Togolese Cuisine: Akume, Grilled Fish & West African Flavours
Togolese food sits at the intersection of Ewe, Mina, and Kabyé traditions — akume cornmeal with smoked fish, gboma leaf soup, and grilled tilapia with piment sauce
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Akume and Gboma Leaf Soup
Togo's staple — stiff cornmeal akume served with a soup of gboma leaves, smoked fish and palm oil — the everyday meal for millions of Togolese families
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Grilled Tilapia River Fish
Freshwater tilapia from the Mono and Oti rivers, grilled whole over charcoal with tomato and pimento sauce — one of the best fish dishes in West Africa
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Abobo Fermented Bean Cake
Black-eyed pea cakes wrapped in leaves and steamed — sold at dawn by market women as Lomé breakfast, eaten with hot sauce and palm oil
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Beach Seafood Grills at Sunset
The beach bars along Lomé's Atlantic front cook the day's catch over coconut charcoal as the sun sets — barracuda, capitaine and giant Atlantic prawns
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Togolese Sodabi Spirit
Palm wine distilled into the powerful soda ash is the social lubricant of Togolese celebrations – served neatly in small glasses at funerals, festivals and roadside stalls
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Restaurant Africain de Lomé
The formal Togolese restaurant scene serves elaborate multi-course dinners — jam in palm butter, oxtail pepper soup and roast lamb with plantain for the city's middle class