Crazy Nights in Osu

We hadn’t been too impressed during our initial excursion in Osu, Accra’s most popular nightlife spot. But that was because we had limited ourselves to Oxford Street. The moment you step off that main drag, the annoyances vanish, revealing an enjoyable neighborhood with plenty of options for fun.

For our return to Osu, we decided to take our time, reserving an entire afternoon and evening for exploration. We began in the quiet, largely residential areas found the east of Oxford Street. There weren’t a lot of memorable sights in this area, but we enjoyed the peacefulness. I didn’t realize that Osu might also be a pleasant place to live, but I could totally see us being happy in the area around the crescent… fewer restaurants and shops than in Adabraka, but also less traffic and noise.

As the sun began its descent, we crossed Oxford Street, to begin investigating the western side of Osu. Any sense of tranquility was immediately erased, overwritten by upbeat music thumping from a plethora of cafe, and howls of laughter from the locals hanging around outside shops.

We advanced in a zig-zag pattern from south to north, taking note of the bars and restaurants that looked most promising. And after hitting the northern border of Osu at the Ring Road, we went backwards, visiting those bars and restaurants. We were in the mood for fun, and delivered ourselves straight over to Osu’s manic energy.

First off, we went to Epo’s: a rowdy sports bar with an upstairs terrace, where the waitress teased us by pointing out a huge bus of white tourists that happened to be driving past. “Aren’t those your friends?” And when we responded with, “Oh no, we missed the obruni bus,” she keeled over with laughter. (Obruni is the Twi word for “White man”, but there’s no stigma attached to it. We’ve become very familiar with cries of “Obruni!” while wandering the streets of Accra.)

The bar was fun, but dinner was even better. We had earlier passed a small restaurant producing stone oven pizzas, and a guy had introduced himself, saying it was his friend’s new spot, and that we should check it out. He was friendly, and we promised to think about it… and when we actually returned a couple hours later, he was completely surprised. We hung out with him for the rest of the night, chatting about Europe and the USA, politics, and how unfair it is that he can’t travel the world with the same freedom we enjoy.

While we’d recommend avoiding Oxford Street as much as possible, we definitely recommend exploring the streets of Osu. If your mission is to have fun, there’s probably no better spot in the city.