Contemporary West African Fusion Restaurant in the Heart of Knightsbridge

Isibani Restaurant, Knightsbridge

We came here during their soft launch and absolutely loved it. The food is said to be Western African but most drinks for example are Nigerian and the food frankly did not taste particularly African to me. It was fine dining, small portions, tasting menu and everything we had tasted delicious. I’d love to come back, I’m sure the menu will evolve.

it’s hard go give this place a concrete rating. we came in on a friday at 12:30pm with open table reservations (50% off the a la carte menu)
- service was poor (2/5). the staff seemed impatient yet at the same time slow. we were one of a few diners on a weekday, yet it took a while to bring out the food and for the bill. did not seem very professional
- they gave us a free starter, the puff puffs which were delicious, like donut holes
- 3 of us ordered the grilled seabass which was tasty and a good size portion. heavily seasoned with olive oil
- one of us got a vegetarian stew which was not to his liking, but i personally liked it. was reminiscent of thai flavors.
- we also got the corn which was so-so and the moi moi which was really good and beautiful.
- presentation overall was splendid.

We walked-in, without basic knowledge of West-African food.

Ordered moi moi, jollof rice, ox tail, beef stew, fried plaintain, and grilled prawn..as recommended by the waitress (manager too I guess)...OMG, it is an eye opener on African dishes.

Pretty busy place here on Friday night. Service was just okay..a bit above average, but not exceptional. They may be understaffed but still an acceptable service.

Isibani is a small quaint resturant on Knightsbridge  Green, serving a small menu of cuisine from Nigerria and Ivory Coast.  it has a nice  clean interior ableit small, with dining over 2 levels.

I've been to a number of African resturants around london . Given the postcode, I expected Isabani to be more on the pricey side,  so took the opportunity to dine here during  their recent soft launch.

My table purchased the beef suya which my friend said  was underwhelming - just ok. For main we purchased  2 x  Egusi Soup and the Attike dish. My guests  found the egushi soup with assorted meat (though one contained quite a bit of Shaki) to be authentic and flavoursome.  Portion sizes aren't huge for the £25 price tag and it does not come with any accompanying sides which is an extra £9. However my guests found their meals to be quite filling.

In contrast, the Attike cous cous dish came with an assortment of sides incl in the £34 price. A nicely presented dish with a half serving of well cooked talapia, a portion of attike and plantain. My only qualm was the pepper sauce , while  delicious was rationed, served in a very small  ramekin sized dish and was not substantial for the meal.

One thing to note, having ordered a starter and drinks while we waited for one guest to arrive,  the waitress came and put  2 fresh puff puff donuts with a serving of caremel sauce on our table, mentioning something about cover charge which we couldn't quite understand.  We therefore took it to be a complimentary amouche bouche.  They presented this again when my friend arrived, this time saying nothing so again we thought this was a nice touch.

However when our bill came, I noticed £6 'cover charge' was added. We queried this and was told it was for the puff puff? As I write this review, I have rechecked the menu and noticed in small text that there is a £2 cover charge per head...so essentially we paid  £6 to walk through the door,  not really for the 4 x puff puff. I eat out frequently and have yet to encounter CC even at some high end resturants. Given the prices, and size of the establishment,  i'm not sure a cover charge is warranted.

Overall service was good, staff were quite attentive. Our drinks did take a while to arrive, especially as the resturant got very busy as the evening wore on. The cocktail menu is limited, drinks could do with a bit more alcohol and less ice (we had to request less ice in our second round) but they were decent and priced average for london.

Our bill  for 3 people incl 6 cocktails, 1 starter and 3 mains, 2 x sides came to £211. This was £188 plus 12.5% service and the additional cover charge. With 50% of food we got a discount of £57, so in the end it was somewhat worth it.

However, the venue lacked ambiance for me. They packed too many tables into such a small space that it felt less relaxing as the evening proceeded.  I would suggestand one less table as it felt quite claustrophobic.

I would also suggest playing African chilled lofi/afrobeat etc music  in the background rather than rnb, and some mood lighting as its an intimate space.  A few tweaks to this place could make a difference.

The kitchrn was severely understaffed. We had to wait over an hour for our starters, and another hour for our mains. We only order three things in total! It was the same story for all the other tables around us. The staff were emphatic, however, as they gave us an extra free starter. The quality of the food, and ingredients was FANTASTIC, and the drinks menu, beers and cocktails were really well done. Cocktails were well made, and lovely selection of Nigerian beers. You wouldn't visit this place for the atmosphere, especially the top floor, but the ground floor seems a bit cosier.

Halal Status for Isibani Knightsbridge