West African food in Toronto, and how to order it

Eighteen African kitchens across the city. What the staples actually are, which dishes to start with if you have never eaten this food, and why the swallow matters more than the soup.

African restaurants in Toronto are mostly small, mostly family-run, and mostly serving one country's food rather than a continent's. That is worth knowing before you walk in expecting a menu that covers everything from Dakar to Nairobi.

The directory holds eighteen of them.

Start here

The thing to understand first: swallow

Most West African main courses are a soup or a stew eaten with a starch you tear, dip and swallow rather than chew. The starch is the decision, and it changes the meal more than the stew does.

Fufu: pounded cassava and plantain. Soft, slightly sour, the classic.
Eba: ground cassava, firmer and grainier, and the cheapest.
Pounded yam: smoother and denser than fufu, and usually the most expensive. Worth it once.
Amala: yam flour, dark brown, an acquired texture and a devoted following.

If you have not done this before, order pounded yam. It is the most forgiving.

What to order the first time

Jollof rice is the safe entry point and also the most argued-about dish in the city. Nigerian jollof is smokier and drier, Ghanaian tends to be softer with more aromatics. Whichever a restaurant makes, they make it with conviction, and asking which one you are eating is a good way to start a conversation.

Egusi is melon seed ground into a thick stew, usually with spinach and meat. Rich, nutty, and the one most people are converted by.

Suya is skewered beef with a dry peanut and chilli rub. It is street food, it is best in the evening, and it is the single easiest thing on any of these menus to like.

Pepper soup is exactly what it says and is not a starter in the European sense. It will clear your head.

Two practical notes

Ring ahead about timing. Swallow is made fresh and several of these kitchens are one or two people. A call before you set off is normal and welcome.
Ask about heat. "Spicy" means different things in these rooms than it does on a chain menu. Nobody minds being asked to hold back, and everybody minds being asked after the food has arrived.