Hildenborough, West African - Restaurant Guide

Sierra Leonean chef, Maria Bradford launched this June newcomer (the name means ‘fancy’ in the Krio language) to showcase Sierra Leonean and Afro-fusion cuisine – a development of a supper club and online store she started in 2017. Dishes on the opening menu include: lamb belly, palm oil, and African five spice; bone marrow, kankankan puffed rice, and fermented honey chilli flatbread; and moringa millefeuille, benne cake, and sheep’s yoghurt ice cream. It opened after our survey had concluded, but in his July 2025 review, the FT’s Jay Rayner declared the interesting cooking “deeply savoury” and very much more than just a novelty. Jay’s Top Menu Tip – “I would go back… solely for Bradford’s flaky, golden flat bread, a little like a paratha, sliced thickly with honey and the warmth of fermented chilli”.