Ivory Coast Food and Drink

Abidjan and other large centres have restaurants serving Caribbean, French, Italian, Lebanese and Vietnamese food. There is a growing number of African restaurants catering for foreigners. The best area for spicy African food is the Treichville district of Abidjan. The blue pages of the Abidjan telephone book have a special restaurant section. There are no restrictions on drinking.

Specialities

Kedjenou: Chicken cooked with different vegetables in a stew and sometimes sealed in banana leaves.
N'voufou: Mashed bananas or yam mixed with palm oil and served with aubergine sauce.
Attieké: Grated cassava similar to couscous often served as an accompaniment to barbequed meat.
Alloco: Plantain fried in palm oil served with a spicy sauce of onions and chilli is often eaten as a snack with a hard-boiled egg.
Foufou: Fermented and mashed cassava served as an accompaniment to soup or meat.
Maafe: Meat cooked in a peanut sauce usually served with rice.
Land snails: Huge snails often grilled or eaten in a sauce.
Pouletbicyclette: Guinea fowl, usually served grilled.
Barbequed chicken or fish: Typically served with onions and tomatoes.
Bangui: Local palm wine.

Tipping

Most hotels and restaurants include a service charge in the bill; if not, 15% is acceptable.

Drinking age

18

Visa and passport information is updated regularly and is correct at the time of publishing. You should verify critical travel information independently with the relevant embassy before you travel.