Banjul has a modest but genuine restaurant scene, centred on local Gambian cooking rather than the tourist fare that dominates the coastal resort strip. The city is a good place to eat cheaply and well if you know where to look.
Benachin is the most characteristic Gambian dish — rice cooked in a single pot with meat or fish, vegetables, and tomato paste, similar to West African jollof rice but with its own distinct flavour profile. It turns up on menus throughout the city. Domoda, a groundnut-based stew served over rice, is another staple, rich and filling and available at most local restaurants. Fish — grilled, fried, or in sauce — is excellent given the proximity to the river and the sea.
The best cheap eating is around the Albert Market and along Wellington Street, where small chop houses serve plates of rice and stew for a few dalasi. The Banjul Club on Cameron Street has a more formal restaurant atmosphere and is popular with government workers at lunchtime. For something lighter, fresh fruit is available throughout the day at the market, and Lebanese-run snack shops near Independence Drive do good sandwiches and pastries.