Vistreatz Afrofusion in Southwark

The nearest bus stop is Caldecot Street, on routes 185, 35, 45 and 345, on the same side as Nicen@Spice on this sloping hill, about twenty strides from the chain-store stretch of Camberwell. The all glass frontage was so sparkly, not one poster or menu sellotaped on, that I thought the design team had just signed off and driven away from a brand new busines It was already open at 9am, the sealed lunch boxes already stacked neatly in the chiller counter. The masked Boss Lady told me all that makes me happy, that they take cards and cash, that the lunch box deal was just £5 at midday. Don’t be confused or ask too much about the “fusion” of Afro reference on the shopfront. It is properly West-ish the most popular edit, so there is no injera, no cous cous and no bunny chow, no kenke or banku. My guess is that it may be impolite to try and define by region. Mother Africa to all. The aspect is luxe chic rather than homey earth tones, theme park or clinical. The floor is glittering granite and the moderne diamante light fittings above the counter will impress you as much as chandeliers would at the Moscow Metro station. The atmosphere elevates your purchase experience. The seating is comfortable and bright scarlet. All that is missing is a tuxedo-ed door supervisor and a velvet rope. The puff puffs are yum yum. Someone else can review beans and egusi soup. Feel your pulse rate slow down and relax to the curated playlist, redolent of Kenny G saxophone magic and ultra mellow hi-life. I heard that this gem is on the Just Eats website, so you can order that way too. There will be two camps, folk who know what they want and how it should be, with people like me who know from mates’ home cooking but still on a voyage of respectful discovery. The other camp is coming in stone cold and needing a crib sheet. Two ladies came in looked around silently and left with a menu. is quite a lot to google, as there is no menu narrative and no dish photographs on the stylish white walls. I went in with just trust and was beyond impressed, you will be fed right. Anything “beans” such as moin moin can be enjoyed as you would hummous with your own sourdough or shattering crispbreads, make your own crunchy salads. Need to know, Suya is grilled meats with dry spice rub, very chilli hot. Mates made it with gizzard and chicken liver, check with these Boss Ladies what they do. It won’t be sticky and it won’t be sweet BBQ. It needs cooling drinks and it is addictively delicious. The £5 lunch deal is a perfect starting point. Jollof is flavourful rice cooked with blended peppers tomatoes thyme and garlic. There is a scattering of sliced plantain and a tender chicken portion on the bone, which has no batter or breadcrumb. The best discovery for me is the modestly understated “meat stew” for just £3.50 October 2020. It is the house selection of all the humunggously daunting array at fresh markets. There were manageable bite sized bits of honeycomb tripe (as opposed to Rolodex book tripe or the one that looks like a fluffy towel), a centre piece cross section bone which had lots of meat on it, a domino sized piece of stewed outer cow foot, some beef shin with lots of tendon and a split bone smoked turkey leg portion with all the rich marrow intact, if you like liver you will like this turkey marrow too. There may have been some goat belly. There is a heck of a lot of skilful preparation to these goodies, I sort of know (post mortem pedi over a naked gas flame, tussling with two gallon pressure cookers anyone) and I am glad the Boss Ladies really take care of business behind their kitchen door. The peppers and tomato stew sauce was rich and splashy with red annatto palm oil, just as it should be. Eat this preferably with bibs, a paper tablecloth and a pile of napkins. Helpful hint - you can eat around meaty big bones with just thumb and index finger holding the rough sides of the bone chunk, that is my clean eating done. This is not first date food. Also, Afro meat stew is not cooked so long that it melts into shreds, they have a bit of a chew which is a good thing. Meats In the boxes and lidded bowls are freezeable, it may be an idea to stock up just in case government rules get more restrictive. If you are amongst Muslim brethren, impress them by only eating with your right hand. This stew looks pork free. If you know your Italian osso bucco, Chinese trotters, Polish golabki, Turkish tripe soup, JA oxtail, this one has your name on it. I would urge novices and newbies to eat this stew with the pounded yam, it is a unique and just the fun-nest warm carb with a bouncy play-doh consistency if it is made properly. Using your two “eating fingers”, squish a lump into a marble, and dip into the sauce keeping your fingers clean, you can do it.