Jackson Mclarty is the founder of Black Eats LDN, a food and culture platform that runs a directory of 500 Black-owned businesses in London with the aim of boosting their profiles and bringing them deeper into mainstream consciousness. Having lived in Jamaica for five years, Mclarty says he knows “what Jamaican food should taste like. A lot of times in the UK it doesn’t taste how it should, so I want to push authentic cuisine that actually has care and love put into it”.
The 31-year-old, who also runs the Black Eats Fest and City Splash Festival (the UK’s biggest reggae festival), says he just wants people to eat high-quality cuisine and have a good experience. “Getting catfished is the worst thing. I don’t want people to spend their money and be disappointed. I want them to think, ‘I can’t wait to come back and have this’.” He tells Noo Saro-Wiwa the food spots we should all be trying.
Akoko, Fitzrovia
Akoko on Goodge Street is a great experience for West African or Pan African dining in London, specifically the lunchtime menu. If possible, book under the chef’s table so that you can see everything as it’s being made. The tatale (little pancakes with fingers of black bean hummus) is delicious, as is the aniseed dessert. They have also reimagined jollof rice by doing a popped rice with chives that add more of a crunch.
Address: Akoko, 21 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP
Website: akoko.co.uk
Rack City Ribs, Highgate
Rack City Ribs are an American, Southern American, Jamaican fusion, so you’ll get dishes like curry mutton ribs, slow-cooked brisket, loaded hash brown fries. This is the place to go if you want a red meat-heavy experience where you get the ‘meat sweats’ and you leave feeling like you could roll home. But good flavours, no shortcuts with the food. The barbecue is actually cooked on a barbecue, it’s not just liquid smoke or cooked in an oven.
Address: Rack City Ribs, 16 Highgate High Street, London N6 5JG
Website: instagram.com
Roger’s Kitchen, Camden
Roger’s Kitchen is a Jamaican restaurant in Camden, run by Chef Roger Shakes, previously head chef at Mango Room. It’s an elevated Caribbean experience. You’ll get boneless curry goat, salt fish, and seafood dishes. They do chalkboard specials that you haven’t seen before, such as rice and peas made with gungo peas rather than kidney beans. And they have items like breadfruit, which you don’t see on menus that often, and their plantain is baked instead of fried, giving you a more caramelised taste. So they approach things a little bit differently, but the food is very, very good.
Address: Roger’s Kitchen, 71 Camden Road, London NW1 9EU
Website: rogerskitchen.co.uk
Akara, Borough
If you want West African food and not break the bank, Akoko has a sister restaurant, Akara, in Borough. You can order a few sharing plates. My favourite dish is the rice, which sounds a weird thing to say, but it’s a seasoned rice cooked in a very flavourful chicken stock. And then they do a spatchcock chicken, which is really good, and, of course, the akara (fritter made from cow peas or beans). My favourite is the prawn akara. The dipping sauce that comes on the side adds a bit of heat is a must.
Address: Akara, Arch 208, 18 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Website: akaralondon.co.uk
The Watergate, Deptford
Head south to Deptford, for The Watergate, the sister restaurant to the very popular Caribbean spot, Buster Mantis. You’ll find more European-style dishes, but what really sells it for me is the atmosphere, the decor and the vibe of the place – very dim lighting, a very intimate, speakeasy kind of vibe with small plates for sharing. On Thursdays they do a £6 Thursday – a selected menu of food and drinks all priced at £6, which is just unheard of nowadays. The lamb and the octopus are very good as well.
Address: The Watergate, 5, 9 Watergate Street, London SE8 3HR
Website: thewatergate.co.uk
RapChar, Herne Hill
Elevated Caribbean restaurant, RapChar, serves tasty Jamaican food in Herne Hill. The prices might seem a little high but the portions are massive so you never leave that place hungry. The menu is small, which is a green flag for me, and the chef is passionate. The scallops and the buttered pepper king prawns are really good. They don’t have that many seats but there’s a downstairs area for private bookings. I’d highly recommend making a reservation as the restaurant is always full.
Address: RapChar, 30 Brixton Water Lane, London SW2 1PE
Website: rapchar.com
Boca Chica, Peckham
Boca Chica is doing a residency at the CLF Art Lounge in Peckham Rye. They serve Dominican food, including a lot of green plantain. In the Caribbean and Africa, we like our ripe plantain, but the Latin community like doing green plantain starters, stuff like that. You can get tostadas with crispy fried chicken. On a Sunday, they serve a Dominican roast with slow-cooked beef, and the sauce is just so rich. It comes with roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and veggies – all that kind of stuff – but with Dominican flare.
Address: Boca Chica, 16 Evelina Road, London SE15 2DX
Website: bocachica.co.uk
Dark Sugar Cocoa House, Greenwich
There’s a place in Greenwich called Dark Sugar Cocoa House, which focuses mostly on artisanal chocolate but they also have an excellent ice cream shop nearby, and a hot chocolate bar. With the hot chocolate you can choose between dark, milk and white chocolate, etc, and they top it with shards of chocolate.
Address: Dark Sugar Cocoa House, Greenwich
Website: darksugars.co.uk
For more information and up-to-date recommendations, visit Black Eats LDN.
