Ace food in charming Caribbean style

I’d been told by admiring Clapham Junction locals that the new ACE Fusion restaurant would offer an authentic slice of Caribbean sunshine. And as the flip-flop-wearing maître d’ came beaming towards us in a two-foot-tall feathered head-dress, I could see what they meant.

The menu jumped with exotic options — from yam balls to pepper-pot soup — enough to tempt even the most jaded Londoner. By the time the starters arrived we’d forgotten the house red tasted ropey and were wowed by our West Indian hummus (£4.25), a taste sensation of puréed sweet cannelloni beans mixed with sour cream and Monterey Jack cheese, served with juicy fingers of plantain. We were blown away by our gorgeously moist mini-crab cakes (£5.75) and amazing jerk sauce. If you like your mouth blown off, ask for it extra hot — we did!

Baked Creole cod, with a thick’n’tasty tomato sauce bursting with sweet pepper and chunks of okra (£9.45), was a great, if simple, main course. And I loved the nutty-tasting side of traditional rice and beans. My friend’s jerk chicken (£9.95) was firm and succulent, with perfectly fluffy West African jollof (that’s tomato-seasoned) rice. ACE stands for "African Caribbean English" and the English part came with pudding — a Caribbean fruit bun meets spotted dick with traditional British custard (£4.75). They forgot my rum punch (twice) and we nearly died of starvation waiting for our mains, but the staff were so charming, the food so inexpensive, that if you just go with the flow you’re sure to have a ball.

Ace Fusion
St. John's Hill, London, SW11 1SJ