Little Baobab at The Africa Centre

Already highly regarded in Peckham, Little Baobab was a natural choice to succeed Tatale when Akwasi Brenya-Mensa finished his time at The Africa Centre.

Though Brenya-Mensa’s reflective Ghanaian cooking has been supplanted by Little Baobab’s more accessible, traditional Senegalese flavours, the interiors remain the same - a smart move in our book, as the sandy, mottled plaster walls, rattan lamps and pot plants make this a very soothing place to spend a few hours. The restaurant feels stripped down in a very charming way - service is chatty, and tables are only a few metres from the open kitchen, where a clutch of chefs busy themselves over plates at the pass.

The set menu is extremely reasonable at £49 and ideal for a couple of people, as you can share practically every dish on offer (though larger groups might find themselves a bit short on options). An opening plantain, sliced in half then half again, fried, and dusted with spiced salt, feels a little spartan, but admittedly it is just a warm up, and a delicious one at that. In fact, it sets the tone for dishes where we would happily have ordered another, given the chance.

The cooking is staunchly home-style, and all the better for it. We devour plump, fried fish balls in rich tomato sauce, and a stew of black eyed beans, which puts Heinz to shame. Lamb chops are well-done but still tender, with glistening fat, barbecue smoke and spice rub all melding happily with a caramelised onion sauce. It’s all just delicious.

Suddenly, we’re at dessert, spooning our way through an extremely rustic chocolate and ginger tart. Sweets feel a little more makeshift, but like everything else, the flavours are absolutely there. Big appetites might feel a bit light on food - we reckon a bread course would solve the problem easily - but there’s no questioning the quality of the cooking on offer here. If the Africa Centre is to be a home for Africa and its London diaspora, it has a perfect food ambassador in Little Baobab, which is ultra-accessible, and rooted in comforting African flavours.

Located in The Africa Centre, Little Baobab has brought Senegalese cuisine and culture to London in a stylish, cosy restaurant that offers a set seasonal dinner menu featuring delicious delights, along with a calendar of regular live music events. Little Boabab puts Senegalese dishes and ingredients on centre stage, offering up the warm and vibrant flavours of West Africa set against Senegal-influenced interiors.

For dinner, the set menu begins with fried plantain seasoned with bissap salt, before snacks of marinated chicken skewers with caramelised onion sauce, and akara pancakes with tomato onion sauce and fried okra. For starters, you have a choice of plantain tart with nambe, or fish balls in a tomato stew. Main courses include lamb chops served with creamy mafe sauce, fried cassava puree and grilled carrots; and thiebou dienne, a fried sea bass fillet with white jollof rice and diced cassava, carrot and aubergine, bissap and tamarind sauce. The veggie option is a spinach stew served with millet and white beans, topped with crispy onions. As for dessert, you’ll find the signature Baobab ice cream topped with bissap syrup and crushed almonds, along with a chocolate millet cake with caramel peanut sauce.

The lunch menu runs a la carte, offering delicious black eyed peas served with jollof rice and fried plantain, along with a lamb and peanut butter stew, and a roast vegetable and fonio salad with chargrilled peaches. If you just fancy a snack, choose the sweet potato and quinoa fritters with a tomato onion sauce. Senegalese beignet doughnuts are a delicious dessert, with an orange and dark chocolate sauce. Keep an eye out for other signature plates including fataya stuffed with fish, falafel or lamb, and the thiakry dessert, a millet couscous dessert served with sweet yoghurt and coconut.