We Check Out the Trending Cafe Nubia

There can never be too many Mediterranean restaurants, and there are never enough African restaurants, so we were excited to see a new spot open in Farthest North Dallas that promised to be a savory blend of the two. Cafe Nubia, an African/Mediterranean fusion spot that opened in March is the brainchild of co-founder Kenechi “KC” Nnamani. It’s under the culinary direction of executive chef Gerardo Herrera, whose pedigree includes Haywire and Ali Baba as well as executive sous chef to Jerry Jones’ suite at the AT&T stadium.

This fusion idea is carried over to the menu and the décor, which includes a large outdoor covered patio complete with comfy chairs and couches, along with palm trees lining the perimeter. It was a beautiful spring day, so we decided to try the place for some late-afternoon bites and drinks while camped out on the patio.

At the moment the cafe is still in a sort of soft opening and is tinkering with menus, hours and specials a bit, so there are not any specific happy hour specials yet. All the craft cocktails go for $13, which isn’t unreasonable, and since we’re reasonable people we ordered three: a Zobo Old Fashioned, a Honey Love and a Nubian Margarita.

The old fashioned was described as being prepared with a Nubian spin, but in all honesty the spin was lost on us. Still, it was a decent old fashioned, not too sweet and with a large clear cube of ice.

The Honey Love is prepared with Empress Gin, honey and lemon. The signature lavender-blue color of that particular gin was evident, and the drink was garnished with a matching flower. Missing, however, was the edible glitter we’d read about on social media, though to be fair the menu description was accurate.

The Nubian Margarita was on the rocks and included tequila, passion fruit and lime juice rimmed with suya spice instead of the typical salt or tajin.

We were there for happy hour at around 4 p.m., so we went with several starters in lieu of mains, settling upon beef suya skewers, crispy falafel and lamb sliders.

The falafel were indeed crispy, served six to an order along with tahini sauce. Their crunchy exterior was in contrast to the soft interior that perhaps was a bit too soft, but the flavor profile was spot on.

The beef suya skewers came three to an order: grilled beef with slices of onions and green and red bell peppers, flavored and spiced with suya and served with an arugula salad topped with onions and tomatoes. Suya, a traditional Nigerian spice mixture with a slightly smoky and nutty flavor from peppers, peanuts, ginger and garlic, gives the beef a unique but not overpowering flavor.

The lamb sliders arrived on a slate serving stone. Three patties of perfectly cooked and seasoned lamb are dressed with feta, tomato, crispy dill pickles and grilled onions on potato rolls. It was really good, and a steal at $18 in the world of $20 hamburgers we all live in now.

We couldn’t resist adding a side of jollof rice, another dish with West African flavors. This version is a bit spicier than others we’ve had and was one of the highlights of our bite tour.

A good selection of mains for those coming for dinner includes grilled lamb chops, oxtail, cauliflower steak, rasta pasta (cajun flavorings with choice of protein), chicken shawarma and a kabob sampler plate with chicken, beef, lamb and kafta.

There is also hookah available, and on the weekends the indoor stage offers live music and a DJ. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially while North Texas is experiencing unseasonably pleasant weather.

3920 Rosemeade Parkway, No. 100; Tuesday – Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 2 a.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.