14 essential black-owned restaurants to support in London

For years, tracking down Black-owned restaurants in London meant doing the legwork yourself: chasing word of mouth, trawling Instagram and piecing together a map the mainstream food press had never bothered to draw. That silence shaped who got attention, who got funding, and whose cooking was treated as cuisine rather than ‘community food’.

In 2020, Jackson Mclarty put a number on the problem. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and struck by the fact that national publications had reviewed only two Black-owned restaurants between 2019 and 2020, he launched Black Eats LDN. It became the UK's first directory for Black-owned restaurants, and what started as a list has grown into sell-out markets, a festival and a platform credited with generating more than £5 million for Black food vendors and retail businesses in five years.

Mclarty's work spotlights what many already knew: the picture of London's Black-owned restaurants today is impossible to flatten into a single pigeonhole. At one end sits a clutch of exceptional Michelin-starred restaurants and landmarks for West African fine dining. At the other are family-run Caribbean, Nigerian and Ghanaian spots that have fed neighbourhoods like Brixton, Peckham and Tottenham for decades. Now, we're seeing a new generation of chefs, publicans, street food traders and supper club hosts staking their claim on the London restaurant scene.

This guide gathers must-know Black-owned restaurants in London across all registers. Every place here earns its spot based on merit, what lands on the plate and what happens in the room. With recent pressures on the capital's restaurants, where you eat is also a choice about which independent businesses get to stay open – these are the essential Black-owned restaurants worth crossing town for.

Chishuru, Fitzrovia

What: In 2019, a self-taught cook won a competition for a restaurant site in Brixton. Five years later, Adejoké Bakare became the first Black woman in the UK to run a Michelin-starred kitchen, shortly before taking top spot in SquareMeal’s Female Chef of the Year Awards. That story is remarkable, but her food is even better: set menus that move through smoky suya, silky moi moi and fiery peppersoup, each bringing West African flavours into sharp, modern focus. The low-lit Fitzrovia dining room is intimate and beautifully considered, a fitting stage for one of London's landmark restaurants.
Cuisine: Modern West African tasting menus from chef Adejoké Bakare, layered with Nigerian flavours.
Where: 3 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 8AX
Book now: Chishuru

Wolkite, Holloway

What: Forget the pre-match pie. Arsenal fans in the know skip it for this family-run Ethiopian a short walk from the Emirates Stadium, where kitfo is the house speciality: finely minced raw beef warmed through with spiced butter and a kick of mitmita chilli. Order a meat or veg platter for the table, tear off strips of tangy injera and get stuck in with your hands. Wash it all down with tej, a sweet honey wine, then relax over a cup of freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee.
Cuisine: Ethiopian, specialising in kitfo and generous sharing platters served with injera.
Where: 82 Hornsey Road, N7 7NN
Book now: Wolkite

Michael Caines at The Stafford, St James's

What: Tucked down a quiet lane off Green Park, The Stafford feels like a well-kept secret, which suits Michael Caines perfectly. One of Britain's most decorated Black chefs, he chose this discreet hotel for his first London restaurant and promptly won a Michelin star. Expect polished dishes built on British produce, signatures brought up from his Devon flagship Lympstone Manor, and beef Wellington carved at the table. Beneath it all, cellars four centuries old hold a wine list to match.
Cuisine: Modern European cooking built on British produce, alongside signatures from Lympstone Manor.
Where: 16-18 St James's Place, SW1A 1NJ
Book now: Michael Caines at The Stafford

All Roads, Brixton

What: Spent years trying to bag a seat at Malika Green and Paschelle Brown's sell-out supper clubs? Good news: All Roads now has a permanent home on Brixton’s Atlantic Road. The cooking is soul food by way of the Caribbean, with sweet tea-brined wings, prawns bathed in Creole butter and slow-cooked oxtail leading the charge. With just 35 covers, a terrace and DJs at the weekend, it works equally well for a chilled midweek dinner or a buzzing Saturday night.
Cuisine: Caribbean-inflected soul food, shaped by the owners' heritage and the American South.
Where: 44 Atlantic Road, SW9 8JN
Book now: All Roads

The Watergate, Deptford

What: No scandal here, unless you count how few people know about it. Gordon McGowan's Deptford bar sits on a leafy side street at the Greenwich end of Deptford high street, where natural wines and well-made cocktails share the bill with a changing line-up of seasonal small plates. Dimly lit and made for date nights, it's the younger sibling of Buster Mantis, McGowan's Jamaican-flavoured hangout under the railway arches, named after Jamaica's first prime minister and loved for its Sunday roasts.
Cuisine: Small plates, natural wine and cocktails at The Watergate; Jamaican cooking and rum at Buster Mantis.
Where: 5-9 Watergate Street, SE8 3HR
Book now: The Watergate

Jam Delish, Islington

What: Vegan curry goat sounds like a contradiction, right? At Jam Delish, it's a revelation. Siblings Jordan and Chyna began by cooking their grandparents' Caribbean recipes as a pop-up, rebuilding every dish in vegan form, and now run this award-winning restaurant and cocktail bar near Angel. Jerk oyster mushrooms stand in for chicken, seitan does the work of goat, and nobody should leave without trying the chocolate pimento festivals. Order a sorrel margarita and watch the meat-eaters at the next table quietly convert thanks to this fan favourite gem.
Cuisine: Plant-based Caribbean, reimagining family recipes with vegan ingredients.
Where: 1 Tolpuddle Street, N1 0XT
Book now: Jam Delish

Akara, London Bridge

What: An akara is a crisp, fluffy black-eyed bean fritter, loved from Lagos to Salvador, and at this Borough Yards spot it's the star of the show. Split open and stuffed with barbecued prawns, braised ox cheek or seared scallops, each one comes with a scotch bonnet sauce that doesn't hold back. Grab a stool at the counter to watch the charcoal grill at work, order the Lagos chicken with its punchy Senegalese hot sauce, and finish with a smoked plantain caipirinha. It’s the sister site of the Michelin-starred Akoko, so expect interiors, atmosphere and service to be on point.
Cuisine: West African, focused on casual akara fritters and grills
Where: Arch 208, 18 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
Book now: Akara

Fish, Wings & Tings, Brixton

What: Sunshine-yellow benches, reggae on the speakers and Trevor McDonald gazing down from a mural? Welcome to one of Brixton Village's most cheerful cornerstones. Trinidadian chef Brian Danclair opened Fish, Wings & Tings in 2012, and it’s been a neighbourhood fixture ever since. The menu nods to Trinidad's Indian influences alongside Caribbean staples, so expect codfish fritters, glossy jerk chicken and coconut curry prawns. The staff are lovely, and this one draws in an eclectic crowd of loyal locals and newcomers.
Cuisine: Trinidadian-led Caribbean, from jerk chicken to saltfish fritters and curries.
Where: 3 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR
Book now: Fish, Wings & Tings

Meli Melo, Walthamstow

What: Chef Florent Fabulas opened this bistro-cafe in early 2026, bringing his Guadeloupean roots and French fine dining training to Walthamstow. The fully halal menu runs from breakfast through to dinner, with indulgent French toast and brunch plates giving way to more substantial evening dishes, all presented with real care. No alcohol is served, but the cooking never feels like it's missing anything.
Cuisine: Fully halal bistro cooking from brunch to dinner, with a fine dining lilt.
Where: 154 Hoe Street, E17 4QH
Book now: Meli Melo

Akoko, Fitzrovia

What: Blink and you'll walk straight past it; behind a curtain of greenery on Berners Street, Aji Akokomi's Fitzrovia restaurant has quietly become a stalwart of London’s West African fine dining scene. It earned a Michelin star in 2024, and the tasting menu leans on fire, smoke and fermentation, giving British produce a distinctly West African accent. Jollof arrives in its own pot with a small booklet explaining its history, while the wine list explicitly champions South African labels, alongside old world classics. 
Cuisine: Michelin-starred West African tasting menus, influenced by fire cooking.
Where: 21 Berners Street, W1T 3LP
Book now: Akoko

Prince of Peckham, Peckham

What: Fans of Desmond's will recognise the name. Founder Clement Ogbonnaya borrowed it from Lee, the sitcom's ‘Peckham Prince’, and modelled his pub on the show's barbershop, a place where anyone could pull up a chair. Since 2017, this Clayton Road boozer has brought old and new Peckham together, so much so that Prince William dropped by in 2026 to pull a pint. Come midweek for jerk platters and a quiet drink, or at the weekend, when the doors stay open past 2am.
Cuisine: Caribbean-inspired pub food, with jerk chicken as the main event.
Where: 1 Clayton Road, SE15 5JA
Book now: Prince of Peckham

Chuku's, Tottenham

What: Billed as the world's first Nigerian tapas restaurant, Chuku's grew out of a simple idea. Siblings Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick took the small-plates culture Emeka fell for in Spain and applied it to the food they grew up with. The result, two minutes from Seven Sisters, is a warm, coral-walled room where you order three or four dishes each: salted caramel kuli kuli wings, suya meatballs, jollof quinoa, plantain waffles. Their motto, ‘chop, chat, chill’, says it all.
Cuisine: Nigerian tapas, with small plates like suya meatballs and jollof made for sharing.
Where: 274 High Road, N15 4AJ
Book now: Chuku's

Maureen's Brixton Kitchen, Brixton

What: Follow your nose up Railton Road towards the smoke curling over a garden wall, and behind the gate, you’ll find Maureen Tyne cooking Jamaican food from her front yard. She’s been doing it for around two decades; the menu is handwritten, orders go in by phone or in person, and a few tables appear when the sun's out. Come early for oxtail, curry goat and crisp fried chicken before it sells out.
Cuisine: Home-cooked Jamaican, including jerk chicken, curry goat and oxtail, served from Maureen's own yard.
Where: 52 Railton Road, SE24 0LF
Book now: Maureen's Brixton Kitchen

2210 by NattyCanCook, Herne Hill

What: Thousands of Instagram followers know Nathaniel Mortley as NattyCanCook, the chef who makes Caribbean cooking look effortless. At 2210, opposite Brockwell Park, he's proving it translates to the dining room. Quickly picked up by the Michelin Guide, the Herne Hill restaurant serves pan-Caribbean dishes with some finesse, with pimento duck among the standouts. It’s popular for weekend evenings, when the room is loud, full, and lively.
Cuisine: Contemporary pan-Caribbean fine dining from chef Nathaniel Mortley.
Where: 75 Norwood Road, SE24 9AA
Book now: 2210 by NattyCanCook

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