First started in Paris and gained a lot of success in the French capital, Afrik N’ Fusion has found its way to London and brought to us a taste of West Africa, more specifically Senegalese cuisine.
Admittedly, I don’t have a huge amount of knowledge on African cuisines, apart from a couple of fond moments back in university when some friends would share their jollof rice. But of course, African cuisine is far more than that. Africa is a huge continent made up of many countries and cultures, with so much to offer in gastronomy. Anyhow, to say the least, I was excited to try out Afrik N’ Fusion.
*This was a takeaway meal instead of dine-in.
The Food at Afrik N’ Fusion
Beef Pastel (£6.49)
To start with, we had some beef pastel which were an absolute delight and I could just keep munching them all day long! Beautiful crispy pastry enveloping a well-seasoned minced beef filling, deep-fried till golden, I’d certainly recommend ordering these as your starters at Afrik N’ Fusion.
Despite having to travel the delivery journey, the pastels remained crispy and did not leave a greasy taste at all. I really enjoyed the little tingle of spice it offered and worked particular delicious with a side of its peppery tomato sauce.
Suya Wings (£6.49)
Next up on the starters section, we had the Suya Wings. Suya refers to a smoky, nutty, and spicy spice blend that’s very common across African cuisines. Instead of a dry rub, these chicken wings feature a more saucy glaze that was finger-licking good. It really reminds me of BBQ-glazed wings but with a much more exciting edge of spices and flavours dancing around the palate. The chicken wings were succulent and well-marinated. All in all, it’s another pretty great starter dish for the meal.
Suya Spiced Beef (£14.95)
For mains, we decided to go for their Dibiterie, i.e. Senegalese open-charcoal street food, section and went with the Suya Spiced Beef. It features sliced up sirloin beef, seasoned with suya spice and a distinct chargrilled flavour. Whilst it may look a bit dry, it’s actually super tender and still got a slight juicy touch. As with all their other dishes on the street food section of the menu, the dish comes with grilled onions and tomatoes loaded on top.
Other popular main dishes:
- Marinated Grill Chicken/Whole Grilled Sea Bass
- Thieboudiene (Senegal national dish)
- Mafe (traditional West African peanut butter stew)
- Yassa
Jollof Rice (£5.95)
Last but not least, Jollof Rice! I think we can all agree that jollof rice is the universal staple of Africa for non-Africans. If you wonder why the rice grain looks small, it’s because the Senegalese version of jollof rice uses broken rice instead of long-grain rice like Nigerians do. I also learnt from the Netflix show, High on the Hog, where broken rice variety is named jollof rice in Benin.
I’ve always adored jollof rice and thoroughly enjoyed this one as well. It was well-spiced, with mild heat seeping through, and generally just really tasty.
In summary
If you are ever intrigued to try out African cuisines, Afrik N’ Fusion should totally be one on your list. I have so much more still to learn about various African cuisines but this little experience, albeit just a takeaway, has definitely been a great introduction and an encouraging one to explore more in the future. For dining in, their London restaurant is located along North End Road in Chelsea/Fulham area. Alternatively, they can be found on major UK delivery platforms such as Deliveroo, UberEats, and JustEat.
RATING:
Halal Status
All meats served at Afrik N’ Fusion are halal.
Tel: 020 3080 0805
Instagram: @afriknfusion_fulham
Nearest station: Fulham Broadway