This Southwark restaurant offers a menu filled with intriguing options
London has so many restaurants of every nationality, I can’t resist nibbling the finest dishes of a faraway land I’ll never step foot in. A trip to Putin’s Russia is off the cards at the moment, but I can always swing by ZIMA in Soho or Mari Vanna in Knightsbridge and pretend I’m in St Petersburg while sipping vodka like a wilting lightweight.
Similarly, Senegal is sadly not on my bucket list. The country’s PM has this week unveiled plans to double the prison term for gay men to ten years. But never fear! While a honeymoon in Senegal may be existentially unwise, homosexuals like myself can sashay our way to taste the nation’s cuisine elsewhere – without the faintest touch of prison bars and a concrete floor.
Little Baobab is located in Southwark’s Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street and bills itself as “London’s only Senegalese restaurant”. It’s with a touch of curiosity and, as ever, an unflappably open mind, that I enter one of London’s most singular restaurants.
The warmth of Little Baobab is inescapable. A row of hanging chainmail separates the restaurant from the reception area of the African Centre, while the décor is cosy. It has coral pink walls with arches as if it were one of Dakar’s royal palaces, with rustic wooden furniture and chairs upholstered with African prints, accompanied by a soulful soundtrack.
I nestle into my chair and quickly take stock of the lunchtime menu. And boy, is it something to behold. Little Baobab doesn’t serve ‘starters’ as such, but it offers pre-meal snacks which more or less do the same thing. For £7, there are fatayas – four small patties filled with a choice of lamb, fish and falafel, plus a delicious tomato onion sauce – and for £6, there’s sweet potato and quinoa fritters, also served with sauce. Plantain can be ordered for £2 and fries for £4.
The mains are truly intriguing. Among the most appetising dishes are Chicken Yassa (£15.50), boneless, marinated chicken with caramelised onions, lime and plantain on a soft bun, served with rice and salad. Attiéké (£15), fried fish served with an onion, tomato and cucumber salad, tomato sauce and attiéké (similar to couscous) plus plantain. Thiebou Dienne (£15), sea bass fillet with carrot, cassava and aubergine alongside jollof rice, bissap and tamarind sauce. Elsewhere, Chicken Dibi (£16) is a pièce de résistance of marinated chicken drumsticks and sliced onion served with fried plantain and mustard sauce on a bed of lettuce.
For vegetarians, options include Vegetarian Mafe (£13), a vegetable and peanut butter stew served with rice, and Roast Vegetable and Fonio Salad (£10).
My initial choice of snack is a lamb fataya, but I’m told these have sold out, and so I go with fish. They’re essentially mini-pastries with thick crusts and a smattering of pasted fish as a filling. On their own, I’d find them slightly underwhelming, but the onion and tomato sauce is delicious and really adds a much-needed zing to the snack. I’m also given chilli sauce, which lifts the taste level as a spicy alternative.
For mains, I have a hard time choosing between Chicken Yassa, Thiebou Dienne and Chicken Dibe. After taking advice from the waiter, I opt for the Dibe. When it appears, I’m struck by what a substantial meal it is as the food is almost overflowing the plate. A generous helping of chicken drumsticks makes up the largest portion of the meal, alongside a good ladle of onions and plenty of plantain. The latter is my favourite part of the meal; fried to perfection, it’s crispy on the outside, with a beautiful, soft yellow centre.
The chicken drumsticks are beautifully browned off, and I devour them with all the carnivorous joy of a meat-eater. But they taste distinctly mild and I’m left wondering what the chicken has been marinated in. On my visits to other African restaurants, I’ve been struck by their hot spices and bombastic flavours. Are they trying to tone that down here at Little Baobab? If so, they’ve gone too far. More daring flavours is what this meal needs.
Little Baobab has an impressive drinks selection. Diners can choose the popular Nigerian lager Star (£8), a light lager brewed with sorghum and maize, plus handmade lemonade and various non-alcoholic cocktails.
But the stars of the drinks menu are Little Baobab’s four prized cocktails. Kir Royale (£9.50) is made up of prosecco served with hibiscus mint ginger; while Little Baobab’s signature cocktail Baobab Blossom (£12) is a gorgeously pink affair with Bayab pink gin, Baobab juice, pomegranate juice, vanilla and lime. Thirdly, there’s the enticing African Storm (£12.50) made with Kakira dark rum, iced tea and lemon, and lastly Rum Punch (£12.50).
I choose the Baobab Blossom and although I normally have a fear of drinking anything pink, this isn’t too sweet at all. In fact, it’s a thick, almost yoghurt-like gin drink, while the baobab gives it an earthy, tartar taste. It’s exquisitely flavourful and powerful on the palate, a small sip leaves me satisfied, and it lasts the entire meal.
For desserts, there are two options – Beignets (£6), Senegalese doughnuts with chocolate sauce, and Chocolate Millet Cake (£5.50). I choose the beignets but I’m once again told they’re out of stock, and so I’m treated to chocolate millet cake – an immensely satisfying cake with dense composition and a malted chocolate flavour.
And that’s all folks. I look up and I’ve outlasted most of my fellow diners. Extraordinarily good value for money, there is a warmth and quiet ambience to Little Baobab that makes it a worthwhile place to dine, and it offers a menu that is filled with intriguing promise. Just add a little more spice and all things nice to that marinated chicken.
Little Baobab is located in Southwark’s Africa Centre on Great Suffolk Street
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