For African restaurants in London African Kitchen Gallery does what Jamie Oliver did to British cuisine taking a hearty if very simple fare of dubious salubrity and turning it into a toe-twirlingly delicious yet healthy extravaganza of tastes and flavours. The result is so amazing I would have to give each dish on their menu a separate detailed description. It is like explaining the cuisine of an extraterrestrial culture so much more advanced culinarily than ours.
Take, for example, one of the starters, moyin moyin which is a sort of bean-and-tomato paté. The amazing thing is that despite it being very herby with the ever so smooth and fluffy texture resembling none of the original ingredients, you palate will instantly recognise what it is made of. Moyin moyin is served with what I would compare to African green pesto, buttery and flavourful.
Or the deliciously flavourful egusi beef stew that I had on my first visit. Served with perfectly cooked - moist yet fluffy - bean rice it was just the right amount of spiciness to underscore, not overpower the tastes of the main components.
The food is so exquisitely delicious that I do suspect there must be some African magic involved but when I think rationally it could be down to their policy of using organic ingredients and nothing artificial. So used are we to the anaemic industrially produced edibles from the supermarkets that the taste of natural and honest food can come as a true revelation.
There are more imagination-sparking items on their menu that will warrant more visits here, like lamb with mango, curried goat stew or wild spinach with melon seeds. I quit being vegetarian years ago but their asaro, yam and sweet potatoes in pepper & tomato sauce, sounds scrumptious.
Three more things I totally dig about this place and probably you will too: one is that it so cosy it feels like dining in somebody's living room richly decorated with African masks and carvings. Two, both proprietors are friendly and always find the time to talk you through the dishes. And last but not least: it is refreshingly affordable for Central London, all main entries are under 10 quid.
Tip: Do try their home-made ginger beer: probably the biggest kick since the invention of processed morphines!
Take, for example, one of the starters, moyin moyin which is a sort of bean-and-tomato paté. The amazing thing is that despite it being very herby with the ever so smooth and fluffy texture resembling none of the original ingredients, you palate will instantly recognise what it is made of. Moyin moyin is served with what I would compare to African green pesto, buttery and flavourful.
Or the deliciously flavourful egusi beef stew that I had on my first visit. Served with perfectly cooked - moist yet fluffy - bean rice it was just the right amount of spiciness to underscore, not overpower the tastes of the main components.
The food is so exquisitely delicious that I do suspect there must be some African magic involved but when I think rationally it could be down to their policy of using organic ingredients and nothing artificial. So used are we to the anaemic industrially produced edibles from the supermarkets that the taste of natural and honest food can come as a true revelation.
There are more imagination-sparking items on their menu that will warrant more visits here, like lamb with mango, curried goat stew or wild spinach with melon seeds. I quit being vegetarian years ago but their asaro, yam and sweet potatoes in pepper & tomato sauce, sounds scrumptious.
Three more things I totally dig about this place and probably you will too: one is that it so cosy it feels like dining in somebody's living room richly decorated with African masks and carvings. Two, both proprietors are friendly and always find the time to talk you through the dishes. And last but not least: it is refreshingly affordable for Central London, all main entries are under 10 quid.
Tip: Do try their home-made ginger beer: probably the biggest kick since the invention of processed morphines!
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