Bringing the Fragrant Flavors of West Africa to the Heart of Downcity

Bold, earthy aromas drifted out the doors of Suya Joint in Providence as African drums pounded and Afro beats pulsed at the restaurant’s opening celebration earlier this year. The jovial spirit was long awaited, as owner Cecelia Lizotte worked for more than a year to bring this extension of her Boston flagship location to fruition.

When she first arrived in the U.S. in 1999 from her native Nigeria, Lizotte shared her authentic flavors from home as a caterer in the Boston area before opening her first brick-and-mortar. The menu was a culinary celebration of Nigerian and West African dishes she loved her whole life.

“In Africa, we grow up cooking in the kitchen, mine in particular. I lived in the village of Qua’an Pan with my grandmother,” she says. On Saturday mornings, she’d help her grandmother prepare a large quantity of food; Lizotte recalls the simmering pots and the wafting scent of warm, smoky spices. “By the time we’d open up at lunch hour, as a child, I’d go out there and just shout, ‘Abinci yamuna!’—basically meaning ‘Food is ready!’—and everybody in the community would walk towards our hut with their little bowls, and literally within hours—minutes—the food was all gone.”

Her memories include dishes that required some serious muscle; gathering the wood for cooking and using a mortar and pestle to make pounded yam called fufu, a common accompaniment with popular soups and stews, and to grind pumpkin or egusi seeds from the melon-like egusi gourd. These seeds are an essential part of egusi stew, a staple in Nigerian and West African cuisine.

 “In the village, we cooked with wood so it’s not necessarily a gas stove that we’re using, so I’m over there just trying to blow the flame and all that stuff,” she laughs. “You could just see all the smokiness and things like that. It has always been a labor of love.”

There are more kitchen tools at her disposal at her restaurants in Boston (at Nubian Square in Roxbury) and Providence. However, the ingredients, rich flavors and “made with love” spirit remain in every dish. This was nationally recognized when Lizotte was named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Northeast award in 2024. The nomination, she said, came as a complete shock.

“There’s a sense of me that my head wants to blow bigger, but then also I still have to remain humble, because what I really wanted to do is showcase African cuisine, the flavors, and it has gone beyond just, ‘Cecilia the owner of Suya Joint,’ to actually be recognized by the James Beard Foundation. And a lot of other chefs and business owners that I admire, whom I consider my mentors, now they’re coming to me to say, ‘Oh my God! Congratulations! Wow!’” says Lizotte. “It’s a very, very good feeling knowing the little thing—that I did not think was going to go anywhere—has exceeded my expectations.”

Despite that coveted culinary feather in her cap, Lizotte opened Suya Joint in Providence with the same quiet grace, focused on giving fellow West African immigrants a comforting taste of home while also introducing the region’s vibrant flavors to a broader audience.

“People who are explorers want to taste different cuisines,” she says.

For those new to West African cuisine, a good start might be the restaurant’s namesake, suya. Similar to shish kebab, suya is spiced beef smoke-grilled on a stick. “In every culture, they have meat on a stick, barbecue, or very similar, beef teriyaki,” says Lizotte. Nigerian suya, she says, is thinly sliced then prepared with dried kulikuli, a peanut-based snack; ginger, cayenne pepper, onion and garlic that combine to give the beef a nutty flavor that layers seamlessly with the smokiness from the cooking method. “When you go to Nigeria, you’re able to see suya on the street, so we just decided to name the restaurants Suya Joint, so that there’s familiarity.”

Suya Joint’s entire menu is dairy-free, with plenty of vegetarian dishes that can be customized with chicken, beef, fish, or goat. An ambitious small plate to many may be the Gizdodo, a stir-fry of gizzards and sweet plantains in a simmering pepper sauce. Traditional African beverages round out the experience, including La Casera, a popular Nigerian apple soda; Chapman, a non-alcoholic Nigerian drink that combines fruity flavors with a hint of bitters; and African beers, plus creative cocktails and mocktails. The dining room offers warm textures including natural-fiber chandeliers and a colorful mural that gives the cozy restaurant a warm, welcoming vibe to newcomers, but you’ll also find regulars picking up to-go orders.

Suya Joint joins a lineup of notable names on Providence’s historic Westminster Street—Oberlin, Gift Horse, Amaryllis, Ellie’s and more—but it’s poised to stand out on its own terms.

Andrea E. McHugh is a freelance writer who has written for the Hartford Courant, Baltimore Magazine, Daily Candy, Design Sponge, Providence Monthly and more. She resides in Newport.

Suya Joint
320 Westminster St. • Providence
401.388.4952; SuyaJoint.com