Nigerian food has stepped firmly into London’s culinary conversation – and it shows no signs of slowing down. These are the best Nigerian restaurants in London.
Once found mainly in south-east and north London neighbourhoods, the capital is now home to a number of Nigerian and West African Michelin-starred tasting menus and inventive sharing-style concepts, alongside long-standing and long-loved neighbourhood spots.
Whether you’re after a refined fine-dining experience, a leisurely group lunch, or a quick plate of jollof done properly, there’s a Nigerian restaurant in London to suit.Â
Akoko, Fitzrovia
Fine dining through a West African lens, Akoko in Fitzrovia was founded by British-Nigerian restaurateur Aji Akokomi in 2020. This now Michelin-starred spot offers an 11-course tasting menu that moves between Nigerian, Senegalese, Ghanaian and broader West African traditions; standouts include the sinasir (warm Nigerian rice pancakes topped with goat cashew cream and six-month-aged caviar) and what might be the most sophisticated jollof in the city. Pair the menu with the wine flight for a journey that travels well beyond West Africa. The interior is as warm and intimate as the ambience, with handmade crockery and contemporary West African artwork setting the tone, while the open-kitchen wood fire grill anchors it all. If you’re going to spend triple figures on dinner this year, spend it here.
Akara, Borough Yards
The little sister to Akoko, Akara sits underneath the railway arches of Borough Yards and offers a relaxed and more affordable take on contemporary West African cooking. The signature dish – the akara – is a black-eyed bean fritter that draws on the Akara Osu (a popular Nigerian street food that’s crispy on the outside and fluffy inside) and the flavour-packed Brazilian acarajé. Don’t miss the Crab KuliKuli Akara: a fritter sliced in half and packed with rich, flavourful crab meat (do not make the same mistake I did by ordering this to share.) Larger plates like the grilled sea bream with caramelised onion sauce, and Lagos chicken with Senegalese hot sauce show off the same precision found at Akoko, but in a setting that feels homely with built in banquettes, an open kitchen and more-ish cocktails like the Ilará, mixed with plantain-infused rum, akpeteshie, whiskey, honey and lemon.Â
Chuku’s, Tottenham
Billed as the world’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant, Chuku’s in Tottenham is run by sibling duo Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick. With halal, vegan and gluten-free options, vegans at the table will feel as spoiled as everyone else. The menu is built for sharing, with bold small plates ranging from smoky jollof quinoa and cassava fries to caramel kuli kuli wings and suya meatballs. Order plenty! And don’t shy away from the dessert menu – for me, it stole the show: the plantain waffle and the chin chin cheesecake are both strong contenders for taking the crown.
Chishuru, Fitzrovia
Chef Adejoké Bakare’s Fitzrovia restaurant has held a Michelin star since 2024, and every detail of the experience earns it. The format is a tightly-edited modern West African set menu featuring moi moi, ekuru paired with sweet-rice waina and a seafood pepper soup. Despite the star, Chishuru insists that it isn’t fine dining. The relaxed space – somewhere to enjoy good music, conversation and, of course, food – reflects this ethos.
Jollof Mama, Vauxhall and Elephant & Castle
A fixture on the London street-food scene since 2016, Jollof Mama has spent nearly a decade as one of the city’s most loved family-run Nigerian spots. The concept is a modern, street-food-led take on Nigerian cooking, built around the iconic jollof rice. The real signature, however, is the jollof burrito. It shouldn’t work, but I promise you it does – and brilliantly. Beef suya, spicy jollof, stewed beans, plantain and salad layered into something that honours Nigerian food in a new way.
805 Restaurants, Multiple Locations
Twenty years strong and arguably the pillar of Nigerian dining in London, 805 is the place actual Nigerians go and bring their families. I grew up going to the Old Kent Road flagship with my own family, and now, joined by branches in Hyde Park and Hendon Central, it still spans the full breadth of Nigerian cooking: pounded yam and egusi, suya and jollof done the traditional way. If there’s a Nigerian dish you haven’t yet tried, this is the place to find it.
The Flygerians, Peckham
If you’ve spent time in Peckham over the last few years, you’ve almost certainly walked past The Flygerians, a Nigerian street food restaurant from sisters Jess and Jo Edun. The sister duo has built one of South London’s most loyal food followings since arriving in 2016, first through a pop-up circuit and now from its permanent home at Peckham Palms, a precinct of Black-owned businesses just off Rye Lane. The menu is rooted in their grandmother’s cooking, is halal-friendly throughout, and is unapologetically bold – think smoky jollof rice, beef suya, peppered chicken gizzards and the now-cult “Mama’s forbidden sauce”.
Enish, Multiple Locations
For an authentic Nigerian meal with a menu that covers it all, Enish is the answer. With 12 restaurants in London and more in Manchester and Dubai, this is one of the most accessible introductions to Nigerian dining in the capital. Expect goat pepper soup, egusi, ayamase, suya gizzard, caramelised plantain, yam – all the staples – done well. The dish to order? Always the ayamase.
Tasty African Food, Multiple Locations
Tasty has a decade-long reputation for jollof rice, moi moi, fried and stewed chicken and meat pies that taste exactly like home. Beyond its dine-in and takeaway sites, the brand produces ready meals that supply Sainsbury’s, its own online store, caters for weddings and parties, and runs both its own ordering app and listings on Deliveroo and Uber Eats. It’s flavourful African food made quickly and generously – perfect for the nights when you don’t feel like cooking.
Lead image: Chuku’s TottenhamÂ
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