Let me start by saying that there’s no other place I can think of in Mayfair where one can purchase puff puff*. And that, my dear readers, was the first thing that caught my eye as I poured over the menu options offered at the newly opened Stork restaurant. So with my birthday coming up, I decided it was a good time to treat myself to a sample of the newest restaurant in town!

From what I can glean online, the establishment is the brainchild of Michael Adjovi Kalu and Nadina Grigoras and prides itself on its offerings of modern British cuisine fused with West African and Eastern European influences. While I think that this is an interesting concept, I’ll be honest and admit that I was only really interested in the African part of that equation. With that in mind, I ordered puff puff, suya, Lagos salad (whatever that is), and jollof rice. Since I’m not a big eater, that was plenty food for me. I didn’t try any of the cocktails (I tend to stay away from those – too much sugar etc) but I must admit they looked pretty enticing!

An oft-heard critique of dining in African restaurants usually centres on the food not being authentic. First of all, this isn’t an African restaurant per se so that argument is moot. But I will say that the clearly African-inspired dishes tasted rather authentic to me (my mother’s puff puff obviously reign supreme but Stork’s come a very cool and respectable second).

Prices at Stork are modest if you’re eating light but, you’d really need to order several dishes for a truly immersive experience. As you can guess, that means that costs can rise fairly quickly. But, this is Mayfair, after all.

In true 21st century digital-minded form, Stork had the foresight to mount an installation of a larger-than-life set of (I assume stork but I’d rather think of them as angel) wings at the venue’s entrance as a bonus for the social media poseurs among us. So don’t be surprised if you suddenly start seeing a flurry of pics of people adorned with stork angel wings popping up on your timelines.

*And for anyone wondering… yes, I liked the puff puff. Very much.