The latest West African opening in London is Isibani in Knightsbridge

Isibani, a new West African restaurant in Knightsbridge is to open on 11 July.

Co-founders Anthony Douglas Chuka and Abdul Malik Abubakar describe their new restaurant as a ‘love letter to West African cuisine’, explaining that Isibani is ‘an ode to our mom’s Ibo heritage and her love for fine dining with an African twist.’

Heading up the kitchen will be the 26-year-old chef Victor Okunowo, a Nigerian-born Londoner who appeared on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020 and spent time at the Talking Drum in Peckham, The Wolseley, and Chiltern Firehouse. Isibani will have 22 covers on the ground floor, 24 on the second, and a 16-cover roof terrace. The downstairs restaurant will ‘provide a more refined, fine dining experience’, with a more ‘relaxed and casual’ menu elsewhere.

Dishes might include mackerel, iru, apple and celery tartlet; jerk poussin taco with pimento mayo, baby gem, heritage tomatoes and escabeche; and smoked monkfish fillet with charred okra, kachumbari, sea herbs and brown shrimp.

‘The menu is a very personal one and draws inspiration from my childhood and the flavours I grew up eating in Nigeria. I want it to be a fun place where people can enjoy great food, wine and company’, said Victor.

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