West African Vegan Restaurant, Ubuntu, Opens in LA

2022 James Beard semifinalist Shenarri Freeman’s new restaurant Ubuntu, opened in West Hollywood on August 1, 2023. Executive Chef Shenarri Freeman has been vegan since 2017. The new restaurant will be serving Freeman’s vegan version of West African food. The restaurant menu is inspired by and an homage to her travels through the West African cities of Lagos, Accra, and Dakar. There, she noticed many similarities between the food she ate and the ones she had grown up eating in Richmond, Virginia. 

Many of these similarities can be traced back to the African Diaspora. Lots of soul food staples, including black-eyed peas, yams, and okra can be traced back to Africa and were brought to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries via transatlantic routes used for the horrific American slave trade. Food justice activist and author Leah Penniman shares that African women would braid okra, cowpea, millet, and black rice seeds into their hair before being forced to board the slave ships thus bringing the staple crops with them. 

Freeman hopes to educate diners through the menu at Ubuntu and by offering a Sunday menu from Cadence, Ubuntu’s sister restaurant which dishes up soul food in New York. This crossover menu will bring soul food options to Ubuntu in the hope that diners will be able to realize the connection between soul food and West African cuisine, according to a statement Freeman gave to Vogue. 

Ubuntu, which can be roughly translated as “humility” in Zulu, makes vegetables the center and stars of their dishes. Dishes are West African inspired with Freeman’s unique twist. The restaurant also features a strong cocktail program; the cocktails highlight African ingredients. Their wine list consists fully of offerings from black-owned businesses.  

Freeman also hopes to complement the West African food at Ubuntu with a jewel-toned atmosphere highlighting the green and yellow colors found in many West African flags. Afrobeats’ music helps to create a fun, high-energy vibe in the space.

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