Le Hilltop Cafe Restaurant

I was interested to see what Somali cuisine is like since so many Somalian’s have come to settle here. A civil war has been going on in Somalia for decades and the country is a war torn mess.
The restaurant is more like a café, with many Somali men sitting around playing cards and drinking tea. The smell of boiled food and spices lingers in the air. The selection on offer is not clear, so I went for a brown stew which was familiar to the food I have been served by Gambian friends.
They seemed to be keen on using a microwave, but I wanted my food piping hot so this was not too much of an issue here.
I hope one day that a real Somali restaurant opens, one that is geared towards Westerners that want to sample the cuisine of a far off land. Until then we have this café.

I’d never had Somali food before so was excited to try some food from Le Hilltop Café.
Turns out it was some rather tasty chicken in a tomato sauce.
Not to spicy and paired with some rice which seemed to be the perfect accompanament.
Inside the place where many of the Somali community meet with separate groups of men and women seemingly meeting on different days.
The restaurant is often full of men who drink coffee, watch international news and seem to be putting the world to rights.
If you’re into your food and pride yourself on trying dishes from far off exotic places then you should try the Somali food at Le Hilltop.

Le Hilltop is an interesting place. When I went in the place was empty and there were no menus or food from what I could see. After waiting around for a bit I poked my head around the corner and a man emerged who called a younger man out to serve me. Unsure of how this place worked I tentatively asked ‘so, what food do you have?’ The server was friendly and took the lids off some curries stewing under hot plates.
I chose a portion of rice and a portion of chicken curry in the end which looked lovely. I asked him what type of food it was and he said Somalian. I had never tried Somalian food so I was very excited. In the end the food was pretty greasy and the rice had raisins in which I wasn’t a fan of. The chicken was pretty tender but any enjoyment I had from the meal was wiped when in my last mouthful I crunched on a cardamom (never fun). As for the friendly server, I rushed out the door after paying when my question ‘Do you have a leaflet with the number of your restaurant?’ was answered ‘No but you can have my number’.