Restaurants in Yaoundé

Restaurants in Yaoundé Frequently Visited by the Food Lover and Family 

The List (chronologically)

1. Biniou ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆
2. Café de Yaoundé ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆
3. Chez Wou ⋆⋆⋆⋆
4. La Paillote ⋆⋆⋆⋆
5. La Salsa ⋆⋆⋆⋆
6. The Espresso House ⋆⋆
7. Pizza Roma ⋆⋆⋆
8. The Mahima Indian Restaurant ⋆⋆
9. Istanbul ⋆⋆⋆⋆

Restaurants are rated out of five stars

#1 Biniou (a.k.a. the Crêperie)    ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

A relaxed outdoor dining experience that takes you as close to Bretagne as you can be. The specialty is buckwheat crepes (or Galettes Salés), and they have an entire page of fillings to choose from. However, one crepe is not usually enough to fill a stomach, so having an appetizer is a good idea. If you like rare meat, the Carpaccio de Bœuf is quite good. If you like cheese the Camembert Pané is also quite good (though enough to split with two or three people). The Food-Lover is very partial to the side order of Gratin Dauphinois that you can get here and usually has it with Bœuf Bourguignonne. The ice cream they have is the best in town – so get some. There is also a good selection of wines and liquors (as any good French restaurant would have). The service can be quite slow though, so don’t come if you’re starving. They are unfortunately closed on Saturdays, but they are quite busy at lunch time on weekdays (with their great lunch buffet, Mon-Fri).

Tel. # 99.50.31.68

                     99.80.15.01

#2 Café de Yaoundé    ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

Possibly the most well-known restaurant in all of Yaoundé, this is an excellent place to find good French or Italian foods and admire the beautiful African artwork that the owner has collected. The salads are well-prepared and delicious, as well as the charcuteries. For main dishes, they have two whole pages of pasta dishes (which are all splendid). If you want fish, ask them what fish they have fresh from Kribi. The meat dishes are also wonderful (the Mignon de Bœuf Café de Yaoundé is my favorite). On Fridays through Sundays they have special dishes. Among them is their French Onion Soup – get it if it is available. They also serve great tiramisu on those days. They have a pianist who provides live music on Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays. It is a good idea to call in the day of and make a reservation (especially on weekends) preferably en haut (up top), as it is where the piano is and where service is faster. After the meal, ask for Limoncello (a lemon liquor made in the Northwest of Cameroon by Catholic priests). The restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Tel. # 22.22.85.94

99.76.19.49

(The following restaurants are NOT listed according to how good they are)

Chez Wou  ⋆⋆⋆⋆

The place to go when wanting Chinese food in Yaoundé. They are open every day of the week and allow you to eat an early dinner (at five or six) when most other restaurants don’t open until seven or seven-thirty. You can eat inside and listen to oldies play on the speakers, or outside for a more romantic atmosphere. Food comes quickly and is quite delicious – the Food Lover’s recommended dish is the Canard Laqué. And, of course, what Chinese restaurant would be complete without ice cream for dessert? On Sundays for lunch, they offer a rather expensive buffet that is way more than all-you-can-eat, but definitely delicious.

Tel. # 99.91.23.05
         22.20.46.79
         99.91.80.38

Le Paillote (a.k.a. the Vietnamese place)   ⋆⋆⋆⋆

A happy little Vietnamese restaurant quite close to the Mahima in Bastos. The nems are amazingly delicious. I have yet to figure out what to order for a main dish, but whatever it is goes well with a side of riz cantonnaise. If you want a suggestion of what to order, ask the owner. For desert, they have good ice cream that goes well with Bananes Flambés. The vanilla ice cream is actually my favorite simply because it is really good. If you feel adventurous, they sometimes have Rice Wine (not that I would dare have any). Closed on Tuesdays, but is also open for early eaters and is quite a good lunch spot.

La Salsa   ⋆⋆⋆⋆

This is a quiet and completely bilingual restaurant. It is rather expensive, but the food is, of course, good. It is famous for its pizzas (the calzones are HUGE if you are ever really starving). I think it has the best Cordon Bleu in town. For an appetizer, get the hummus and pita bread – the bread is still warm when they give it to you – but beware that the green peppers are a tad spicy. They also have an impressive ice cream menu that definitely lives up to its expectations. (Tip: the mint ice cream is great but really strong, so order an accompanying flavor to dilute it a bit.)

Espresso House   ⋆⋆

This is where the rich and famous in Yaoundé go to show off, but they aren’t usually there in the morning or early afternoon. It is an Internet Café, complete with bar, restaurant, loud TVs, and red leather sofas. In my opinion, the best thing to get is a chocolate milkshake (actually two or three chocolate milkshakes). Their hamburgers boast a two-inch-thick steak and a bun even thicker (just eat the meat), and their salads are delicious and come with hot rolls. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered from their Chinese page…

Pizza Roma    ⋆⋆⋆

You step in and are transported to a Western Pizza Parlor. This place has the best pizza in Yaoundé and is quite quick about it too. The huge red leather booths are very comfortable (once you scoot them close enough to the table), and their slushies (menthe, and grenadine) are really worth getting. In theory, they offer to deliver pizzas, but you can also call ahead and pick them up.  

Tel. # 99.33.33.33 

The Indian Restaurant behind the Mahima in Bastos (actual name unknown)   ⋆⋆

I’m not very fond of Indian food, but this would be the place to go if you are. The restaurant is equipped with air-conditioning, and a TV that only shows Bollywood soap operas. Adjacent to the restaurant is a great playground that I would’ve absolutely died for when I was four (or even as old as twelve…). The hummus is actually very good as an appetizer, and (if you’re like me) you can always get a hamburger and fries afterwards. My mother always likes to have a Lassi (a not-very-sweet yogurt smoothie) because it cools down the hot food. 

Istanbul ⋆⋆⋆⋆
Yaoundé's finest Turkish restaurant (as you may have guessed from its name). With indoor and outdoor seating and a very nice atmosphere, even though it is in the middle of Bastos, Istanbul is most famous for its shwarmas - seriously, get a shwarma, they're DELICIOUS. Their pizzas and salads are also quite good. Enjoy the hot bread which they bring around too. Very reasonable prices and very friendly and fast service make this a wonderful place to stop by and have a bite to eat or have a nice meal with friends. Do be aware that, as it is a Muslim restaurant, they do not serve alcohol or pork.