Senegalese Cuisine

Senegalese cuisine is widely regarded as the most refined and celebrated in West Africa, a bold, flavourful blend of African, French and North African influences built around fish, rice, millet and vegetables. Its national dish is thieboudienne, a magnificent one-pot of fish and rice simmered in a rich tomato-and-vegetable sauce, its name meaning simply fish and rice. Equally loved is yassa, chicken or fish marinated in tangy onion and lemon, and mafe, a hearty peanut-butter stew. Meals are traditionally shared from a communal platter, reflecting the warm teranga culture of hospitality.

What you actually see

• Thieboudienne - the national dish of fish and rich red rice.
• Yassa - the tangy onion-and-lemon chicken or fish.
• Mafe - the hearty peanut stew.
• The sharing platter - the communal eating and teranga hospitality.

When to go

Year-round; a home-cooked meal shared from the communal platter is the finest and most authentic experience of Senegal's celebrated hospitality, while restaurants and market eateries serve the national dishes. The strong, sweet ataya tea, brewed and poured in three rounds, is a cherished social ritual.

Honest expectations

Senegalese food, while flavourful and celebrated, is rice- and fish-heavy and can be oily, and the communal-platter etiquette, eating from a shared dish, often with the right hand, is unfamiliar to some visitors. It is bold, hearty home cooking rather than delicate fare. Shared in the spirit of teranga hospitality, though, dishes like thieboudienne and yassa are genuinely delicious and among the best food in West Africa.

Nearby

Dakar, Saint-Louis and every town have their restaurants and market eateries.