This is quite a meal. The flat bread and lamb look so good. We wish we could say we eat seasonally, but we just eat what feels right!
Delicious stuff! The tagine lamb looks insanely good!
I’ve never really tasted African cuisine,so this is very interesting!!
Yes,I do have seasonal changes in diet-more soups and spices during winter and less spices,more salads and juices during summer
I’ve only had African once many years ago and it was in Newtown – but I can’t even remember whether I enjoyed it. Perhaps time to go again and check out African cuisine.
Oh – and I had some issues with Google Maps yesterday too so you’re not alone
why oh why do you always have such great food? your have a lucky tongue and a happy stomach!
I’ve never tried african cuisine before…
and you KNOW I’m going crazy over that bamia…green thing is my thing!! and that flatbread…mmm….
Sounds like a fantastic celebration!
the flat bread and yassa look very yummy. prices look very reasonable. i had a laugh about the ‘Has to be tested to be believed’. perhaps they haven’t tested it themselves hehe. also the ‘Quite green in appearance!” should perhaps be renamed”Very green indeed’ hehe. BTW your map shows somewhere in the ocean i think.
s
African cuisine is one that I’m not too familiar with…I have enjoyed it on occasion when some of my Nigerian friends cooked it for me in my uni days…but don’t know much about it
the couscous looks wonderful though!
Wow, this looks amazing. This niche of restaurants is even harder to come by in Brisbane. You are very lucky having such variety available in Sydney.
Hmmm looks great! The closest African dishes I have ever eaten is Ethiopian cuisine, and I liked it. I should go check out this place!
I’ve been to the Killimanjaro eatery, run by the same people with exactly the same menu and service; it just happens to be further up King St, opposite the Dendy theatre. I would also add to your spot-on comments that the spinach salad is really excellent! If you go back, you might want to try it.
I would agree with the lack of African eateries, it would be nice to have a few more readily accessible places! The fact that the restaurants you and I went to are so closely located speaks volumes.
well it all looked quite a-dior-able .
happy belated birthday! the menu here is interesting and prices seems reasonable. if i were you, i would’ve had a hard time deciding what to eat!
and answering your question- yep, my diet definitely does change with the seasons. the plan to eat healthy at work just went out the door today cause it was so cold – ended up eating so much carby stuff – not good!
the flat bread looks sooo good! they do look a lot like crepes though don’t they? hehe
that’s a lot of comfort food in one place. what set my saliva glands off? the fried pockets of meat, of course.
I didn’t know Africa had a cuisine!
I didn’t think they ate much food in Africa, that’s why they were all so skinny.
And what’s Dior got to do with it, does a make-over come with the food?
Hi Teran-It was great! Hehe I think google maps was definitely playing up!
Hi MrsDesperate-That’s me too exactly. I love switching on the oven in Winter but try not to in Summer. Eating seasonal F&V is great isn’t it!
Hi Anita-They were great
Ahh I see, that’s very interesting! My mum is the same 
Hi Steph-Hehe the descriptions were very cute
Yes it means you have to eat early as this restaurant did fill up and it was a Sunday night!
Hi kip-I haven’t tried a lot of Ethiopian cuisine but I’ve heard it is quite good. Good to know!
Hi Cakelaw-hehe sadly this was the last one! It was great, just what the day called for
Hi lili-I wonder if they had reheated the fish or something? I thought all places had to serve tap water? I think they’ve now since changed as they gave us tap water.
Hi Iron Chef Shellie-It was! Yes me too! Much to the discomfort of my jeans
Hi Betty-Fantastic! The green veges were really great and perfectly cooked!
Hi Trisha-Hehe mine too
Why is all of the good Winter food so fattening? 
Hi Angela-That’s great that they do so much local f&V
I remember the prices of imported food in Japan-eek it’s scary how expensive it is!
Hi Ellie-You’re more than welcome!
Hi Ningas-It’s lovely indeed
I think they might be owned by the same people-is it Kilimanjaro? Eek, that’s not great
service!
Hi Arwen-Every time I’d think it would be spicy (as curries here tend to be spicy) and I’d always be a little surprised
Hi The Duo Dishes-I love crepes so the idea of crepes as a flat bread appealed to me a lot! That’s cool too!
Hi 5 Star Foodie-It was really good! Then again lamb is my favourite meat in a tagine
Hi Sweta-I don’t think there tends to be a lot of restaurants which is a shame as it’s delicious. We sound like we have a very similar diet!
Hi Forager-I think the place is owned by the same people!
Haha good to know I was not alone. I was positive I didn’t put it in the middle of the ocean 
Hi Sophia-Hehe I think so!
Do you have many African restaurants near you? Yes that bamia was great and the flatbread is right up your alley! 
Hi Cate-It was great!
Hi Simon-The price is great-we were expecting really small serves but they were normal sized serves! Thank! I think google maps was having a fit
Hi Alexandra-I’m the same, love it but haven’t tried it much!
Lucky you!
Hi Julia-I agree, we’re very lucky here in Sydney I have to say
Hi Yas-Did you try Ethiopian in Sydney? I’d love to try it!
Hi Cass-Ah yes so I read on their website
Great location being near the Dendy! Will definitely give that a go-they seem to have a way with green dishes (strange thing for me to say I know 
) Thanks! Yes indeed and are owned by the same people too! :O
Hi DeLaCour-Haha it was a-dior-able!
Hi Panda-Thankyou! We did ponder for a while
I know, me too. The best intentions go out the window when it’s cold!
Hi K-They were really good and I’d say there were pretty much crepes (even though they were called flatbread)!
Hi grace-Haha really!
Hi Blond Duck-They do indeed!
Hi Ridves-I was waiting for some to make this joke! No that’s Christian Dior and they have nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t try asking them for one either!
I always walk past this place and want to go in! It looks wonderful!
The food looks good, but it is a shame the fish was bad :/
but it has tamarind, if that was me, anything with tamarind, I avoid.
Hi Christie-It’s a great find, so glad that we made it there!
Hi ArtemisIII-Yes such a shame! It sounded great. Ahh not a fan of tamarind I see. Do you have to avoid a lot of Asian cuisine as I think that uses a lot of tamarind.
Kilimanjro , King st Newtown must be their sister shop because the food is exactly the same , right down to the glasses but I don’t know for sure .
Went there on my fiftieth birthday a couple of years ago and booked the whole top floor . Had a wonderful time and can highly recommend the place .
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