In the two months I was away from Dakar, quite a few new restaurants opened up. The one I heard the most about was Redstone, and with good reason(s). Without being over-the-top-cheesy Americana, it is the most ‘American’ restaurant in Dakar. From the décor to the menu, it really does have surprisingly American taste.

So yay! Right? Well, kind of. What I’d heard before going and based on our experience, it’s definitely hit or miss. But what they hit, they hit out of the park! Take the burger, for example. The bun was great, wonderfully melted cheese and REAL barbecue sauce and jalapeños that were soon good! But the burger itself was an overcooked and seemingly pre-packaged patty.

The French fried were delicious, hot and salty – plus served in an adorable little fry basket. But the cole slaw was just cabbage and thick, gloppy mayo. Such a shame too since awesome cole slaw is easy to make!

For dessert, we should have tried the cheesecake, and will on our next trip back. (Oh there will definitely be a trip back. I need to try the nachos and fajitas and quesadillas!) We ordered the fondant au chocolat, which was disappointing. It was plenty gooey, but not very rich and the puny scoop of ice cream tasted like store-bought bleh. So for fondant au chocolat in the future, I will rely on La Maison de Celine, La Parilla, Le Mokai… and basically anywhere else that does them.

The final verdict: Every American in Dakar should go to Redstone. Seriously. But you may need to go back another time or two in order to have a truly great experience.

Redstone
Route King Fahd (next to the American Food Store) in Almadies
Tel: 33 820 20 55
Find them on Facebook here.