Serves meat, vegan options available. Cameroonian and Gambia cuisine in a homey setting. Most dishes can be adapted to be vegetarian. Offers a ginger drink, several veggie dishes. BYO. Open Mon-Thu 11:00am-9:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:00am-10:00pm, Sun 11:00am-9:00pm.
Category: African, Non-veg
Reviews (36)
First Review by kilgore
Contributions +20
Excellent - Edit
There's around 4 options to choose from as a vegetarian or vegan which they are fantastic. Tasty and healthy.
Pros: Friendly staff, Good price , Clean cozy place
Cons: none.
Contributions +313
least bad option? - Edit
New Orleans offers slim pickings for veg*ns. So we need to call it as we see it and hope that a restaurateur opens a pure veg*n place one day. There's a lot to love about this place: the staff and cozy vibe. But the food isn't top shelf. I get the sense that people love it because it's the least bad option in the French Quarter. The only thing worth mentioning is the black eyed pea fritters and the black eyed pea plate that comes with rice and plantains. Honestly nothing else. And the pricing for these? Way more expensive than they should be.
Pros: fritters
Cons: not pure veg, not cheap for the lack of ambience , one over worked server for the whole place
Contributions +62
Yum! - Edit
Great food. Very unique. A lot of vegan options. Big portions. Well priced.
Contributions +11
Poor and the same experience someone else had in 2011! - Edit
My review is disappointingly the same as Posted by s_k_ on 31 Jan 2011.
check this out nothing to add!
Pros: Has vegan and veg options
Cons: Bland food
Contributions +44
Wonderful! - Edit
I would give this place 5 stars. Great place for vegan food in the French Quarter, which has limited options in general.
Contributions +401
fantastic - Edit
Cameroonian and Gambian food? Yes please! Bennachin is fantastic. They offer tons of veggie options, and everything I tried was nice and flavorful. I enjoyed the atmosphere as well. It is low-key and relaxed, and it feels like you are in someones home. They also allow BYOB.
Pros: delicious, many options, BYOB
Contributions +110
African food, veg options - Edit
Interesting French Quarter restaurant with mostly meat menu from Cameroon and Gambia. Good service. Small, quaint, dimly lit and well maintained room seemed clean to me. Several vegetarian choices. The black eyed pea fritters and ginger drink were very good. No alcohol. Not pricey.
Pros: uniquely seasoned african food, small but pleasant atmosphere, good service and prices
Cons: limited veggie options
Contributions +43
Very Good Food! - Edit
Respectful of vegetarians and vegans. No alcohol. Cheap and delicious!! So much flavour!
Pros: Cheap, Like Momma Makes , Delicious
Contributions +396
my favorite restaurant EVER!!! - Edit
We ate here twice in 24 hours, because it was so good we had to grab it to go again on the way out of town. The vegan food here is incredible! I've never had West African food like this before! The plantain fries are fabulous, but the cabbage with rice dish is something out of this world!!!!! I miss you Bennachin and New Orleans!
Pros: incredible West African spice, creative dishes, huge vegan variety
Contributions +22
Very good! - Edit
I visited Bennachin while shopping in New Orleans. I was anxious about how the food would be because of some of the reviews, but my mom convinced me to give it a shot. It is a very small restaurant, but the waitress was lovely and definitely knew what she was talking about. The food was amazing! We had the fried ripe plantain appetizer. So good! We ordered more of the sauce it came with later! The food was delicious, and lots of the meat dishes could be made without. We had a lovely time and would come again!
Contributions +9
Potential to be great - Edit
Started with the black eye pea fritters no season at all!!!! I wanted to like these after all the hype. My server is trying to hard to be nice. As a French quarter bartender this is easy to spot! Relax its just food be your self. She's not very aware of her surroundings I'm watching her sit at a table play on her phone besides taking care of our needs (FYI ) I am the only one here . A little confused on why it is may and Mardi Gras decorations are still up. I ordered the apricot lamb this is very yummy but once again server sitting at table on phone no check back I'm half way done now. Overall food was a B+ service a big F -
Pros: Cozy , Good food , Reasonable
Cons: Service , Noisy kitchen
Contributions +50
I really wanted to like this place but - Edit
The two veg. dishes that we ordered were not well prepared. Both of them tasted like soggy overcooked vegetables over couscous. I give them props for making the effort to serve veg. folks but I have a feeling that they do a much better job with meat. I'm glad we made the trip to check it out but there is no way I can recommend that you do the same.
Pros: Atmosphere, Friendly Attentive Staff
Cons: The food
Contributions +15
Excellent food! Reasonable prices. - Edit
Several of my friends and I were visiting for a conference and decided to try Bennachin since there were a number of vegetarian options on the menu. I ordered the veg dish with black eyed peas and my husband ordered a couscous dish with broccoli and cauliflower. We shared and both dishes were great! The food came quickly, was hot, and fresh.
They don't serve alcohol but you can buy wine or beer across the street to have with your meal. Would definitely recommend Bennachin!
Pros: Good variety, Fresh
Contributions +91
My first Cameroonian/Gambian food experience - Edit
A lot of vegan options - the plantain appetizer is amazing! My dish didn't quite live up to the expectations I had for it after trying the appetizer, but it was a good meal!
Pros: Unique food, Everything homemade, PLANTAIN APPETIZER
Cons: A little slow - 1 waitress/1 cook
Contributions +596
African vegan options - Edit
This restaurant offers very good vegan food with an African flavor. I had the Yasa with cous-cous. It was quite good. Service was excellent.
Pros: vegan choices, good service
Contributions +115
Not bad at all! - Edit
Just about the only place you can get a veggie jambalaya in New Orleans. We had the black eyed fritters - good but the sauce with them was excellent. The veggie jambalaya, and the beans and rice dish were both huge! Interesting to have sweet plantains with savory / spicy beans.
Pros: Cosy, Good food, Huge portions
Contributions +27
good but nothing special - Edit
I would recommend eating here it is good but its not amazing food. The atmosphere is really nice but it is a little slow. I was on vacation so I really didn't mind. Go here later in the evening to take a break. Nice staff and they know what is and isn't began on the menu.
Pros: knowledgeable staff, nice atmosphere, different food choices
Cons: short staffed, good but not great food
Contributions +64
Good Ethnic Cuisine - Edit
I read the other reviews and it almost seemed like I was in a different restaurant. We checked the place out last night, encountered very friendly staff, so we came for lunch today. In fairness, I suppose it is off season, but the staff was very helpful with suggestions and recommendations. Service was good, food was great, good sized servings. Never had West African cuisine, but enjoyed Ethiopian and East African food on several occasions. We will definitely return. Especially since there are not many vegan offerings in the French Quarter, this is a particularly good one.
Pros: Good food, Good selection, Large servings
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