Travelling is one of life’s great joys and part of the fun of exploring a new culture and surroundings is enjoying food that you may never have seen, tried or even heard of before.
We’ve fallen in love with hoppers in Sri Lanka, bulgogi and kimchi in Seoul and okonomiyaki in Tokyo.
New experiences are always welcome, especially when they come with delicious dishes that we find ourselves searching for long after we fly back home.
One of the joys of working at Time Out is that we’re never short of recommendations and tip-offs for places to go, gems to be discovered and venues that serve amazing food that many may never have heard of.
West to West Kitchen has been on people’s lips for a while now so as soon as we can get back out to try it we head along.
It would be fair to say that we know very little about the cuisine served up in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Sierra Leone. All distinct locations, two in the Caribbean and one in West Africa. When we arrive at the restaurant we’re delighted to see how cosy it is, with just two tables and a kitchen.
Judging by the steady flow of delivery drivers picking up orders, we aren’t the only ones ordering lunch from here today.
Everything on the menu sounds appealing and the smell of aromatic spices flowing out of the kitchen only adds to the anticipation. The staff, who are warm and welcoming, have great pride in what they serve and it’s uplifting to see such joy and care put into every plate. It would be cheesy to say the secret ingredient is love, but there’s a whole lot of pride and passion put into every dish here.
We order the Trinidadian carnival goat curry and a Jamaican classic, jerk chicken.
Each is served with a side of rice and peas and a salad.
Goat is a protein we don’t eat often but we might have to start rethinking that. Served on the bone, the curry isn’t swimming in sauce instead is rich with a vibrant punch of spices.
It’s as tender as can be, slow cooked, wonderful, a real beauty of a dish.
The jerk chicken is another hit. A full chicken leg, rubbed and marinated and cooked to perfection arrives at the table. The meat is well cooked without being dry and we have to stop ourselves from picking up the leg and gnawing at it, although considering the homely vibe in the restaurant we’re sure that won’t raise any eyebrows.
The rice and peas is actually rice and black beans and they’re magnificent. With notes of coconut and seasoning, we could eat a bowl of this alone.
All in all, as good a meal as you can get, and a new favourite that we will be revisiting.
