Warri is one of the best places in Nigeria to eat Delta cuisine — specifically banga soup, the region's defining dish. Made from palm nut cream, fresh and dried fish, stockfish, crayfish, periwinkles, and a distinctive spice blend that includes the aromatic dried seed of the obeletete plant, banga has a depth of flavour that distinguishes it from the simpler palm nut soups found elsewhere in West Africa. It is served with pounded yam, eba (cassava fufu), or starch.
The best banga is eaten in simple local restaurants around Efferun, Uwie, and the main market area. Look for a woman with a large pot and a crowd — that is where to eat. Starch-and-banga is the classic Warri combination; starch is a slightly gelatinous cassava preparation unique to Delta State that holds the soup differently from standard fufu. Grilled tilapia and pepper soup (made with fresh catfish) are the other must-eats.