Afrikana Restaurant Dalston — Restaurant in London

Visited Dalston, intending to go M&s then saw Afrikana, my grandson and myself immediately wanted to explore. Low mood lighting and relevant music seemed attractive. We didn't have a booking but were told to wait apx 10mins, they said they were busy, they looked near empty imo, I decided to finish my shopping rather than wait. Came back, still low number of dinners seated inside. Was now asked to wait for 20 mins which we did. Staff are obviously new to waiting and hospitality, it showed in their approach but that's ok. Our starters and mains arrived together. When asked why, I was told they were very busy, only 6 tables were occupied! Our waitress checked if all was OK, I mentioned the mains and starter were served together, she then tells me, some customers want it that way, again that's ok, we however did not request this so would expect, as is customary, to have the starter at the start and then have our main served after we have finished. I do understand this is a new enterprise and we did our utmost to support a new business in these trying and difficult times. To be presented with food in this way is very overwhelming for the customer. And surely this approach will be very taxiing on kitchen staff to serve in this way and only ensures orders get backed up when they are busy. Serving the starter first allows the kitchen time and breathing space they need to cook the main. The Prawn to be Wild, was so over cooked they were beyond tuff, I took a bite of one and had to really pull at it before the piece would break, I actually thought I was eating tuff dry chicken. My Goat dish was OK but it was dry, Curry Goat is NEVER served dry like that, no matter which island you come from. Really good portion size but had to take mine home as it was too much to eat all at once. Overall we did enjoy it, as staff were pleasant. My grandson loved, loved, loved his Butterfly Burger, edible flowers in his mocktail are a new experience for him and he appreciated the asthetics. I also noted the high numbers of staff in the kitchen, imo, if you're not cooking, then stay out, your only adding to the chaos. With such low numbers of dinners, I know you had a table of 12 but you really were not busy, not by any stretch of the imagination, this should have been the time the manager went round to All tables to ensure they were having a good dining experience, not just to some/select few. Looking forward to experiencing Better improvement in customer service/satisfaction and giving a better...

GO TO THE MILE END ONE. SERVICE THERE IS PHENOMENAL IN COMPARISON!

If I was to rate this place on food ... would be 12/10! First African food place my husband and I tried, and food was absolutely delicious, flavour packed and just divine! My only minor feedback would be... they use chicken breast for the pasta. I don't like chicken breast as a meat cut in general. But was still moist and flavorful.

Rating it one star for the following reasons *a date night ruined:

Got seated downstairs despite a pre booking. Downstairs is a shambles compared to upstairs. Just sloppy spare tables put in an empty space. Toilets are right there, freezer is right there, no ambience or atmosphere and it was very cold Food arrived timely, but took the better part of 20 minutes for a second coke order to arrive, only after we asked 3 times Mains were rushed to our table without clearing starters first Table was not cleaned between courses Got asked if I wanted to pay my bill before eating deserts! Er no! Rude much?! Waited ages to order dessert only to be told after 45 minutes they don't serve hot drinks, so that just pi ssed me right off! So we went upstairs to pay the bill instead of waiting another age to pay Went upstairs to see waiters rushed off their feet and drinks person was making drinks so fast, there was a pool of fluid under the drinks being made, on the drinks station, and the person even used their fingers to take ice cubes out of a glass into another Dirty glasses were piled on the entire side of the drinks counter Clearly the servers and waiters were paying more attention to the crowd upstairs, and even then they had drink orders pile up and couldn't wait to get rid of us The owner needs to stop being a stingy p ig and invest in more staff. It's actually insane how short staffed they were for a Friday night and full house with people waiting! It was impossible for the staff to meet demand despite rushing around like headless chickens! Owner also needs to make the basement as appealing as the upstairs so customers are not left feeling like cars in an overflow car park! Left really pi ssed off. Ruined a date night with they painfully slow/non existent service and waiting a painful 45 minutes for a no show dessert, after being seated in the...

It's that time of the year, and having decided to be nonconformists, we chose Afrikaan for our Festive meal. Located in the heart of Dalston, a stone throw away from the overground station on Kingsland High Street.

We visited mid week afternoon, it was quiet inside but the interior decor looks quite impressive. Lots of greenery and definitely gave jungle and African vibes. Loved the furniture too, use of colours and materials. Some of the tables and chairs looks so cozy and comfortable, you can see the thought put into this. Definitely wasn't gone unnoticed.

Staff were polite and friendly.

We ordered the Jammin' Jambalaya, Butterfly chicken burger and "We goat your back" with coleslaw. Loved the play on words for some of their dish names.

I really enjoyed the slow cooked mutton curry, perfectly spiced with rice n peas and fried plantain. Just a pity the presentation didn't look like photos I've checked out on other reviews. I also ordered a side of mac n cheese, this was tasty, cheesy and well seasoned. The handmade coleslaw was cut too thick, would have been more enjoyable if shredded thinner. The chips with the burger were nice and crispy. The spicy Afrikaan chips were similar to chips coated in sriracha mayo sauce.

On another positive, this is a halal restaurant.

The cocktails looks so refreshing and appetising.

Although the toilets were downstairs, I didn't check whether there were access free toilets on the restaurant floor.

Only small gripe, the table and cup handle were sticky so we had to to ask them to give the table a wipe.

Would recommend to others, and might check out their Mile End restaurant one day.

Overall not bad at all. Food was nice, preferred the decor and staff more.

Food: 7/10 Service:...