Broadway, marking the border of Bed-Stuy and Bushwick, is home to several restaurants specializing in the cuisine of ethnic communities on both sides of the boulevard. One of them is Le Conakry, named for the peninsular capital city of Guinea, in West Africa. Guinea having been formerly ruled by the French, I expected more colonial influence, but was (pleasantly) surprised to have no other cuisine to compare it to — perhaps North African. Apparently, Guinean food is not well-regarded among West Africans — that’s probably the reason for the Senegalese menu items and couscous side.

I met Petra from the Bed-Stuy Blog at Myrtle and Broadway and we walked down together. At the counter, we asked for a few suggestions, but the demure, smiley lady, Fatou, couldn’t recommend anything in particular, and simply listed all the things they had.

We started off with the jollof rice, which is fried and nutty and even a bit sticky. It was well-spiced and satisfying, though the fish and yuca-like root vegetable served with it were both rather dry and hard. Not to mention full of bones.

Then we were served what I consider the star of the show: mafe, a Senegalese peanut sauce — served here with chicken, carrot, and potato simmered in — ladled over white rice. It was heavy and satisfying, though Petra said she didn’t think it was peanutty enough. The sweetened pineapple-ginger water (like an agua fresca) was perfect for cutting through the fat of the peanuts.

I ordered the grilled lamb with couscous — a mistake. It was lamb shoulder, overcooked, and completely gamy. The couscous was fine, but that’s hard to screw up. It was spiced up with some (presumably) Guinean pepper and tomato sauce served alongside.

Except for the mafe, the dishes could easily feed two people — at around $8 a plate, it’s a bargain.

Genius that I am, I forgot my camera at home, so all the photos were taken by Petra. Genius that SHE is, she didn’t take any photos of the food. At the very least you know what the place looks like.

Recommended: chicken mafe, jollof rice, pineapple-ginger water
Not recommended: fish, grilled lamb

Le Conakry | 1136 Broadway | 718-453-0747 | Vegetarian options

Check out Petra’s (significantly longer) review (also note the confusing difference in the names of what we ate… not sure how to explain that), and the Village Voice‘s.