Out For Dinner At Afrikana Restaurant In Derby
Published On Sunday 4 Aug 2024 by Sticky Beak
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Derby is very much a vibrant, multi-cultural city and opposite the beautiful Cathedral is a restaurant called Afrikana, which certainly fits in with this vibe. Afrikana aims to bring authentic, home-cooked dishes that ooze with the flavours and spices that we associate with this cuisine. There are some meat-free dishes for those that require them, but the main-stays are Chicken and Lamb, with Steak and Fish thrown in for good measure.
It isn’t just the food that transports you to the warmer climes of Africa though; the décor and music also pile in to immerse you in this culture. The large, open-plan space is painted in lush forest and spice colours, with impactful, faux foliage adding to the mood. Rattan pendant lights provide the main bulk of illumination, with individual lamps on each glossy wood table adding a subtle glow that picks up the warmth of the earth-toned floor tiles. The striking murals on the back walls are just beautiful, and my words won’t do them full justice, so you’ll just have to feast your eyes on the photos we took or, better still, enjoy a meal at Afrikana and see them IRL. I didn’t recognize much of the upbeat music, but my ears pricked up when I heard an artist I did know: Doja Cat.
From the moment we stepped over Afrikana’s threshold, the service was super-friendly; I am firmly of the opinion that if you work in the service sector, you need to be friendly and polite…otherwise, why be in it? We had a great booth table and set to work people-watching whilst ordering drinks. Afrikana isn’t licensed to sell alcohol (you can nip next door to purchase booze if you really fancy it) but, to be honest, they serve a great selection of refreshments to compliment their food, so whether it’s alcoholic or not isn’t the main consideration. His Nibs and I both chose the Classic Mojito to sip (£5.45); it was a warm evening and the combination of Mint and Citrus was really quenching.
You certainly can’t say that the Afrikana menu is run-of-the-mill either; from an extensive choice of small plates to the sharing platters, via the specials, sides and mains, there really is something for all levels of appetite and spice-tolerance. ‘What’s your Flavour’ allows you to customise the heat level of your food: choose from Afrikana House Sauce, Jerk BBQ, Lemon and Leaves, Mixed Peri, and Fire Peri. Feeling fairly hungry, The Man Bird and I decided to go for the Kickin’ In Kenya platter (£44.95) a protein packed smorgasbord of a Whole Chicken, 3 Grilled Chicken Wings, 3 Fried Wings, and a pair of Lamb Chops – amply accompanied with 2 portions of Fries, Jollof Rice, Rice’n’Peas and Coleslaw. We also ordered a side of Mango Salsa (£3.95).
Even though we’d been expecting a fairly hefty platter, nothing prepared for the frankly humungous beast that was carefully placed before us! With the photos taken, we braced ourselves for a chow-a-thon and began our quest in earnest. Thankfully, the Chicken had been cut into quarters, saving us from having to mutilate it ourselves! We’d opted to have the Jerk BBQ coating on our food and the blackened skin smelled heavily of these intoxicating spices, making our nostrils twitch appreciatively. I did scoff some of the skin, taking in the full blast of the spice rub on my palate and, although it had some heat, it wasn’t so fiery that my lips and tongue were tingling unpleasantly. Underneath the skin was gorgeously moist, juicy Chicken; no question that the Chef at Afrikana can cook poultry.
The grilled wings were coated in the same Jerk BBQ rub, making them super-scrummy, but it was the generous size of them that had us both smiling. There’s nothing worse than a miserably small chicken wing; when you hold it between your fingers, you want to be able to grab it and just take a ruddy great chomp into it…not possible if they’re dinky, fairy-sized specimens! Equally sizeable were the orange-toned fried Wings, and the best thing about these was their crunchy outer coating; the contrast between this and the tender meat beneath was excellent. The marinade on this reminded me of the Buffalo sauce that His Nibs and I had recently encountered at Derby WingFest; altogether fierier, this made our taste buds sit up and take notice as they began to tingle.
Altogether sweeter and milder were the juicy Lamb Chops, and their flesh was augmented really nicely by the earthy spices that had been used to coat them. However sharp cutlery is, I always resort to picking up chops and chewing intently at the margin of the bone that the very last scraps of meat cling to – nothing goes to waste with me. All the meats had been nestled on a bed of Mixed Leaves, chopped Herbs, sliced Red Onion and fresh Red Chillies and this provided a welcome injection of texture and some coolness to the meal.
Jollof Rice is typically long-grain Rice mixed with Chillies, Onions and Tomatoes (and sometimes other veggies), along with a combination of spices. At Afrikana, it makes for a rather tasty side: one that is surprisingly satiating and, combined with the Rice’n’Peas, it ensured that space in our tummies was rapidly disappearing. We didn’t quite finish both portions of Fries; as with everything else, each one was very generous! We both said that the decision to order Mango Salsa was an inspired one; the clean, bright flavours lifted the spices and meat in our mouths, and the colour was also a vision to appreciate.
Needless to say, we didn’t have room for a pudding; instead, we opted to have black coffees (£2.80) to conclude our meal. Check-backs had been done at regular intervals to ascertain that we were happy with our food, and to check if we needed more drinks. Everything was done with a smile and when a table had been vacated, it was swiftly cleared and cleaned – I do like to see a spotlessly clean venue.
Afrikana is open seven days a week, from Noon-11pm. We booked our table in advance, but walk-ins are very welcome, and you can order takeouts too. Contact Afrikana on 01332 370444 or visit www.afrikanaderby.com
Hot Wings very happily awarded here.
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