In Laurel Maryland, on 4th Street not too far from the center of downtown, in an unassuming strip mall, lies an extraordinary restaurant. Pleroma Cuisine is an African restaurant specializing in both Cameroonian and Nigerian cuisine. I went there with a group of friends one evening and had a dinner like no other.

Bianka Mbeng is the heart and soul of Pleroma Cuisine. Bianka is the head chef and her husband Tayo manages the restaurant. Bianka grew up in a small village in rural Cameroon. Through scholarships and hard work, she went to university in Europe. After culinary school, she dedicated her life to sharing African cuisine. I’m not sure when the family moved to the United States, but the earliest mention of Pleroma Cuisine that I could find was in 2020.

Menu

Pleroma Cuisine has a fairly large menu with dozens of African dishes. Everything is made fresh and not all items are available every day. The menu is divided into Appetizers, Chef’s Specials, Entrees, Soups, Intercontinental, From the Grill, and Desserts. The heart of the menu is Cameroonian and Nigerian dishes, most of which I have never heard of. Many of the items are stews and soups. The meats featured are goat, beef, chicken, and sausages. The grilled items entirely consist of fish. There are a few Western items such as Fish and Chips, Chicken Wings, and Pizza. The desserts section has a decidedly French influence, with items like Macrons and several kinds of crepes. The one African dessert is a fried dough ball called Puff Puff.

Our Meal

Appetizers

We started the meal with a couple of appetizers. I had the Spicy Goat, while one of my companions had the Roasted Goat. The goat in both dishes was tender and succulent. Goat has a tendency to be very bony. While these had some bones, they did not dominant and there was plenty of meat. The spicy goat did have quite the kick to it.

Another companion ordered a Meat Pie. I was expecting something like a Jamaican Beef Patty, but these were quite different. They are of a similar size, but both the crust and flavor are very different. The crust is a buttery pastry dough that was excellent. The insides were pack dense with shredded meat. I’m not sure what kinds of meats, but it was mild tasting so one of them had to be chicken. The meats were seasoned with a mild curry flavor, giving it an unique taste without being overpowering.

Entrees

For my entree, I had intended to get Achu, which features a variety of Cameroonian dishes. But it was not available that day. On the chef’s recommendation, I ordered Ekwang Coco instead. Like Achu, Ekwang features ground Cocoyam. The main difference is that in Ekwang, the yam is wrapped in leaves (similar to grape leaves), and served with chunks of beef in a flavorful sauce. I really liked the sauce, but the cocoyams themselves were too starchy for me.

With all our selections, we covered a good portion of the entrees. These dishes were: Oxtail Stew, Hot Pot, Grilled Salmon, and Chicken Schwarma. All received great reviews, except for the Schwarma. It has a lot of a mayonnaise based sauce, much more than my companion was expecting.

Soups

Several of my companions ordered one of Pleroma’s signature soups. Two ordered Equsi (ground melon seeds with mixed vegetables and meat), while one ordered Oha (ora leaves with meats). We were warned that Oha is an acquired taste; only one person ventured to try it. Both received stellar reviews. I think I’m going to try the Egusi on my next visit.

Atmosphere

Pleroma Cuisine has a modest amount of dining space which is elegantly decorated. A large TV on the wall was softly playing music videos, giving a relaxing ambience. With only a couple of other customers besides us, the restaurant was not crowded. Bianka and and Tayo were friendly and gracious. Bianka greeted us, described the menu, and gave several recommendations. We saw little of her after that, as after we placed our order, she was busy cooking. As everything was freshly made, it took a bit of time for the food to come out. But it was a reasonable amount of time. And it was worth the wait, as everything was delicious.