Canton’s stretch of Boston Street around the Safeway is mostly populated by chains—Starbucks, Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle—and not particularly noteworthy dining options, with the exception of Peter Chang’s Sichuan restaurant, NiHao. But the Can Company shopping complex got an upgrade two and a half months ago with the opening of Spice Kitchen West African Grill.
The spot is fast-casual rather than white-tablecloth, but it’s cheerful and spacious, with a full bar, three flatscreens mostly showing sports, and walls decorated with unexpectedly beautiful rugs.
The menu is West African, featuring jollof rice, the deeply flavorful, burnt-orange-colored rice dish that’s a staple of Senegalese, Nigerian, and Ghanaian cuisine; efo riro, a Yoruba deep-green spinach stew; and variants of suya, the popular Nigerian street food of grilled meats seasoned with the peanut-based spice blend called yaji.
Honoring his Nigerian culture, owner Olu Shokunbi opened his first Spice Kitchen as a D.C. ghost kitchen about five years ago. A brick-and-mortar in Hyattsville followed in 2024, plus a food truck mostly parked in Bowie. Before the Canton location opened, Shokunbi did a number of pop-ups, notably at Remington’s R. House and as part of the DMV’s Black Restaurant Week.
The Canton location is extremely user-friendly, with a big parking lot off of Boston Street, QR codes, a digital ordering screen, a large dining room, and a second smaller (and very cozy) lounge and dining area. Service is fast and friendly, and the food is exceptional.
There are lots of appetizers, including wings and excellent caramelized plantains. The suya comes in various iterations, including chicken, steak, salmon, lamb, shrimp. Order a side of the “stew,” which is basically a cup of hot sauce, and do not overlook the jollof rice.
Though jollof has many regional variations and ingredients, at its most basic, it’s super-charged rice, laced with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices. And it is a superb accompaniment to all those spicy chunks of meat or fish. The efo riro is also not to be missed, as it’s surprisingly fresh and as necessary to your meal as a batch of good collard greens is to an order of fried chicken.
There are many non-alcoholic drinks to wash it all down, such as zobo lemonade—a Nigerian combination of lemonade and hibiscus—and mango-passion fruit lemonade. There is also, of course, that long, well-stocked bar that runs much of the length of the dining room. During warmer months, there’s an outdoor patio. And happily for the neighborhood, especially considering all the available space both inside and out, there are weekend sports watch parties, karaoke nights, and, unsurprisingly, happy hours.
Bright and cheery with inexpensive, deeply flavorful, and extremely well-executed food, Spice Kitchen is a very welcome addition to an area in need of more interesting dining options. And it’s a splendid place to eat before or after a Safeway run.