Isibani Restaurant, Knightsbridge

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.

This is the first time I've tried African food and I can say I loved it. We had beef pastry for starter, steak and yasa for our mains and buff buff for our dessets. All the dishes were made from high quality ingredients, perfectly sized portions and I was so pleased at how hot the food was when it arrived at our table. The dishes were freshly prepared and lovely presented. The venue is cute, I loved the artwork on the walls and the staff were friendly, providing a service with a smile. On a plus, the entire menu is halal. Isibabi is a hidden gem. Please do go and try their food, you won't be disappointed!

Went there on a Wednesday evening to taste their soft menu.I arrived at the the restaurant several minutes before my partner. Having been greeted by the host, I picked the table I wanted to have and told them I'm waiting for someone. The host was very hospitable and offered me a complimentary portion of puff puff, which are 2 deep fried dough balls with caramel sauce drizzled on top. They were very nice and I highly appreciated it for the few minutes I had to wait.Once my partner arrived, we proceeded to order the food. We each had a starter and a main. As I had been given some complimentary sweets, I went for a side of fried plantain, whilst my partner went for the plantain tartatin.The mains were nice: the pounded yam with the beef was filling, whilst my partner enjoyed the fish. One suggestion that I'd have about both dishes is to put more spices in them.As for the side of fried plantain, we were pleasantly surprised by the quantity, as we thought there would only be a handful of pieces, but there were more than enough, with a very good taste.When it came to the dessert, my partner was quite critical of the tartatin, as she had had better ones. However, as this was my first time trying one, I think it was ok. One thing that I'd change about it is replacing the caramel syrup with chocolate syrup, as when the dessert reached us, the caramel had mostly hardened up, becoming quite chewy and even too hard to eat.Overall it was a nice experience and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to have a test of West Africa.

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 really wanted to love this restaurant and we try to support good African restaurants where we can. We sadly left disappointed though - and Isibani has a long way to go before it can meaningfully compete with the likes of, say, Stork.The interior was underwhelming - no mood lighting, the tables were uncomfortably close together, and the physical menu was on tired card. Had the feel of a casual/ lunch spot (despite the high end price point).The food was very tasty, well presented and the mains (egusi and fisherman's soup) were reasonably priced (esp. for the area). My partner's egusi arrived cold however and my starter (the Oxtail on tea bread) was overpriced for what it was. Also odd there are no cocktails or mocktails.The waitresses made it difficult for us to settle - and made us borderline unomfortable. Lots of anxiously buzzing around tables and some comments which seemed impatient and dismissive.My partner's never going back - but I'd return because I think they need more time to find their feet and develop a better sense of their unique offering to the scene. If you're going manage expectations.

Mediocre. Will not visit again. £21 for a 175ml glass of their african white or red that they recommended. Yes perhaps we should have asked for the price but they should have been upfront with customers too. No one would even think that a standard glass of mediocre wine would cost that much.They happily let us over-order, saying the dishes were not big. There was way too much food. Authentic food but very overpriced considering the ingredients.

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.

Service was poor - took over 30 mins from ordering to getting drinks. Half the items on the menu weren't available. Staff gave us free starters because cooking took so long - which we appreciated. We left most of the mains and found somewhere else nearby for dinner. Given the premium price point (£12+ per starter, and £25+ per main, £15+ per glass of wine), it was a shocking level of service and quality to receive.

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.

Nice little restaurant, decent food overall. I liked the suya skewers, not too spicy. On the other hand, the fisherman's soup is like a large bowl of bisque, VERY spicy, fish tasted good.Currently running a 50% off food promotion until the end of Feb, only if you make a reservation on OpenTable