Enish West Hampstead — Restaurant in London

I love Nigerian food and am really happy that more Nigerian restaurants are opening and establishing a following all around London. Unfortunately, Enish, despite good food and a vibrant atmosphere, still fails when it comes to schedules and organisation 🙏🏾 I booked a table for 10 guests a few weeks in advance and asked if we could be sat upstairs. When we arrived, there was no book at reception for the waiter to check - they ran about and asked the manager who randomly desposited us in the basement 🤨 - which had not been setup and reeked of damp. Luckily, 2 of my guests didn't show up so I asked if we could maybe move upstairs - another scramble and chat with the manager - we were told there was no space (I popped up a few times and there actually was) 🤔 The waitress did bring down a dehumidfier and this improved things ❤️ The drinks and food were tasty and delicious and our waiter was attentive. Then the DJ started. We were the only ones downstairs and the speaker above us blared and throbbed and I asked whether it could be reduced and I was told it had to be loud enough to throb through the floor upstairs?😕 I went upstairs and the music was more bearable. Eventually, they turned off one speaker but the manager came down and made them turn it back on....and increase the volume 😂 if any of my guests develop tinnitus, we will be in touch...🤨 We finished and were given packaging to take food away. The waiter was patient for us to calculate and pay and we left a small tip. My guests were fabulous, understanding and patient and, despite attempts to the contrary, it didn't ruin the meal. But though I will happily grab a take-away from Enish... I think I'll stick to 805 for a dinner party. I hope consistency and quality improves, as the restaurant has a fantastic following and burgeoning possibilities. Despite dropping our rice, the waiters did their best to make up for poor...

Unfortunately I’m going to have to leave a negative review on Enish Finchley. I had been to the Lewisham branch & had a great experience so I made a booking over the phone for 10 people at the Finchley location for my mums birthday. I was told it’d be a £50 deposit and I’d receive a whatsapp with the details in order to pay the deposit and secure the booking. Days passed & l’d heard nothing so I called back only to find out that they’d taken down the wrong phone number. Once rectified I was blindsided by a request for a £200 deposit, when I questioned this I was told that as the booking was now for 15 people the deposit had to be higher. On the day of the booking we arrived and were seated only to be told 5 minutes later that we had to move as there was a larger group - they seated us on a cramped table with no leg room, no lighting and blaring speakers. when we asked about the lighting they made a sub par attempt by putting on some disco lights. I made it very clear when making the booking, both on the phone and via the WhatsApp message that we had 2 young babies, this was not even slightly considered as they sat us right next to the speakers which were ridiculously loud and there was no room for the high chairs, which we repeatedly asked for to no avail. We also asked them to turn the music down, not only for the babies but as our entire party was literally screaming at the top of our lungs but this was not done. The waiters couldn’t even hear our order it was just outrageous. All things considered the food was delicious so hats off to the chef! At the end of the night we received our bill, the £200 deposit had not been deducted, by this point we all just wanted to get out of there. It was really disappointing, needless to say we won’t be recommending this restaurant...

Enish says that "most West African cuisine is known for its richness, deep flavour and variety". Well, the same can be said of Enish, which, with its wide selection of exotic sounding dishes, really doesn't believe in compromise.

The last thing you want, when seeking after authentic food, is for any restaurant to be guilty of dumming things down to appease the taste buds of the locals. What's the point in that anyway? If you're going to introduce a given cuisine to a new audience, then it makes sense to be true to its spirit, believe in what you know, and force the locals to come out of their comfort zones and appreciate what you love. If it really is as you believe it to be, it'll sell!

And that's what we came away appreciating about Enish. Granted, new taste sensations can take some getting used to; however, with the basics of any food type being known universally, there were dishes had that simply weren't as well executed as they should have been.

Nonetheless, this is a Nigerian restaurant that offers traditional dishes that are Halal, sans any pork on the menu. And given the variety of goat-based ones, we'd recommend all the way the goat's head, if only to encourage breaking out of that culinary comfort zone.

For the neophytes, there's an incredibly helpful glossary of terms on the opening page of the menu, which goes a long way towards explaining key food items and dishes appearing throughout. Be sure to have a proper browse through this. Although having said that, our waiter was quite knowledgeable in this regard and very helpful in breaking things down for us lay diners.

Menu Recommendation Drink - Non-alcoholic Chapman Starter - Goat Assorted Meat Pepper Soup Main - Jollof Fried Rice with Fresh...