Afrikana Manchester

We were looking for something a bit different to eat and happily stumbled upon this place on Wilmslow Road. The decor and buzz enticed us further and so we entered to a warm reception and no delay in being seated. Allergens were discussed and as one in our party has an egg allergy, the waitress patiently went through what was and wasn’t suitable. The menu is varied and lists some great mains and specials. Plenty of starters and sides to choose from too. We tried the lady fingers, garlic broccoli and Mac n cheese. For mains the kids had the smash burger meals. Mocktails looked great but being boring we selected soft drinks and instantly regretted it when some handsome looking mocktails were delivered to the table beside us! Definitely will try those next time though. Serving staff were plenty and it seems they aren’t allocated to a particular table thus leaving them floating on all tables. We were asked by a few if everything was ok or if we needed anything, whoever’s idea this was it was great! The decor is new and fresh I cannot fault the place on that. Everything is clean and what you would expect of an up market place. Prices are reasonable for what you get. Food is presented very well and not just thrown on the plate, some thought and love has gone in to its attention to detail. The food itself came relatively quickly (5-7 minutes) which leads me to believe some must be pre cooked but I think that’s true of most places these days. People want fast food so advance prepping has taken over. The dishes are generous in portioning, including the kids meals. Some accompanying sauces of ketchup and mayo were brought out with the foods which we didn’t request but nice of them to provide. What is lacking and was very noticeable is no seasoning at the tables or offered any. We didn’t ask for fear of offending indirectly but we like our chips seasoned with salt and pepper and there was none. I feel a peri peri or spiced salt for chips would be appropriate for the cuisinebut anything really would have been nice. The lack of salt wasn’t a deal breaker and we enjoyed the food without. The fried lady fingers were delicious according to my son who devoured those. The smash burgers in a toasted brioche bun looked huge and the patty inside as fresh as it gets. It was noted by my child that the burgers come plain with no salad inside or sauce, yes a child asking for something healthy shock horror!, he had a good point though why is there no salad on the burgers? They were delicious nonetheless. I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness to the accessible toilet area which I’d used pre meal. A ramp leads you to it and noting the shop entrance is also level makes this place wheelchair friendly for any chair users wondering whether to try it out. Go for it! Friendly staff brought a complimentary jug of water with ice that was appreciated alongside our soft drinks. Every meal was thoroughly enjoyed with the exception of the garlic broccoli. I could tell immediately from looking at it that no fresh garlic has been near it. Sadly they’d used garlic purée which coated the pan fried broccoli in this bitter purée that has no place on it. I’d expected freshly chopped garlic or garlic infused oil to have been used because purée is more associated with base sauces and such. The taste of it raw and bitter on my food did unfortunately make it inedible. That being said though the way staff handled it was excellent. I was offered a replacement which I had to decline as it would only be the same, therefore a waste of more food and chefs time. They kindly comped that side off our bill though so we were happy with that and luckily already full from the other great food. Overall a great place to dine at and as I’ve since learned that it only opened last week I must say it is organised and offers great service. They will improve with time I’m assuming of the minor teething issues and hopefully a few tweaks will make it even more fantastic.