Street Food Lagos Nigeria:
Eight Delicacies And Where To Find Them

Street food is popular with everyone in Nigeria. It's cheap, it's delicious, and the sheer variety of dishes and variations is staggering.

Nigerians love their local cuisine, and eating on the go is a national habit. Here's a look at eight of the most popular dishes, and where you might find them in Lagos. 

Akara (Image by Linason Blessing/CCOC lic.)

Suya

Suya spicy grilled steak on a stick, similar to a kebab. The saovury aroma of grilled and roasted meat is likely what you're smelling as you walk through some areas of the city. The meat is seasoned with hot peppers, onions, and other spices.

Suya seller in Lagos (Image by Mark Fischer/CCOC lic) 

Akara

These deep-fried bean fritters are extremely popular all over Nigeria, and are often eaten for breakfast alone, or as a side dish to other foods. They have a sweetish aroma when fried, and are typically served stuffed into agege bread as a kind of burger.

Abacha

Also called African salad, this dish comes from eastern Nigeria. It's made from boiled and shredded cassava with ugba (oil beans) and veggies, mixed with potash and palm oil. It's often served with fried fish.

Puff Puff

Popular as a snack throughout West Africa, this is a riff on the French beignet made of flour, sugar, yeast, butter, salt, and sometimes eggs. The dough is rolled int o a ball and deep-fried until golden brown. They're served in various ways, as finger food or on their own with peppers and onions.

Roasting plaintain (Image by Amuzujoe/CCOC lic.)

Boli (Roasted Plantain)

Boli is a traditional street food dish, made on the roadside and sold by women. The plantain is roasted over hot charcoal, and then served with groundnuts or veggies and palm oil sauce.

Plaintain Chips

Crunchy fried plantain chips are a universal favourite. Traditionally, they were made with unripe plantains, but sweeter ripe fruits are also used nowadays. The plantains are cut into small pieces and deep-fried with salt, sometimes with onion or pepper, and packaged in a nylon wrap for a portable treat.

Okpa

Okpa is a dish from eastern Nigeria, the Enugu state. It's a popular breakfast option made from iron-rich nuts called Bambara. Steamed with habanero peppers, and wrapped in banana leaves, it's a spicy and portable morning wake-up call.

Fried or Roasted Yams

Yams are a staple of most Nigerian diets. Fried yam is called dundu in Yoruba, and is often sold alongside other deep-fried veggies like potatoes. Yamarita is a battered version of fried yams. Other vendors sell it roasted over hot coals.

Where to Go:

In Lagos, there are a few locales to try for prime street food options.

• Balogun Market
• Around the Ketu bus stop
• Tafawa Balewa Square Bus Terminus on Lagos Island
• Obalende bus stop
• The uber popular Mile 2 bus stop
• Glover Court Suya, off Glover Road in Ikoyi has been a mecca for Suya lovers for two decades
• under the bridge at Apongbon, Lagos Island