The Best Street Food Stalls in Accra

When you see fish being grilled over charcoal on the streets of Accra, it’s most likely to be tilapia. This white and tender river fish is a delicacy among Ghanaians when eaten as a dish on its own or with banku (a corn-based dough) and hot pepper. Philippo’s Tilapia Joint, a street stall located in East Legon, serves not only the largest, but some of the best, grilled tilapia in Accra. The fish is spiced with peppers and other indigenous herbs, then grilled in full view of the public. And customers can request how spicy they want it, depending on their love for pepper.

Very few street food stalls in Ghana have such a tremendous reputation as Auntie Muni Waakye. On the back of a local northern dish that exhibits a creative use of rice and red beans, Auntie Muni not only popularised the sale of waakye in Accra, but also made it a staple breakfast and lunch meal.

Waakye is a pot dish, comprising a medley of beans and rice, served with spaghetti, avocado, plantains and meat. It was originally a northern dish but can now be found on almost every street corner across Ghana.

With waakye, you get to experience the variety of flavours that Ghanaians savour daily, as it combines many other sub-foods with the rice-and-bean base. So visit Auntie Muni Waakye to experience an authentic brand of waakye in Accra.

Pork Office is your typical neighbourhood food stall, located on Spintex Road, one of Accra’s busiest streets. It provides a simple menu, centred on juicy, spicy hunks of pork, either grilled or fried.

You may have heard about the Jollof Wars between Nigeria and Ghana and wondered what all the fuss is about. Well, you can let your taste buds decide who has the best jollof rice when you visit Pork Office. Its jollof is guaranteed to make you a fan of the Ghanaian version, not just because it’s affordable but because of the subtle yet exciting flavours locked into the grains of rice – guaranteed to make you crave more.

Saving the best till last, the Osu Night Market is the ultimate venue to experience street food in Accra. Although the market deals primarily with the sale of cooking ingredients, fresh fish and seafood, among other items, it’s also famed for having the best kenkey in Accra. Kenkey, a corn-based dish, is a staple of the Ga people, the original inhabitants of Accra.

At this all-night market, customers get to experience kenkey right from its home, accompanied by freshly grilled fish, lobsters and crabs, sourced from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. You can also try out some of the locally brewed beverages like palm wine.

The Osu Night Market presents you with not only food but a candid experience of the people behind it.
Buying street food can be a lot of fun, but you must exercise a certain amount of caution. Take time to interact with the sellers and get a good sense of the ingredients if you have any dietary restrictions. With a little bit of care and a healthy appetite, you can have great fun enjoying the delicious meals that denizens of Accra so relish.