What: A creative fine dining restaurant inspired by the flavours of Sierra Leone. In the Kent market town of Sevenoaks, Shwen Shwen takes its name from the Krio – the West African country’s principal language – for “fancy.” The restaurant offers à la carte in the form of a selection of small and sharing plates alongside a £60 seven-course set menu.
Who: Shwen Shwen is the debut solo restaurant project of Maria Bradford, who grew up in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown and was taught to cook by her mother and grandmother before moving to Kent in her teens. Trained at London hospitality school Leiths following a spell as an accountant, Bradford launched an eponymous catering business in 2017 that now trades as Shwen Shwen.
The food: Bradford blends Sierra Leonean tradition with contemporary influences to great effect. Dishes on the launch menu include cubes of lamb belly with palm oil and African five spice; mackerel, mango and cassava flatbread; king prawns with Salone Fire (a surprisingly delicate homemade chilli sauce); and a sharing plate of spatchcock poussin with palm butter sauce and pepper spice. Desserts include hibiscus, caramelised white chocolate, fig leaf and pepper; and chocolate fondant, caramel, ginger and malt ice cream. Bradford makes great use of often unfamiliar spices and grains, some of which are sourced from specialist south London wholesalers, while others are supplied directly from her Sierra Leone-based mother.
To drink: Shwen Shwen’s cocktail programme is as creative as the food, with options including Savanna Smoke (tequila, cardamom, cinnamon, tonka bean, dark chocolate and coffee); and Baobab Breeze (vodka, baobab, banana, lime, apple and nutmeg). The restaurant offers a tight wine list of 30 bins that starts at £28 a bottle.
The vibe: Designed by 20.20, the restaurant seats a little under 50 inside and a further 20 or so on a pretty shaded outdoor terrace. Previously a cocktail bar, the site has been given a complete overhaul and is accurately described as elegant and intimate. Design details include tactile surfaces, bespoke hand-painted fabrics, and wallpaper inspired by vintage West African and Sierra Leonean textiles. Bradford - who lives down the road in Rainham - says she chose Sevenoaks because she didn’t fancy the commute and spicy rent that a restaurant in the capital would have entailed.
And another thing: It’s only been open a week, but Shwen Shwen has already had a rave review from Financial Times critic Jay Rayner.
1-2 Well Court, Bank Street, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1UN