A familiar building, a very different kitchen. The building at 724 Cherokee Street NE has had a busy recent life. Doughnut Dollies once worked out of the space, while the upper floor housed Canvas Cafe & Bakery for nearly two decades before Sweetie’s Crab Shack arrived and then shut down in November 2025. Now the address has a new identity, and this one comes with suya1, pepper soup2, jollof rice3, and the kind of aromas that make the parking lot feel like part of the experience.
Ike’s Cafe & Grill first opened in Norcross in 2013, growing out of Ike’s Tropical Food Market, a grocery business founded by Ike Kwarteng in 1995. What started as prepared meals inside the market turned into a full restaurant, and the family has kept expanding from there. The Marietta location opened for takeout and app delivery in September 2025, then moved into dine-in service with a soft opening in April 2026, followed by a grand opening in May.
This is a menu with confidence. Ike’s pulls from Ghanaian, Nigerian, Liberian, and Ivorian West African traditions, bringing a lineup that includes beef suya1, pepper soup2, jollof rice3, attieke4, waakye5, egusi6, fufu7, fried fish8, and plantains9 in various forms that deserve far more respect than the phrase “side dish” usually gives them.
The beef suya makes a strong opening argument. It arrives well seasoned, edged with heat, and paired with onions that cut through the spice in exactly the right way. For someone trying suya for the first time, it is the type of dish that quickly turns into a repeat-order.
The peppered soup holds its own too. Prepared Ghanaian style, with rice and plantains alongside, it brings depth, heat, and balance without drifting into chaos. It tastes like a dish that knows what it is doing, which sounds obvious until one remembers how many restaurants out there are still fumbling around with salt and hope.
Ike’s also gives Marietta a Sunday buffet that is built for people who do not enjoy making small decisions. The “Chop Life Buffet” is served Sundays from noon to 4 pm and includes a broad selection of soups, stews, proteins, starches, and sides. The soup station has options like palm nut soup10, peanut soup11, egusi, goat soup12, ewedu13, ofe nsala14, ukazi soup15, and hen light soup16. Beyond that, the buffet serves items like egg stew17, stewed beef18, chicken, fish, assorted meats, rice ball19, pounded yam20, amala21, waakye, fried rice22, white rice, and plantains. Live music begins at 3 pm, which means Sunday here is not built for a rushed lunch and an early exit.
The family story matters here because it still feels present in the restaurant itself. Ama Serwah has been tied to the cuisine and interior design, while the next generation has helped drive expansion. What began as a grocery operation in Norcross has grown into a wider hospitality business, with additional operations in Atlanta and Kumasi, Ghana.
That larger footprint is part of the story, though Marietta’s role is simple enough. Ike’s has brought a full West African restaurant to a corridor that has seen plenty of concepts come and go, and it has done so with food that tastes grounded, specific, and fully awake. No gimmicks, no watered-down safe play, no timid little shrug of a menu. Cherokee Street got something with real personality.
Address:
Ike’s Cafe & Grill
724 Cherokee St NE
Marietta, GA 30060
Phone:
(404) 942-8765
Online:
IkesCafe.com | Menu | Yelp | Facebook | Instagram
A Quick Guide to the Menu
- Suya: A popular West African street food made with skewered or sliced meat, usually coated in a spicy peanut-based seasoning and grilled. Beef suya is one of the best-known versions.
- Peppered Soup: A hot, spicy broth-based soup found in several West African cuisines. It is usually made with meat or fish and seasoned with a strong mix of peppers and spices.
- Jollof Rice: A tomato-based rice dish cooked with peppers, onions, and spices. It is one of the most widely known dishes in West Africa, and different countries have their own style.
- Attieke: A side dish from Côte d’Ivoire made from fermented cassava. It looks a bit like couscous and is often served with grilled fish or meat.
- Waakye: A Ghanaian rice and beans dish, usually cooked with dried millet leaves or sorghum leaves, which help give it its traditional color and flavor.
- Egusi: A thick soup or stew made with ground melon seeds. It is common in Nigerian cooking and is often prepared with greens, peppers, and meat or fish.
- Fufu: A smooth, stretchy starch made by pounding or processing ingredients such as cassava, yam, or plantain. It is usually eaten alongside soup.
- Fried Fish: Fish seasoned and cooked until crisp on the outside. In West African restaurants, this can include tilapia, mackerel, or other whole fish preparations.
- Plantains: A starchier relative of the banana, usually fried, boiled, roasted, or mashed. They can be sweet or savory depending on ripeness and preparation.
- Palm Nut Soup: A soup made from palm fruit extract, giving it a deep, earthy flavor and a reddish color. It is common in Ghana and nearby countries.
- Peanut Soup: A soup made with ground peanuts or peanut butter, often blended with tomatoes, peppers, and meat. It is common in Ghanaian cooking.
- Goat Soup: A soup made with goat meat, usually seasoned heavily and simmered until the meat is tender.
- Ewedu: A Nigerian green soup made from jute leaves. It has a soft, slippery texture and is often served with other soups or stews.
- Ofe Nsala: A Nigerian soup, sometimes called white soup, made without palm oil. It is usually prepared with fish or meat and has a light-colored broth thickened with yam or another starch.
- Ukazi Soup: A Nigerian soup made with ukazi leaves, also called afang or wild spinach in some contexts. It is usually cooked with meat, fish, and rich seasoning.
- Hen Light Soup: A Ghanaian soup made with chicken in a light but flavorful pepper-based broth. Despite the name, it can still bring plenty of heat.
- Egg Stew: A tomato-based stew cooked with eggs, onions, peppers, and seasoning. It is often served with rice, yam, or bread.
- Stewed Beef: Beef simmered in a seasoned sauce until tender, often served with rice or starches.
- Rice Ball (Emotuo): A Ghanaian dish of soft rice shaped into balls and usually served with soup, especially peanut soup or light soup.
- Pounded Yam: A smooth, stretchy starch made from yam that has been boiled and pounded. It is commonly served with soup.
- Amala: A Nigerian swallow made from yam flour, cassava flour, or plantain flour. It has a dark color and soft, elastic texture.
- Fried Rice: Rice cooked with vegetables, seasoning, and sometimes meat or seafood. West African fried rice is different from Chinese-style fried rice and often has its own seasoning profile.
