What should we know about Mama Shee?
Few of last year’s closures were as disappointing as Bless Up. The Tallaght opener lasted just six months, serving up a pan-African offering heavy on Nigerian favourites like jollof and efo riro. That’s why we jumped at the news that D24 was to get a second taste with the opening of a sit-down spot for Mama Shee. Edizemi Onilenla’s brand has done stalwart trade on Moore Street and other market locations since 2019, building a growing chorus of fans in the process.
What should we have?
The buffet-style setup gives you the option to mix-and-match, getting as much variety as possible. It's a little confusing though as the menu shows set prices for each dish, but we were charged €25 each for "all you can eat". We earned some side eye with a smile from our server at the “eclectic plates” we assembled, but found it a fun way to greedily gorge. Most other punters played it straight with one of the meats or stews heaped on a plate of rice, served with a side of fried plantain.
Everything here has its distinctive merits, the rice chief among them. Jollof is a mainstay of Nigerian cuisine, long-grain rice cooked in a fragrant tomato sauce until soft, sweet and spicy. Mama Shee’s is a prime specimen, flavourful enough to devour without anything else on it – but where’s the fun in that? Fried rice has just as much taste, if a little less character - for us, it’s jollof all the way.
Asoro is a yam porridge with varying mashed and whole chunk textures, and the subtle starchy flavours of the stewed tuber pair well with the jollof's light spice – it's a top tip for vegetarians. So too is the efo riro, with a welcome kick of heat giving the spinach stew staying power - a big bowl of this would make for a satisfying meal on its own. Egusi “soup” is thicker than the title might suggest, with the pounded melon seeds it takes its name from giving a creamy texture swaddling yet more yam.
Carnivores will delight in the variety of meat here, with everything from smoked turkey to snails (!) among the dishes we spotted in weeks of Insta-eyeing. Against the idea of those, neither which were on the day we dropped in, tender chicken thighs couldn’t stack up, for all their juicy, charred-skin goodness. Beef in a sauce of roast red and chilli peppers was better, with fatty cuts dissolving into a rich broth. The same sauce plays host to a curious combo of goat and turkey, the former’s bone-in chunks beautifully tender. The more adventurous should single out the the ayamase, a distinctively black stew of boiled eggs and tripe that's a tasty treat for anyone into offal.
Why should I go?
For a crash course in the cuisine of Africa’s most populous country, you won't do better. Mama Shee’s diverse dish array offers a welcome chance to dive headlong into a food culture heretofore not widely available in Ireland, and more’s the pity. We’re already keeping tabs on the rotating specialties and planning a return -those snails can’t come soon enough.
Mama Shee
1 Belgard Square West, Tallaght, D24
