Its menu is fusion cuisine with a Nigerian influence, so you won’t find party-style jollof rice here.īut if you’re up for trying something with a Naija twist, and don’t mind breaking the bank a little, you may want to pay a visit.
If you have an open mind (and an open wallet) try this restaurant set in the heart of St James’s in central London. One of the few Nigerian restaurants in north-west London, Mama Africa serves as a lifeline for those who can’t make it all the way down to the other side of the river.Īlso, they open until late on weekends. I recommend their fish pepper soup, if you like something spicy.
Buka nigerian food tv#
There’s a TV in the main area, so often you’ll find people watching music channels or the football. Tucked away in a Zone 6 town called Erith in south-east London, K’s Spice is a great place to hang out with your mates. 'Buka': African slang for a hole-in-the wall joint, a comfort food spot, the place to be. Not only will you have a top menu to choose from, but you’ll also have the chance to listen to Nigerian music played live. BUKA in Brooklyn, NY is definitely the place to go for some authentic Nigerian comfort food, but 'hole-in-the-wall,' it is not. On Friday nights, if you like music with your food, head down to Homerton High Street in east London. Suya is essentially very spicy meat skewers. This takeaway restaurant in the heart of Peckham, right on the High Street, is your one-stop-shop for everything suya. If you want just a standard, no-nonsense, delicious jollof rice with beef, this is your joint. They currently have branches – some eat-in, some take away only – across London, Kent and Essex as well as one in Dartford. Tasty is fast-becoming one of the largest Nigerian takeaway franchises in the UK. You can find Lolak Afrique just off Rye Lane in Peckham. I’ve yet to taste a better egusi soup (a dish that tends to contain ground seeds, vegetables, meat and dried fish) than the one I tasted here.
This establishment is what Nigerians may call a typical ‘buka’.Ī buka is a place that provides the most traditional and authentic Nigerian dishes. Also checkout chapman, a delicious Nigerian cocktail. Located in Lewisham, with a new restaurant in Finchley, this restaurant is great for hosting private parties.Ī dish that’s proven a hit among reviewers is their isi ewu, or goat head – a popular meal from east Nigeria. They also have a branch in Hendon, north London. So he only uses real Nigerian spices and seasonings that his ancestors have been using for thousands of years.Every dish on the menu is great, but I’d recommend the tilapia. "If flavor is what you want, I'll give you real flavor."Īfolayan explained that Nigerian cuisine doesn't have much colonial influence, which is why every ingredient that he works with is true to West African culture. "If come here what they have to know is that nothing is fake," he says. The Nigerian chef attributes his success to telling the truth through food. Now, almost 12 years later, Afolayan's restaurant continues its tradition of serving authentic West African food. "They would always ask me, 'Lookman, when are you going to open a restaurant?'"Īfter leaving the store for nearly a decade to pursue other employment opportunities, Afolayan opened BUKA in 2009 and never looked back.
"People were after my cooking," he recalls. Shortly after being hired, he began cooking Nigerian food at the store and it became very popular. The Nigeria-born chef got his start working at a small grocery store in New York. "Whatever you get in my restaurant is what you're going to get anywhere in West Africa or Nigeria." "I focus solely on Nigerian food," says Afolayan. But some true treasures of West African cuisine, like fufu and egusi (a type of melon seed) remained more elusive. Enslaved African chefs also developed cooking methods for frying fish, grilling meat, stewing greens that are still used today.
Buka nigerian food full#
When West Africans were forced into slavery in the Americas during the 16th century, they planted their own gardens full of fruits and vegetables native to Africa. As farming techniques spread across West Africa, people in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone grew a variety of crops like millet and sorghum that are now staples in West African cooking. West African cuisine's use of unaltered ingredients stems from its farming history that dates back to 3000 BCE. Since some, like locust bean, alligator peppers and calabash nutmeg are still not readily available in the United States, Afolayan imports a few ingredients straight from West Africa himself. We select the finest ingredients and serve each plate in inventive Buka fashion. At his restaurant, he estimates that 99% of the ingredients he cooks with are completely unprocessed. Our menu is designed to give each palate an adventurous fusion of modern traditional African cuisine.
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