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I came to Australia in 1983 from the Sudanese capital Khartoum – via Greece – where I trained as a Civil Engineer. My qualifications weren't recognised here so in 1984 we opened the Rakuba coffee lounge in North Adelaide, a small place with black walls and green shag-pile carpet. Finally, needing to expand, we opened Babanusa in August, 1995.

The name Babanusa comes from a town in western Sudan that is a meeting place for several nomadic tribes. We try to recreate the unique, laid-back Sudanese atmosphere in the restaurant, which is why we combine music with the food. After people have eaten, we encourage them to get up and try out the rhythms of the African xylophone and drums. We will be sure to get you up and dancing! Feel free to view some of our happy customers in the site’s gallery.

My chef Eddie Ahmed also comes from Khartoum but he came to Australia via Egypt where he trained as a chef at the beachside cafes in Daha on the Red Sea. We have worked together as a successful team ever since our Rakuba days.

With Sudanese food, the aroma and taste are almost inextricable, the flavour is vibrant but not too spicy, featuring vegetables like okra, eggplant and fava beans. In Sudan there is no such thing as recipe books – popular meals simply get handed down through the generations, constantly evolving and improving. It is for this reason that unless you have been to Sudan you are unlikely to have ever tasted the amazing cuisine and so I feel highly privileged to be Australia’s only official source of authentic Sudanese cuisine. With this in mind I realize that not everyone is able to visit my restaurant and so I have decided to record and share some of our favourite recipes on my NEWS page. This ensures that no one misses out on the experience of Sudanese dining!

I hope to see you at Babanusa soon! Allahmahak!

- Eltahir