Banfora eats well for a small town. The local cuisine is solidly Burkinabé — riz gras (rice cooked in tomato and fish broth), poulet bicyclette (the scrawny free-range chicken grilled over wood), tô (millet porridge) with peanut sauce. The mangoes in season are extraordinary, and the local bissap (hibiscus juice) is a useful relief from the heat.
The maquis along the main street do the cheapest food — Maquis Le Refuge and Maquis Wend Konta are reliable. For something more polished, the Hotel Comoé and the Hôtel La Canne à Sucre both have decent restaurants open to non-guests, with international menus alongside the local options. The cheapest street food is at the night market that sets up after dark around the bus station.