The Deli That Splits Two Kitchens Well
Afro Deli & Grill runs on a simple idea executed without shortcuts: East African and Mediterranean cooking sharing one counter, one price point, and a menu that does not make either side feel like an afterthought. The Chicken Fantastic is the order that built the reputation, grilled chicken over rice with a sauce that reads as the connective tissue between the two cuisines on the menu. The Veggie Fantastic runs the same formula meatless and holds up on its own, not as a compromise plate but as a real option, which matters in a room built to be vegetarian-friendly rather than vegetarian-tolerant. The hummus gets called out on its own, which says something: plenty of counters treat it as filler, this one treats it as a dish worth ordering separately. This is counter service, quick, inexpensive, built for a fast lunch or a family dinner without ceremony.
The price point and the format put it in direct competition with every fast-casual option downtown, and the fact that it holds its own says the kitchen is not coasting on novelty. St. Paul has lost ground in this lane recently: the Cedar-Riverside and skyway Afro Deli rooms closed at the end of 2025, which leaves this location carrying more weight than it used to. That makes consistency here less of a nice-to-have and more of the whole argument. The room reads as family friendly and casual, the kind of place built for repeat weekday visits rather than a special trip.
Nothing about the menu chases trend. It is a Somali and Mediterranean hybrid that has apparently found an audience wide enough to keep both halves of the menu relevant, from the grilled proteins to the hummus to the rice plates that anchor the Fantastic line. For a fast, cheap meal that treats vegetarians as a real customer and not an afterthought, this is one of the more reliable stops left in that particular lane in the Twin Cities.
