London's best African restaurants

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10 April 2012

You may not have thought about African food in London before, but now's the time. The acclaimed African circus extravaganza Afrika! Afrika! trapezes into The O2 this weekend. Then the African Nations Cup kicks off on Sunday: expect London's African restaurants and bars to be crammed with fans cheering on their teams.

Africa is home to an incredible range of culinary styles. There are Arab-infused flavours in the east, the fusion cooking of the Cape and the grilled meats of the west.

So much pride is placed in home cooking that a culture of eating out hasn't taken strong root, but there's no shortage of places for great food and an ambience celebrating the joy of eating - and sharing. Dishes are frequently communal and eaten without cutlery. So, get your fingers messy with our selection of London's best African restaurants.

ERITREAN

Mosob
339 Harrow Road, Maida Vale, 020 7266 2012. Tube: Westbourne Grove

Brothers Ben and Daniel run this excellent restaurant. They faithfully recreate their mum's recipes for okra stew, lamb cutlets with spinach, red and yellow lentil stews, grilled lamb strips with green pepper and onion, and serve all the dishes on a tray covered in injera - slightly sour bread like a large, floppy crumpet. There's a real knack to eating from the communal plate, tearing pieces of bread to fill using your fingers, but the friendly waiters will always help.

With Eritreans so affected by history, geography and tradition, this food has a rich background. The knowledgeable staff will leave you coming away both enlightened and fulfilled. Mains from £6.95.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN

Chakalaka Restaurant
136 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, 020 8789 5696. Tube: East Putney

Named after the Zulu word for a salsa of onions and tomatoes, Chakalaka is squarely aimed at homesick South Africans. The game is sourced from the Karoo region, the beef from Namibia, and the animal hides and abattoir-red walls signal meat, and lots of it.

There's flavoursome blesbok antelope fillet (about £18), expertly braised ostrich steak (£16.95), and musky, chewy biltong (£3.50) - the owner also runs a butchery in Southfields. Protein aside, there are pumpkin fritters dusted with cinnamon (£3.25), and the Amarula crème br°lée (£4.95) is great. A real find.

NIGERIAN

805
805 Old Kent Road, Peckham, 020 7639 0808. Tube: Elephant & Castle

The outer reaches of the Old Kent Road may feel only slightly closer than downtown Lagos, but a meal at this temple to starchy tubers is a classic African eating experience.

Beneath a scuzzy tower block, 805 is a haven of pressed white tablecloths, and probably the only London restaurant where you choose your carbohydrate and then decide on the garnish - in rural Nigeria, a man's wealth and prowess are measured by the size and bounty of his yams.

Yam, cassava, rice or semolina come dressed with a selection of sauces and meats, and if you're feeling brave, the goat option comes complete with gristly cow foot and tripe (£9.95). Or try the grilled tilapia with giant wedges of sweet fried plantain (£14.95) - all served up to a soundtrack of afrobeat legend Fela Kuti.

GHANAIAN

Manjaro
148 Holloway Road, Holloway, 020 7700 6427. Tube: Holloway Road

The African Nations Cup takes place in the Ghanaian capital Accra, so this restaurantcumbar-cum-club will be pretty lively when the competition is under way and the local Star beer (£2.50 a bottle) starts to flow. The modern style is a little bit conference centre, but the service is agreeably laid-back.

Start with a fine plate of kelewele ( deepfried plantain, £3.95) and tsofi (spicy turkey with crunchy-crumbly yam and a piri-piri sauce, £5.50). For mains there's tilapia (£12.95) but be sure to pour on lashings of ginger chilli sauce with the spicy chicken wings (£8.95) accompanied by wachey (rice and black-eyed beans, £3.95).

ETHIOPIAN

Lalibela
137 Fortress Road, Kentish Town, 020 7284 0600. Tube: Tufnell Park

This is an atmospheric introduction to Ethiopia's flavours. Stepping inside is like hopping continents to a cosy countryside cantina. Dine either on low stools on the mezzanine floor, or downstairs, among a good mix of Ethiopian regulars and first-timers.

The house salad of warm beetroot and potato (£3.95) sets the tone, followed by dishes of meat or vegetables served in a spicy red pepper sauce flavoured with herbs and spices (£8.95), all mopped up with spongy injera bread and washed down with Ethiopian Bati beer (£2.50).

WEST AFRICAN

African Kitchen Gallery
102 Drummond Street, Camden, 020 7383 0918. Tube: Euston

In a tiny café, this is less spicy West African street food, more " bourgeois cooking", in the words of the proprietor, based on the recipes of his grandma. The moyin moyin (beans with spices and tomatoes, £3.50) comes in rectangular cakes with the consistency of p‚té, the spiced potato balls look like homemade burgers (£3.50), while chicken savannah (£7.95) smoothly slips off the bone. Generous portions, perfect prices and delicious fresh juices (£3 a glass).

SOUTH AFRICAN

Bbar
43 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, 020 7958 7000. Tube: Victoria

With its dark wood décor, ceiling fans and luscious wildlife portraits, at Bbar you feel as though Ernest Hemingway could walk up to the giant ceramic cheetah behind the bar and order a Cape Martini at any moment.

The menu sneaks a constantly changing variety of South African signatures into European-style cuisine: the cod is battered in Castle lager (£14), and there are light, crispy spring rolls that are served with Mrs Ball's chutney (£9). But it's the wild ostrich steak (£16), and the granular, tender beef steaks (£20) that really impress, making this a fine mid-town venue to enjoy lunch with your colleagues. The extensive wine list includes some of the best of contemporary South African wine. Be sure to sample the crisp 2004 Walker Bay sauvignon blanc from Bouchard Finlayson, £22 a bottle.

SUDANESE

Muna's
599 Green Lanes, Hornsey, 020 8340 8411. Tube: Turnpike Lane

Reflecting hostess Muna's mixed roots, this restaurant is split down the middle - with Sudanese pews on one side and Eritrean on the other, and an avalanche of bric-à-brac dangling from the roof. Chances are this will be your first taste of Sudanese cuisine, and there's not a friendlier place in the capital to ask for guidance. The food is even more subtly flavoured than Eritrean fare, full of delicate spices and sticky okra: experiment with the dejaje demhal (chicken in a tomato sauce with onions, £8.50), shorba lahma (lamb soup spiced with coriander and cinnamon, £4), and the aswad salad - an aubergine-based starter, tinged with lemon, onion and garlic (£3).

Round off the meal with a shot of rocketpowerful Arabica coffee (£3), complete with an entertainingly ostentatious bean-swinging ceremony.

London's best African restaurants

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