Grab your stretchy pants and get ready to scoff a whole continent's worth of food at our favourite restaurants and street-food traders that showcase the diverse cooking of Africa.
Head to Zoe's Ghana Kitchen for dishes that put an inventive, creative spin on kenkey, a traditional Ghanaian dough made out of fermented maize; try chicken gizzards and cow skin at Nigerian spot Ikoyi; and soak up all that delicious sauce with injera (a bit like pancakes that double up as plates) at Ethiopian Flavours; and sample Italian-meets-Eritrean cooking at Lemlem Kitchen at Netil Market.
Kudu
119 Queen's Rd, Peckham, SE15 2EZ
Take a former chicken shop; add foodie power couple Patrick Williams (ex The Manor) and Amy Corbin (daughter of Chris Corbin of Corbin and King); throw in some elegant interior design, and you get Kudu, which serves up British produce with a South African inflection – think braai'd lamb neck with smoked yoghurt, and clam potjie pot.
Ikoyi
1 St James's Market, St James's, SW1Y 4AH
Maureen M Evans
Maureen M Evans
Ikoyi transports traditional Nigerian cooking to modern London's dining scene. Chicken gizzards, plantain and toast, and cow skin sandwich are unfamiliar enough to require an adventurous palate, but those who dare will be richly rewarded. With a bar menu developed with Three Sheets, this is West African-influencd dining on the edge.
Zoe's Ghana Kitchen
Various locations
Clockwise from top: chichinga beef kebabs, sardine with kenkey and fried tilapia
Photograph by Camille Mack
Clockwise from top left: oto cakes, koose fritters, yam balls, roasted corn
Photograph by Camille Mack
A selection of dishes at Zoe's Ghana Kitchen at the Institute of Light
Photograph by Camille Mack
Bringing a modern twist to Ghanaian cooking, chef Zoe Adjonyoh is a key player when it comes to putting West African food on the map. Get your laughing gear around the likes of chicken fried in jollof spice mix, and iced kenkey milkshakes made with fermented maize. Oh, and don't miss the scotch bonnet ice cream – hot, creamy and very, very moreish.
Ethiopian Flavours
Green Zone, Borough Market, London Bridge, SE1 9AA
Chock-full of pulses, vegetables and heady berbere spice, Ethiopian cooking is aptly described as 'hearty'. Flavours are deep and warming and dishes are largely vegetarian – we love the spongy, crepe-like injera, made with fermented teff flour, which more than earns its keep as a plate, a wrap and a delicious part of your meal.
Lemlem Kitchen
13-23 Westgate Street, E8 3RL
You probably wouldn't expect it, but Asmara, the Eritrean capital, was once occupied by Italy – with the result that its food combines East African and Italian influences. To try this curious cuisine, head to Netil Market's Lemlem Kitchen, where Asmara-born chef Makda reimagines the dishes of her hometown with afro-tacos and shiro fries.
