AMINA

First time dining here. The restaurant is located in Old City section of Philadelphia. The ambiance and atmosphere is absolutely beautiful. The decor is Afrocentric and I was told most of the pieces were from the Congo. The staff was very nice as well. The unfortunate downside was the food. I ordered the lamb lollipops and requested medium-well. They were very tough and difficult to cut with a knife which tells me they were well-done. Spread under the lamb was succotash, a dish I've typically loved growing up. However, it had a strong taste of vinegar. My husband ordered the braised oxtail and lobster mash potatoes. The oxtail dish was extremely greasy. I believe my husband did enjoy the lobster mash. Additionally, we also ordered sides of mac and cheese and collards. I enjoyed the mac and cheese and the collards, were very tasty. Overall, while I did love the beauty of the restaurant, sadly, I will not be returning.

Great atmosphere and a beautiful decor. Food was good. Crab fried rice was mushy. The gumbo was warm not hot. Scallops were delicious with the green fried tomatoe. Crab cake was good. I would go again, maybe try another dish. Drinks were good. Great customer service ?

My experience was fair. My issue was that my Old Fashioned was like a shot....not a drink. I've never ever received such a short pour for this classic. Our server did suggest another drink, and it was filled to the rim. The salad was delicious. The cheese steak beignets were delicious. The oxtails were very tender, but needed more seasoning....not salt. I'm thinking Allspice or cumin. And my cousin had a sliver of salmon. She enjoyed it. And yes that place is very small. People kept bumping into my chair. And all were very apologetic. Oh and yes....way too loud. The music made you yell over it.

We joined for brunch so maybe dinner is better. But brunch was disappointing. We started with the deviled eggs. They were fine as you would expect them to be. I had the SHRIMP & GRITS. It’s was 4 bread, fried, buffalo shrimp on grits. Definitely not what I expected. The grits were bland (I’m from the south, trust me on grits) and over all the dish was underwhelming. My friend had the AMINA OLD SCHOOL OMELET. He said the omelet was greasy and the home style hash browns were the ones you buy from the freezer section of the grocery store. The service was good, they took our order and check on us and were friendly. Maybe brunch isn’t their thing. I’ve hear many good things about this place so maybe we will try dinner.

AMINA provided a quality fine dining experience. Offering a southern cuisine menu selection, the food was absolutely delicious! We did not wait long for our food and the customer service and ambience was a vibe! I highly recommend!

Food: Overall the food was good. The scallops were a tad salty and only 2 scallops for $18 was overpriced in my opinion. The cheesesteak beignets were delicious and well worth it, highly recommend those. Our main entrees, the burger and crab cake were delicious. We had the sweet potato purée and Mac and cheese sides which were just okay. The margarita was very good. Service: it was okay, but I did have to wave down the waitress when we wanted to order after waiting a few minutes of being completely done with the appetizer. I noticed the waiters would talk in the back with their backs turned away from the customers. A gratuity of $45 was automatically included in the bill for just 2 people. Venue: nice, clean, smaller than expected and a little tight, but nice ambiance.

First time here and this place is a hidden gem?. Everything we had was excellent. Me and my wife are so happy we came here for Saturday’s Brunch. We will forever come back. Ask for Nadia (our waitress), she’s great!!!

I love this restaurant they are very busy on Saturday so you must make a reservation 2 weeks ahead in order to dine here. Very popular southern cuisine and African inspired food. I highly recommend their lobster omelette and you must have the fried shrimp there I have not tasted shrimp in Center City that compared to the flavor of these gigantic colossal fried shrimp.