Dining Review: Suya Joint in Providence

Beef Suya, The Joint Sampler and Fresh okra stew. Photography by Angel Tucker

The top of Suya Joint’s menu is emblazoned with an African proverb: “Words are sweet, but they can never take the place of food.” Not going to argue against that. 

The Joint Sampler with wings, samosas, plantains and stew. Photography by Angel Tucker

Owner Cecelia Lizotte’s second restaurant joins several noteworthy eateries on Providence’s Westminster Street — a collection so varied that it defies categorization. Italy, France, Korea and the Americas have been represented with both earnestness and aplomb, and now Africa has found its articulation in this single-street culinary microcosm.

Lizotte first brought her Nigerian cooking skills to the states through a catering business and then, more than ten years ago, at the original Suya Joint in Boston. The practice of cooking is certainly personal — she has spoken repeatedly of her grandmother’s influence — but, as is so often the case with cuisine that travels to another country, it’s also a representation of culture and an effort in global community building.

The space is dominated by sunshine. Ceilings soar and the front windows run floor to ceiling. Libby Slader, who designed the restaurant, commissioned a mural by artist Greg Pennisten (Greg Was Here) that extends across the east wall and which, fittingly, features a glowing sun perched on the horizon, overlooking fishermen and women on the African coastline. Even the ochre paint lends a warmth to the dining room that’s fully manifested by a staff eager to welcome in diners familiar with Nigerian food as well as first-timers.

The diners themselves are defined by their diversity: It’s not uncommon to see people from all walks of life and all ages in a single service. Small children with light-up sneakers circle tables exuberantly while noshing on bits of food, a thirty-something man in dramatic hoop earrings and a polar-bear-like coat chats up the hostess, and a quartet of retired folks arrive early to get some gastronomic traveling in before it gets dark outside. There are also couples sharing a plate of food that’s clearly an evocation of home. 

Fresh okra stew and the Shuga Daddy daiquiri. Photography by Angel Tucker

It’s exactly the vibe that every server works to cultivate, one in which people of varied backgrounds gather around a table for shared experiences. The forty seats are generously spaced, which doesn’t create barriers as much as it allows for meandering and small talk between diners. The aesthetics of the table are simple — plates have a slightly irregular shape and intentionally worn edges that, with a quick glance, conjure relics. 

It’s a fitting metaphor for a cuisine that’s steeped in both history and heritage — though modernity appears when Kendrick Lamar and SZA break in overhead with “All the Stars,” or when a traditional Nigerian stew of roasted peppers, onions, habanero and curry is poured over fried chicken wings ($16). (The interpretation is inspired.)

If there’s a thread that runs through the astounding multiplicity — well over 200 million residents speaking 500 different languages — of Nigeria, it’s the significance of stewed dishes that vary regionally. The concept itself — an amalgam of individual ingredients that creates a profound sum — is the very core of Suya Joint. And each interpretation here is a compelling study of how Caribbean and American cuisines were influenced and established their own uniqueness. It’s also a lesson in how tradition itself continuously becomes contemporary. 

Stews are seriously protein-rich at Suya Joint, ($21-$24) though meat rarely takes the spotlight. It’s used in small pieces and in building stock, but much of the protein comes from beans, nuts and legumes. Taushe stew is rich with pureed peanuts while ogbono has a base of crushed mango seeds. Egusi centers itself on ground pumpkin seeds, Ewedu on jute leaves (which tastes a bit like collagen-rich, hearty spinach), and an okra stew uses both the pods and seeds to create a bite overloaded with texture. 

The interior was designed by Libby Slader. Photography by Angel Tucker

Brown sugar pineapple cake. Photography by Angel Tucker

There is so much flavor in a single bite that, while you can eat anything with a spoon, it’s usually sopped up with bits of fufu or swallow, a dumpling made from grain or starchy vegetables. Yam is the most dense, easy to pinch off with a mild flavor. The eba (cassava) has a slighted fermented taste that lends itself to sweeter stews, and farina (creamed wheat) has a grainy consistency that bears some resemblance to polenta. The ritual itself speaks to the collective eating experience: You could keep a dish to yourself but that’s missing out on the many iterations of mixing each stew and swallow.

The menu does extend beyond Nigeria where Lizotte was raised, often incorporating dishes representative of a broader African palate. Though you can readily get your hands on housemade pepper sauce, most dishes are more savory than hot, which allows for a better appreciation of Suya Joint’s spice-nuanced style. Beef Suya ($19), however, manages to manifest so much of the restaurant’s vision with tender strips of beef coated so densely with peanut powder, ginger, cayenne and garlic that it almost tastes breaded. Each bite is a heavily heated harmony that is both simple and entirely enigmatic.

But Suya Joint has a very sweet side as well — one that resides in both cocktails and desserts. There are more than two dozen cocktails ($12–$14) and, although most are a riff on a classic margarita, martini, daiquiri or the like, most options are fruit-forward (guava, passion fruit, pineapple, peach) and taste so benign that you may not know what you’re getting into. (The Suya Joint Painkiller, loaded with rum and coconut, says only two per customer and I’m certain there’s a story to be told in that warning.) 

Desserts are usually in cake form ($10) — guava cheesecake, triple chocolate cake, brown sugar pineapple cake — and there’s no disguise here; it’s unbridled festivity that harkens back to a childhood thick with frosting and optimism. Glitter sprinkles are strewn on top, a fitting end to a meal that’s infused with celebratory pride.

It’s worth noting in the age of DoorDash that the entire menu travels well. It’s the beauty of slow-cooked food that’s traveled through time and over oceans to meet its audience: The depth of its flavor endures, no matter where it’s being served.

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SUYA JOINT

320 Westminster St., Providence, 388-4952, suyajoint.com 

Open Tuesday–Saturday, noon–9 p.m.; Sunday, 2–8 p.m. Reservations recommended but not necessary. Wheelchair accessible. Street parking.

Designer Libby Slader commissioned a mural by artist Greg Pennisten (Greg Was Here) that features a glowing sun perched on the horizon, overlooking fishermen and women on the African coastline. Photography by Angel Tucker

Cuisine: The mother of all stews shows up to show you how it’s done. 

Capacity: Forty.

Vibe: Light-filled, laid-back and joyful. 

Prices: Appetizers: $8–$22; entrees: $21–$38; dessert: $10.

Karen’s Picks: Beef Suya, Joint Sampler (wings, samosas, plantains and stew), any and every stew. If you’re really hungry, opt for one of the African dinners (in meat- and veggie-lover versions) that offer a lot of everything. 

Editors’ Note: The manager at Suya Joint, Paul Dama, was recently detained by ICE on his way to church. The restaurant and community has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for his legal defense fund.