Liberian Girl Kitchen

🇱🇷 LIBERIA / A home chef is now offering traditional and modern Liberian meals and West African fare from her home at the edge of Leimert Park.

🇱🇷 LIBERIA
📍 3804 Arlington Avenue
Leimert Park, South Los Angeles
🅿️ Street parking (pickup), Doordash for delivery
💲 Cash or Zelle when picking up.
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not a restaurant, so please contact the business for up-to-date hours and information.

At just about that point where Leimert Park, Jefferson Park, and Exposition Park come together in South Los Angeles, suddenly the city has Liberian food available daily. For now the chef is running the operation out of her home, with pickup and delivery available. While most West African restaurants in the city are hesitant to put their represented nation in the title and call their food “African” or “West African,” Liberia is celebrated proudly here.

The Republic of Liberia has had only a small representation in Los Angeles, and never in restaurant form. After seeing the nation take 1st place in the 2023 Jollof Cook-Off at the Afrobeats Block Party, exploring the world of private Liberian chefs in the city was high priority. Unfortunately the winners of the event, Mamie Peppa, are temporarily closed but this new vendor has recently popped up to offer delivery through Doordash or pickups.

The food of Liberia has plenty of crossover with its neighbors in West Africa like Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and the nations beyond that do not share a border, but it is also its own characters. Now that it is possible to get a taste of this very spicy cuisine and many of its favorites, get on the phone and order as many dishes as you think you can consume.

Jollof is often an entry point for curious eaters dipping their toes into West African food, and the jollof rice ($17.50, below) offered by Liberian Girl Kitchen is a good way to start if you only try one thing. An order comes with your choice of chicken or beef, the former laying down two drumsticks on top of the tomato-stewed rice. West Africans must remain loyal to the jollof of their nation, but as an outsider you can enjoy all their subtle differences and decide against taking favorites.