Elmina

Washington DC, US

Headed by Eric Adjepong – a finalist on Top Chef – Elmina’s made quite a stir on Washington’s dining scene. It’s a love letter to Ghanaian cuisine and the African continent, played out in a deeply stylishly setting, where tradition meets technique, tasting menus dazzle and every plate sings with flavour. The fufu with braised goat is a case in point: a stretchy ball of pounded cassava and plantain, shaped with your fingers (forget the cutlery) and used to scoop a smoky-sweet peanut butter stew. There’s finesse as well as flavour in the oysters, anointed with hibiscus granita, or the smoked jollof rice with tamarind-glazed confit duck leg. Both feature on the four-course tasting menu, whose multiple-choice format offers plenty of flex. The bar, meanwhile, has its own more casual menu, inspired by the kind of bold, big-hitting snacks you might find in Ghana’s chop bars. Don’t miss the kelewele (spicy fried plantains) or the crab fried rice with beniseed miso, topped with a sunny side-up egg.

Key Information

• Average price per person $116
• Tasting menu from $135
• Dinner: Weds – Sun
• 1 202 519 1544
• Visit Elmina's Website

Location

2208 14th Street NW, Columbia Heights, Washington DC, DC 20009