Amawele's South African Kitchen

Their food is DELICIOUS.
We ordered catering from them for a work event, and multiple people told me it was hands down the best food we've ever had.
They offer individually packed meals that can accommodate basically any dietary restriction.
Thank you Wendy!

Yelp shows this location as closed, but they cater for companies. We had the following today:

Bobotie Paleo Saute - Sweet and spicy ground beef saute with raisins and pineapple

Lemon & Herb Chicken (Paleo) - Sauteed chicken in a lemon and herb sauce served with vegetables

Vegetable Masala Sweet Potato Cottage Pie (Vegan) - Mild coconut sauce, topped with mashed sweet potatoes

Green Waldorf Salad - Seasoned Green mix Kale, Romaine lettuce, grated carrots, chopped apples, diced red or green bell peppers, raisins, seasonal nut and feta cheese on the side. Served with light lemon and truffled dressing.

All of the food was really good. I LOVED their Truffle Lemon Dressing!! If you're looking for a catered meal this would be a great place to try.

Much better than the last time!

Last time I ate here the food was so salty I could not finish it (See my first review below), but because of all the other good reviews I decided to give it another chance and I am glad I did!

As the first time, the folks behind the counter were very helpful and friendly. The young man who I spoke with helped me identify the dish (Bobotie paleo) that I saw another customer have. Based on my first experience, I was a bit uncertain about how I would enjoy my meal, but I was proven wrong. It was delicious and I enjoyed it very much. The flavors were pleasantly different and the food was not overly salty unlike my first meal here.

The food here is delicious, and the folks who here are delightful.

Amaweles is hot lunch spot at the Rincon. Out front of Amawele's is a board that shows about a dozen photos of the various food options. When certain items sell out, they put a small note over the photo. That's the cost of freshness!

I've had the opportunity to try most over item on there menu and I can tell you its hard to go wrong. The most popular item is the Bunny Chow. Its basically a hunk of bread with stew draped over it. Its a tad spicy, but not overly so.

My favorite item is the Durban Curry Roti Wraps. This is an artisan flatbread filled with curry and pickled vegetables. Its a little less spicy than the Bunny Chows, which I prefer. For a newbie, I recommend starting here.

Out the door, you'll never spend more than $13.

TLDR: Amawele's truly is a hidden gem in the city. It's tucked away in a food court area in the Rincon Center, so keep an eye out for this homely booth! It's a perfect stop for a quick lunch break and if you haven't checked this place out yet, you're missing out!!

Food: 8/10
This was my first time trying South African food and wow was it a blend of flavors! I got the Bobotie rice, which was basically ground beef fried rice with some yogurt sauce on top. This was definitely the first time I've had anything like this but the tanginess of the yogurt paired nicely with the saltiness of the rice! It kinda reminded me of Indian cuisine with a twist :^)

Price & Portions: 8/10
I was pretty hungry and I still only finished half of my dish! It was only $10 which is an absolute STEAL for good food in SF. I also had enough leftovers for dinner :)

Service: 10/10
A huge shoutout to Wendy for helping us order!! I was honestly lost when I looked at the menu, so me and my friend asked for recommendations. One of the chefs, Wendy, asked us all the right questions regarding what type of lunch we were "feeling" and suggested the perfect dishes for both of us! They clearly genuinely care about the food and the customer experience!!

Ambience: 7/10
It's not really a typical restaurant! It's in a food court so either come in a small party or be prepared to take your food and find another place to sit. Other than that, the booth itself is absolutely adorable and the food court area looks pretty cozy. I didn't eat in the actual area, however, since I came with about 10 other people.

Finally tried this place for lunch. The food is delicious and the people are friendly. Honestly, this is by far the best food I've tried at the Rincon center.

I ordered the Cape Malay Rice with Chicken. It was super flavorful and served with some sour cream on top. It was nicely spiced (as in various spices, not hot). If i had to compare it to another food, I would say it was like a moister version of a biriyani. It had chunks of chicken, potatoes and carrots. I will definitely be back to try the other dishes.

I just discovered this place...I am so happy I stumbled upon it!!! It is absolutely delicious!!! I have had food from South Africa before but not like this. This truly tastes like home cooking to me....even though I am not South African:)
I cannot wait to go back:)

(I know it looks sloppy...don't judge...just try it:)

Cant rave about this place enough. Nice people, cheap prices, and delicious unique foods. You order to go and eat in the fancy rincon center with indoor rain machine. I opted for the daily special a meat pie and it was the bomb. Kind of like a pot pie but the crust was made of croissant and it was loaded with african spiced beef. It came with an orange tomato based vegie curry that was very tasty as well. All in all very filling for around 10 bucks.

I have been meaning to go here for years. My father had recommended the Frickadelle flap chip roll, but I decided to try their Chicken bunny chow. If I haven't already mentioned ladies and gentleman I am very particular about chicken. A chicken hater if you will.

Over the years, I grew to dislike when chicken is still slightly raw in the center. I also don't like if it is not thoroughly washed and prepped to get rid of the raw smell. Then why do I always get chicken? Well in the hopes that one day, I will come across chicken so thoroughly cooked and delicious of course!

The chicken chow is chicken curry in a little white bread loaf. They cut the top off. In the hollow center, they scoop the chicken. Then you can rip the bread and sop up the curry.

I ordered the chicken bunny chow with trepidation. My worries were for not. Amawale's chicken bunny chow was everything I hoped for and more.
Hallelujah! There chicken chow was so so amazing and actually spicy!! They used cardamom pods and seasoning so that it tasted like spicy South Indian curry.

You know it's legit when they use cardamom pods. This curry is more authentic and far better than any curry you will get in an Indian restaurant in the U.S. Bow down to the awesomeness that is chicken chow!

I loved their generous portion size and very reasonable pricing of $8.00. You can definitely share an order with 2 people.

When you read the poster on their wall, the fact that it tastes like South Indian curry is unsurprising. It indicates that South African cuisine is a mix of many African people as well as Indians, Malaysians, Dutch etc.

I got the Frickadelle flap chip roll the week after the chicken chow. Amawale's Frickadelle roll comes in a baguette with 2 large beef meatballs, a small amount of lettuce, fresh floppy vinegar soaked potato chips, and plenty of their peri peri hot sauce. This was not as amazing as the chicken chow (3.5/5) , but definitely worthy a try.

I felt that the meatballs were overcooked and wished there was more lettuce to fill up the inside of the sandwich. Towards the end I was eating bread and the peri peri hot sauce. Their hot sauce is delicious though!

I am a huge fan of Amawale's chicken chow. Due to their generous portions, reasonable FiDi price under $11, and their amazing flavors, I absolutely cannot wait to come back and try their other dishes!

It's a hard call, as I tried several really fantastic cheap hole in the wall lunch places in this general area while I was in the Financial District for a gloriously foodtastic business trip last week, but I think this was probably my favorite food stop in the area. Got here a little after noon on a Friday, it took about 10 minutes to order and get my food (a chicken roti), which isn't bad at all given it was clearly made fresh, and it was right during the lunch rush. The roti wrapping itself wasn't quite the same as I was used to - less tortilla-y, more doughy - but I wasn't complaining, it was super delicious, as was the monstrously huge amount of filling in it. The spicy cherry on top: as much peri peri hot sauce as you wanted to put on it, which was also full of so many flavors, and super delicious (also, word of caution, pretty spicy.) Super good value for how good, and how huge, it is. I definitely want to try the bunny chow next time - my coworker got that, and it looked at *least* as delicious.

The rooibos iced tea is a bit of a harder sell price-wise, at $3.50 a bottle, but when I saw it was freshly made in house (just bottled in advance for easier to-go drinking, I suppose, and to make it faster to sell), I had to try a bottle, and yeah, arguably worth it. Definitely complements the food really nicely.

Extra bonus, for being basically in a food court, it is the *nicest* food court I've ever seen - there's plenty of space, plenty of seating, and the tables are arranged around a really cool fountain coming down from the second floor that honestly feels kind of out of place for such affordable dining. Wasn't complaining, though.