West African food is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance in cities all over the world. Ghanaian and Nigerian restaurants offering a modern twist of their cuisine are sprouting, alongside well-established restaurants serving expats with a more traditional menu. These, often branded as ‘African’, are run by West Africans from mostly Ghana or Nigeria – unlike other African restaurants, which generally will indicate what cuisine they serve. Save some pan-african specialties, they will mostly offer either one cuisine or the other. 

Nigerian cuisine reflects the culturally diverse population and its marked tribal differences, however, some broad traits remain across the country. One characteristic is the remarkable variety of ‘soups’—looking more like a thick stew than a broth—typically enjoyed alongside a ball of a pounded starch, popularly called swallow. Rice is also eaten as accompaniment or as a meal in its own right, either plain or cooked in tomato and spices.

Nigerian food is spicy more often than not. Flavours are savoury and intense, with a particular liking for smoky, sour and pungent aromas – some of these due to a particular taste for fermented ingredients. There is an abundance of nutty dishes made with local seeds, mostly in its grounded form. A range of herbs and bitter greens, smoked or dried dried fish and high-quality palm or groundnut oil are common ingredients. The starting sauces for many of the dishes are typically tomato-based. Desserts aren’t common in Nigerian cuisine, but occasionally sweet items like puff puff (doughnuts) or chin chin (a type of fried snack) might appear on the table.

While jollof rice might be Nigeria’s most international dish, locals might disagree on crowning it their national dish. Different regions might favour different dishes, often those associated with the most populous ethnic group in the area: the Hausa people in the north and suya skewers, the Yoruba near Lagos with egusi and pounded yam, and the Igbo in the south east with their okro soup and abacha salad – to name a few examples. Some regional dishes may prove hard to find elsewhere, but plenty other dishes are widely popular and enjoyed across the country. Some of these are easily found in restaurants abroad, since they tend to cater to Nigerians from all backgrounds.

Luckily for the rest of us, most Nigerian restaurants abroad normally offer foods that are not served in restaurants back home since they are more commonly regarded as street food. Puff puff or suya are both roadside classics that fall into this category.


Nigerians’ love for fish almost rivals their fondness for meat. Fish can be found in many shapes and forms across countless dishes, both acting as a flavouring or as the star ingredient. In this regard, the taste resulting when mixing fish and meat is not just commonplace, but quite sought after. Ground crayfish and dried stockfish for soups, as well as grilled or braised fresh fish are frequently featured. Beef, goat, mutton and chicken appear in plenty of dishes (pork, on the other hand, is not a favourite). Meat is added onto stews in big chunks, bone-in, so they slowly braise together. Offal is very popular and in some cases preferred over lean meat, some dishes calling for specific cuts: goat tripe for peppersoup, kpomo (cow skin) for okra or assorted meat¹—a bit of everything—for edikaikong.

When it comes to turning a soup into a full meal, a staple is needed. Nigerians —as well as other countries in the region— do with swallows, a thick mash with a consistency similar to a dough, eaten with each morsel of food. They can be made from a wide range of raw ingredients, the most popular are starchy tubers like cassava or yam, some grains like wheat, rice and maize, or even pounded plantain. In most cases they are rehydrated, steamed and then pounded until smooth. Alternative names can include okele, the Yoruba term, or the Igbo ilo ihe.

Swallows range from a variety of textures and colours, some resembling mash potato in taste and texture, others featuring more interesting flavours like amala (this one made with the skin of the yam). Some of the raw ingredients used to make swallows are slightly fermented, which also helps breaking down the sugars and adds a level of complexity to the flavour and texture.

Drinks aren’t the focus at the Nigerian table, but there certainly are a few clear favourites. Malt, the non-alcoholic brew made out of toasted cereals is sweet and refreshing, great in contrast with the savoury Nigerian soups. Guinness beer is extremely popular among some ethnic groups.