Great neighborhood gem. We had a table of 6. Our food was good but wasn't served together.

Food was very good the waitress was very friendly and accommodating and the live jazz music was great as well. I definitely will revisit this place again.

A former classmate Allen Hoist was performing and we all came to support him.
His performance was Amazing and Farfina was the perfect venue. It was upscale modern and lively. The acoustics were insane The service and the food was excellent I do recommend On a busy night like that you should have an additional server. The server was very accommodating but she had a packed room to serve alone. We all had a wonderful time

We enjoyed the food and the music. It was an interesting menu with friendly service.

Farafina offers a delightful combination of well made, Afro-French food, with original recipes and flavoring and live jazz by a superior quartet.

My first time here; I picked this restaurant at random and was so glad I did. Both the service and food were outstanding and the jazz band excellent. This is going to become a regular haunt for me. A shout out to bartender/server Lee Lee. She makes an exceptional cocktail and has a really pleasing personality.

I recently celebrated my Birthday with friends and family. We had a great time. The entertainment engaged the audience and was great! We will be back again, my new social home.

Absolutely fabulous time had at Farafina with excellent food, deliciously potent cocktails with great live music. The staff were attentive and welcoming. Would recommend the trip to Harlem to any visitor to NYC.

We had a very pleasant time. Good food and service and excellent
Jazz singer

Delicious food, great jazz with no cover, friendly service and a diverse, sophisticated crowd. We will definitely be back.

Despite a mix up with the reservations the staff accommodated my group. The service was a bit slow when they got busy but everyone was very polite and helpful. The food was really good and the prices were reasonable. The live band was also very good. I will definitely go back.

I live in the neighborhood and found Farafina to be a special spot. They have a nice menu, in my opinion something for everyone. Food was tasty and the wait staff both friendly and attentive. Then there is music Saturday night jazz with dinner was great. After dinner more jazz in a lower level started 11ish Jazz time happens when it happens I will return

This was a great evening out for me and my brothers celebrating our quarterly dinner outing. Farafina's Cafe and Lounge is an outstanding place to share an evening with family and friends.

Saturday evening they had a live band which was great. There were some interesting and unique dishes. I very much liked the African spiced skirt steak. The service was a little slow though we didn't mind taking it slow for dinner. I thought the prices were very reasonable for what you got.

It was my 2nd visit with my family. The first time the food and service were good. There was great live music and a responsive 3/4 full restaurant. My sister's rack of lamb and my mussels were very good, but the appetizers were the best. Not this time. There were only 3 people at the bar, our table of 5 and one other table of 2. It was downhill after the drinks and appetizers. We ordered skirt steaks and rack of lamb. The chef came out to tell us they were out of mashed potatoes so fries and gratin were substituted. The meat and gratin were cold. When they were taken back and returned the meats were still cool or overdone. The chef came out again to apologize for the problems in the kitchen. Eventually the manager removed some of the items from our check and comped a round of drinks. Unfortunately, it didn't make up for the disappointing food. It's too bad. We thought the restaurant had so much potential after our first visit. On a positive note, our server remained pleasant and tried to help salvage the situation as much as possible.

This was a great place to get good food and spend some time with friends. We were there before the music started so it was quiet enough for conversation. The food was plentiful and delicious. The service was excellent. Don't miss the spicy screwdriver! We would definitely go back next time we are in NYC.

Lovely food, bar and waitress staff attentive....had great selection of music not too loud but appropriate.. Plus a large amount of pretty patrons. Will come again..,

The food was delicious -- we loved the West African touch! The service was excellent -- attentive but not overbearing, helpful but not pushy, warm but not effusive! The ambiance was warm, friendly, happy, etc.

The occasion was my bday it was a very good place ....the service excellent ... dessert was not what we expected but the experience was nice

First time visit for a grandmother and two college men for dinner and first set Saturday. Recommend. Liked appetizer sampler, lamb dishes, cheese grits cake, spinach, rich chocolate dessert. Pleasant service. Mixed drinks were fine. No music charge. Tips requested for jazz quartet.

Had reservations for 5 pm so we missed the lives music but the service and food was good.

The food took awhile to come out, however when our meal arrived it was very good. Friendly staff, we felt welcomed.

My friends and I were welcomed warmly and received special attention by a friendly staff. We have decided to make Farafina our restaurant of choice - for drinks and/or dining. The added bonus is that it's a jewel in my neighborhood!

Food is interesting and well done. Chef very nice and showed us downstairs lounge for private parties or salsa. We were not there on a night with a band. The only other people in the restaurant was a group of seven women celebrating a birthday. Place so loud that we could not hear ourselves talk. Recommend going on a night with music, when you don't expect to talk.

the food was great. i saw a set up for live music, but the band was not playing that night. I said moderate for noise level because of that. But it was pretty quiet the night me and the girls went, so we could really catch up!

The food is amazing with great ambiance. It was very nice with the live Jazz band. The waiter was very attentive. Nice for a chill stop. The lanlmb chops was so delicious :-)

Our party of three went on a Thursday night. This was our first time here. It looks like a lounge from the outside. I might have never gone in except for a personal recommendation and good reviews. Once inside we were greeted warmly. We had $5 happy hour cocktails at 7:30 which were so-so.
Then our food came--outstanding! I had the curry- white wine mussels and another had the whole roasted fish in Yassa sauce. Both great and unique.
At 8pm Catfish Turner played and I was blown away! Great blues guitarist and his voice was incredible. The whole atmosphere was a great first night for my sister's visit to NYC. What surprises me most was that more people's le aren't flocking here from the neighborhood. I suspect the late night crowd comes in for second music session.
We will be back!

Very good jazz band and unusual and interesting food. The maffa was outstanding, and the appetizers and mussels were excellent.

Neighborhood Gem. Service was wonderful as well as the food and drinks. Will definitely return.

Was there on a Thursday night with friends. Got the appetizer sampler, Prix Fix meal with Lamb Bibi and a couple of stews (particularly liked the peanut sauce stew). Happy hour drinks til 8 PM were great, and the blues music (Catfish on guitar and vocals along with another guitarist) starting at 8 was excellent.

On concert nights, Farafina makes for a great date! We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner of chargrilled lamb (thin cuts of meat, but great char and accompanying yassa sauce (onion, lemon, mustard)) and kedjenou (spicy tomato-based stew with zucchini) with seafood and attiéké (granulated cassava; texture similar to that of Moroccan couscous). The lobster empanadas were a tasty opening bite. The cocktails were fine: not master-crafted and smooth but a good hit of liquor. Jazz in the Heightzz (not a typo) played two terrific sets. No cover, cash donations only. Service was very slow; the small staff had a hard time accommodating the full house.

Highly recommended hot spot in the nabe!

I love farafina. I eat here a lot because it is close to home and the food and drinks are really good.

We loved our first visit here.

I want to thank Rachel, Raul, and Mr. Brown for being accommodating and helping me and my family celebrate my father's 60th. The food was absolutely amazing, we loved our waitress/bartender Rachel who was so sweet, and Raul and Mr. Brown are a good management team. Be sure to try the sampler and seafood risotto!

The bartender was attentive despite being the only staff member out front, and her drinks were delicious. The food was well presented and flavorful. Overall good experience.

Party of four. Two of us had the duck pasta and if you are fan of duck it's a must have. Others had steak and the fish dishes and were equally impressed. Very good. I highly recommend it. Ps. I don't usually write reviews but this place was a exception.

We ate here early in a Saturday night. It was not crowded ( it tends to get crowded later on ).
We had never had West African food before and we all found it very tasty . The mafee sauce (tomato and peanut butter) was especially tasty. We had no idea what it would taste like. Hope to visit again and try some other dishes

A neighborhood find. It's a quaint restaurant with limited seating and a small bar. The host was very welcoming and from the moment we arrived, we felt a home. There was no pressure to order or eqt quickly and it felt almost as if we were at a friend's house just relaxing. They have a happy hour menu which is pretty extensive. I had the crabcakes, African beef sliders and guacamole. One word describes it all..... YUM. I would definitely return.

This place is electric. The food is amazing, slow but amazing. I will be back again and again and again.

Good food and live music but the service was low and our waiter had his head in the clouds, he was confused about our orders and then brought a wrong check two times. Two of us ordered the chicken maffe and there was no meat on the chicken, it was only the bony parts. A bit disapointed.