Cover image: Djaam Fresh Food façade
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Last week, I found myself near the Gare de l'Est at lunchtime and remembered an African restaurant that I had seen near the Château Landon metro station the last time I was in the area.

I easily found my way to the establishment, which is located at 187, rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin.

Djaam Fresh Food was founded 10 years ago by three people who are passionate about raising awareness of and recognition of Africa through its cuisine. 

They observed that in France,  African cuisine is stereotypically thought of as being too fatty, too spicy, too rich…

But they knew that in actuality, several African countries are among those with the healthiest eating habits in the world.

So they created Djaam as a way to promote African cuisine through the use of quality, organic products and the introduction of new taste sensations.

At four locations throughout France (Paris, Nantes, and Montpellier), they offer fresh, simple, classical West African recipes as well as "compose it yourself" dishes as bokés—in the spirit of Hawaiian poké bowls.

Sandwich board for West African classics
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Sandwich board - Make your own Boké!
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Because their menu is so extensive, it took more than a few minutes for me to sort out what I wanted to order.

Djaam menu and food counter
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Djaam menu panel
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During that time, several bicycle food delivery riders came to pick up orders for delivery. 

Djaam has a relatively small, no-frills dining room with a large screen television at one end.

Djaam dining room
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Because I wanted to order take-out, I knew that I would need to experience their restaurant service at another time.

Standing at the counter, I studied the three classical West African dishes on offer.

Thieb can be made as a vegetarian dish or with your choice of chicken, fish, or beef, while Yassa and Mafé can be made as a vegetarian dish or with chicken.

Thieb comes with red rice, carrots, cabbage, African eggplant, and a traditional tomato-based sauce.

Yassa comes with white rice, olives, onions, and a traditional sauce made from mustard.

And Mafé comes with white rice, cabbage, carrots, and a traditional sauce made from peanut butter.

All can be accompanied by a tiny container of fiery, orange-colored pepper sauce.

I finally settled on two large bokés - one of thieb and one of yassa.  

I ordered a beef thieb with a supplemental portion of sweet potato and a chicken yassa with a supplement of okra.

Djaam's beverage list is also quite extensive, including house-made bubble drinks and smoothies.

Djaam beverage case and menu
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I ordered a bottle of bissap and a bottle of ginger juice.  Both beverages were made on the premises.

When I got home, I photographed the bokés in their recyclable cardboard containers before dishing half of each onto two plates for my husband and me to enjoy.

Thieb bowl with sweet potato
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Yassa bowl with okra
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Thieb and yassa on a plate
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We devoured every morsel!

Djaam offers in-room dining, take-out, and delivery through Ubereats and Deliveroo.

It has two addresses in Paris: 

187 Rue du Fbg St-Martin, 75010 Paris (Metros: Château Landon,  Gare de l’Est, and Louis Blanc – all on Line 7; RER E - Magenta)

58 rue Réaumur, 75002 Paris (Metros: Sentier - Line 3; Réaumur – Sébastopol - Lines 3 and 4) 

It is open seven days a week, from 11:30 AM - 11:00 PM Sundays through Thursdays and from 11:30 AM - midnight Fridays and Saturdays.