Yassa, suya and moin moin may not yet be culinary terms that form part of every food lover's lexicon. Yet West African cuisine is making a significant impact on London’s dining scene. There have long been neighbourhood restaurants offering home-style ‘auntie cooking’; now the choice is more diverse, from Nigerian small plates to high-end tasting menus created by chefs of African heritage who have worked in avant-garde kitchens. There is always a delicate balancing act of tradition and creativity: adapting yet staying true to the cultural essence of the African diaspora.
Jodi Hinds/Akoko
What happens when Ayo Adeyemi, a former chef of The Fat Duck and Singapore’s The Tippling Club combines haute cuisine with his West African heritage and the stylish verve of restaurateur and avid food geek, Aji Akokomi? A phenomenal tasting menu that dazzles and cajoles the palate with every artful dish. This is surely the future: re-energising tradition to draw out the sophistication and sumptuous flavour complexity of the produce. Prepare to be surprised. Akoko is a Yoruba word that, most appropriately, means “the first”.
You start with stout bread with yassa (Sengalese onion-based stew) butter. A favourite dish is miyan tausche, a North Nigerian pumpkin dish with mackerel and West African honey. But the star is the subtly smoky jollof rice served with BBQ native blue lobster, and the claw poached and served in an ambrosial pepper soup made using the lobster shells. There’s a nod to nostalgia with baba dudu, a sweet coconut street snack served alongside caramelised plantain and single estate Tanzanian chocolates with coffee. Cocktails made from Ogogoro 100% organic palm spirit micro-distillery in Nigeria are a must.
Where to try the best dumplings: Tatale
The art-filled Africa Centre is a stunning location for Akwasi Brenya-Mensa’s first restaurant Tatale which explores West African food through the lens of his heritage, as a son of Ghanaian immigrants brought up in London. The breakout dish is omo tuo, mashed rice dumpling in a groundnut broth called nkatenkwan: rich and nutty, it is elegant yet nurturing. Crisp panko crusted ackee croquettes are zingy with citrus and there’s black-eyed bean hummus with red palm oil and dukkah, a nod to Brenya-Mensa’s visits to Tel Aviv. There are familial dishes, notably his mother’s black-eyed bean stew besides thoroughly modern chin chin cheesecake with shards of doughnut like puff-puff. The dark indigo dining room has chairs vividly patterned in traditional Ghanaian kente cloth and beautiful terracotta and woven decoration.
Where to try plantain and apple tarte tatin: Isibani
Photo: author's own
A hidden, quirky gem in Knightsbridge, Isibani draws on the culinary culture of its Nigerian owners with a menu of traditional dishes given an elegant twist. Yoruba dish, ofada rice, unpolished rice from Southwest Nigeria, has a gently fermented aroma and distinct sour taste and is served with ayamase stew made with green bell peppers, locust bean bean seasoning, and red palm oil accompanied by a hard-boiled egg. Fragrant hot pepper fish soup is an ambrosial beauty. The star turn is the inspired dessert: apple and plantain tarte tatin served with honey and ginger ice cream. The upstairs dining room with indigo banquettes, striking art and even a bijou roof terrace is the place to sit.
Where to try Nigerian tapas: Chuku’s
Siblings Ifeyinwa and Emeka Frederick coined the phrase “chop, chat and chill” to describe their Nigerian tapas restaurant with a touch of 1950s retro to the decor. Expect small plates including egusi, a stew with bitter melon seeds, a hearty tomato sauce, bitter leaves and spinach; suya skewers of piquant, smoky, charred beef, served with onions, tomato, coriander, lettuce and limes; and adalu, a corn and black-eyed pea savoury porridge with tomato, dried shrimp, smoked paprika and Scotch Bonnet pepper. Sinasir, a fermented rice pancake from Northern Nigeria, is an excellent brunch dish served with pumpkin and peanut stew and finished with maple syrup.
Where to try West African-nuanced sushi: The Sushi Shop
Mory Sacko is probably the most talked about chef in Paris right now. He’s cooked summit dinners for President Macron, has a Michelin star and a Montparnasse restaurant where he cooks a vibrant melange of his West African heritage (his mother is Senegalese), haute French cuisine training and his Japanese obsession. Lucky London (and Brighton) can try his thrilling culinary approach. Sushi Shop UK astutely commissioned superstar Sacko to create a limited-edition collection of sushi (available until the end of 2023). It is stunning, both in its presentation and elegant yet robust flavours. Best of all are West African sushi with prawn, okra, red palm oil, mayonnaise and Berber spices and the outrageously moreish Cajun rolls: chicken, miso, yuzu mayonnaise, Tonkatsu sauce and Cajun spices. A gem.
Where to try the food of a leading female West African chef: Chishuru
Such was the success of Nigerian-born Adejoke Bakare’s tiny Brixton village restaurant Chishuru (itself the result of winning a culinary competition) that she is planning to open a bigger and better replacement in Fitzrovia in early summer. Meanwhile, check social media for her pop-ups. Her dishes range from peppered pork belly with charcoal-grilled peppers and onions to bavette dusted with suya, a fiery blend of ground chillies, ginger, garlic and onion powder with fermented locust beans and ground peanuts. Vegetarian dishes include sinasir served with fermented carrots and tangerine besides atassi, rice and black-eyed beans with spicy and sour cabbage. Bakare’s breadfruit ice cream may become the ice of the summer.
Where to try ‘auntie-style’ traditional no-frills dining: Enish
Nigerian owned Enish first opened in the capital’s outer neighbourhoods and have recently opened in W1. This is the closest to West African ‘auntie food’ if you don’t have an ersatz auntie and the menu is huge. The dining experience is no frills with laminate top tables and the menu choice is authentic. Start with a snack of peppered gizzard and plantain. There’s ognono soup, a rich African broth with wild mango seeds, palm oil and pumpkin; asun: peppered grilled goat; and grilled croaker fish with yam.
