Whether you’ve lived in Abu Dhabi for five months or five years, at some point everyone gets a craving for a taste of home prepared just the way they remember it from childhood. And while your own home-cooked meals might not necessarily come from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Sierra Leone, you will be able to feel the love in every plate at West to West Kitchen.
First opened in 2019, this small home-grown restaurant’s menu was devised by owner Laddi Knights’ mother and aunt. It’s cosy, with just two tables and a kitchen, but ever-popular, if the steady flow of delivery drivers picking up orders is anything to go by.
Everything on the menu sounds appealing and the smell of aromatic spices flowing out of the kitchen only adds to the anticipation. The staff, who are warm and welcoming, have great pride in what they serve and are more than happy to guide you through the menu.
An excellent spot for vegans, there’s a near even split on the menu between seafood and meat, and plant-based options. To begin, you can order the Jamaican patties, plantain, or Trinidadian pholourie, or dig into the Jamaican jerk wings.
When it comes to mains, there’s Jamaican jerk chicken, carnival goat curry, oxtail stew and Sierra Leonean chicken groundnut stew for meat-eaters, or Jamaican ital stew, Sierra Leonean awojoh binch and Caribbean callaloo for vegans, all of which can be paired with rice and peas, jollof rice or fufu.
If goat is a protein you don’t often eat, you might have to start rethinking that, as West to West’s offering is as tender as can be, while the jerk chicken is another hit.
If you’re a roast dinner fan, make sure you check out West to West’s on Sundays, which features all the classic trimmings plus not-so-classic sides like Sierra Leonean jollof rice, Jamaican rice and peas, creamy mac ‘n’ cheese, roast potatoes and plantain (take note, you’ll need to order 24 hours in advance).
West to West Kitchen offers a taste of home to those from West Africa and the West Indies, and a flavourful taste of home-cooked joy for everybody else.
Open Tue-Thu noon-10pm; Fri-Sun noon-11pm. Al Bzaymi Street, westtowestkitchen.com (02 671 9119).
