By AF Reeves – @afreeves23

Initially, after asking Castone, a Kenyan colleague and fellow educator (teaching still pays the bills), what he thought of Makeni African Bar & Grill, I realised I might have made a mistake. His response challenged me and left me in doubt. “Do you like African food, Alex? Do you know African food? Why do you want to eat there?”

To be honest, I do not know African food very well. Am I the right person to be writing about it? Should I even be passing comment? Who am I to say this jollof is the real deal, or whether the plantain is up to scratch?

SIGNAGE: A new sign makes the restaurant more visible from its busy home on Xuân Diệu. Photos courtesy of AF Reeves

I mean, other than having my curiosity piqued by Jay Rayner’s post-pandemic call to arms in support of his local West African spot in the Guardian some half a decade ago and my subsequent heading to a really well recommended spot during my time in Budapest that his piece inspired, I would have literally no point of reference for this cuisine.

It was Rayner again, in 2023, with a love letter to the pepper soup at London’s Isibani (sadly now closed), that reignited the craving. In London, places such as Chishuru and Akoko have helped push West African cooking into the wider conversation, even drawing Michelin attention; that backdrop is part of why Makeni felt overdue here.

Seeing Makeni open its doors less than a month or so later, it made my list. Having noticed it on Xuân Diệu countless times since, I was surprised, when doing my due diligence, that despite almost everyone being aware of it, so few of my friends, like me, had taken a chance on it. But here I am, two years later, finally writing it up. I have been twice in a week and will certainly be back almost as quickly.

FIT FOR A CHIEF: Jollof, plantains, suya and goat pepper soup are my combo of choice.

The timing, as it turns out, was welcome. Proprietor and visionary behind the deliberately styled bar and grill, Eddie Kamara, informs me they’re putting the finishing touches to a revamp that has breathed new life into the space. The signage, more prominent from a notably busy street. Inside, warm lighting, a fresh palette of defiant orange and luscious green leaves punters in no doubt over the aesthetic origins of the restaurant, as the colours accentuate the warm hues the spices bring to each dish.

Eddie, born in Sierra Leone, but who moved to Maryland in the US as a child to live with family due to conflict back home, took to helping out in his uncle’s own restaurant. From a young age he would find himself amongst the food that would become one of his life’s passions and that he would ultimately bring to the Hà Nội food scene. From civil war to Xuân Diệu, his story is a reminder that the journeys of the global food we enjoy here are not always simple.

SILKY: Nkate Nkwan is a smooth Ghanaian peanut soup served with a choice of meat and fufu.

Makeni, named after the largest city in northern Sierra Leone, where Eddie hails from, is a brand he explored in the US with pop-ups at festivals and local events; from Maryland to Washington DC, he's always wanted to share his cuisine with a wider audience. Following his partner and her career to Việt Nam in 2023, unsure what life here would hold, it became clear it was the right time to turn the project into a fully fledged restaurant. I, for one, am glad he has.

On my first visit, the appetiser platter allowed a friend and I to sample a few smaller dishes, but in retrospect, as tasty as the chicken wings are, they detracted from the suya. Oh, suya, where have you been all my life? As a lifelong proponent of the inherent value of meat on a stick, I should not have been surprised.

Yet that generous peanut glaze clinging tightly to beef skewers – not too firm, not too fatty – combined harmoniously with the distinctly orange, spicy, nutty, garlicky powder, reminding me how the simplest bites can be the most satisfying. Move over, yakitori.

MEAT STICKS: The appetiser plate is great value but the suya is where it’s at.

The peanut flavours kept-a-coming with Eddie’s recommendation of the Ghanaian classic, ‘Nkate Nkwan’. Rich, creamy and aromatic, velvety and pourable, it lightly coats a spoon rather than clinging as heavily as satay might. Slow cooked and served with your choice of meat, the chicken was tender and falling off the bone, having simmered long enough that the broth tastes of the meat and the meat tastes of the broth.

The bowl comes with fufu or rice; of which I would settle on the former. The cassava-dense dough is starchy and more smooth than sticky, like heavyweight mashed potato to fill out the meal.

Personally, I have no skin in the game when it comes to the Nigerian–Ghanaian jollof debate, nor do I know the particulars well enough to attribute Makeni’s version to either. I do know the spice is dialled down a notch, with Eddie opting away from the Scotch bonnets that usually provide the famous kick. Buttery and flavourful, it’s a welcome change from cơm trắng.

Yet despite these new flavours, it was the goat pepper soup I had been waiting for, and I will not wait again. It is impossible to catch the beauty of a deep brown soup through photographs, but that is no excuse for you to miss out on it. The goat, a rare treat outside of Ninh Bình. The broth, deep and so very peppery, sends warmth through you with each mouthful. This will get us through the impending northern winter.

DJ NIGHT: Wednesdays and Fridays offer a DJ workshop for music heads in the community.

Do not skip the plantains. They are soft and sweet, cutting through the abundance of different heats, spices and flavours you will be contending with. And do not hesitate to visit Makeni. In the same way West African cooking predates imperial borders and transcends national boundaries, the quality of the food here means that even if you are not sure that you like African food, even if you do not know African food, you do know good food when you taste it. That is what will bring you back. VNS

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Makeni African Bar & Grill

Address: 54 Xuân Diệu, Tứ Liên, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội

Tel: 0708 773 017

Price: VNĐ200,000-400,000 depending on how hungry you feel

Dining companions: Go solo, bring a friend, the space is welcoming.

Top tip: Wednesday and Friday play host to a DJ workshop, take this into consideration! Personally, I enjoyed the vibe.