First verified snapshot

UK Nigerian & West African Restaurant Statistics

A first verified public-source snapshot from our UK Nigerian and West African restaurant tracker. This page reports confirmed and likely records, unresolved candidates, source coverage, hygiene-rating availability, and the method behind the dataset

Methodology note: This page reports a first verified public-source snapshot. It is not an official government count and should not be treated as an exhaustive register of every Nigerian or West African restaurant in the UK.
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Headline statistics

These cards show the first v1 verified snapshot. They count only rows with enough public evidence for confirmed or likely Nigerian / West African classification.

Verified snapshot

Publishable Nigerian / West African records

21

Confirmed or likely Nigerian / West African records in the v1 verified snapshot. This is not an exhaustive national count.

Verified snapshot

Confirmed Nigerian records

6

Rows with strong public evidence supporting Nigerian classification.

Verified snapshot

Likely Nigerian records

2

Rows with strong Nigerian signals but weaker first-party confirmation.

Verified snapshot

Confirmed West African records

9

Rows with first-party or strong public evidence supporting West African classification.

What changed this month?

For the first snapshot, this section shows dataset status: how many rows were reviewed, included, excluded, or left under review.

Candidate records reviewed

129

The total candidate pool reviewed for this first v1 snapshot.

Likely West African records

4

Included in the publishable total, but separated from confirmed records.

Excluded or inactive records

68

Rows excluded, marked inactive, or closed after review.

Still under review

51

Unresolved candidate rows not included in headline statistics.

Map and local authority rankings

This table shows the strongest local-authority concentrations in the v1 publishable snapshot. It should not be read as a complete UK coverage map yet.

Interactive map placeholder

Replace this panel with a Leaflet map, Mapbox embed, SVG map, or static image generated from your verified dataset. The map should include a text alternative or table fallback.

Map embed pending. Use the table below as the accessible fallback for this v1 snapshot.

How to read the rankings

This v1 table shows record counts only. Density metrics should be added after local-authority population and Nigeria-born population joins are complete.

  • Count: number of active confirmed or likely Nigerian / West African records.
  • Density: not published in v1 because the population join is not complete.
  • Confidence: whether the local result is driven by confirmed or likely classifications.
Top local authorities in the v1 publishable snapshot
Rank Area Publishable records Confirmed Nigerian Likely Nigerian Confirmed West African Likely West African Confidence note
1 Barnet 4 2 0 2 0 Includes confirmed Nigerian and confirmed West African records from the v1 snapshot.
2 Westminster 4 0 0 4 0 All publishable rows in this local authority are currently West African classified.
3 Thurrock 3 1 0 0 2 Includes one confirmed Nigerian row and two likely West African rows.
4 Nottingham City 2 1 0 1 0 Region/country still needs cleanup before regional charts use this row.
5 Southwark 1 0 0 1 0 Single confirmed West African record in the v1 snapshot.
6 Lambeth 1 1 0 0 0 Single confirmed Nigerian record in the v1 snapshot.
7 Haringey 1 1 0 0 0 Single confirmed Nigerian record in the v1 snapshot.
8 Brent 1 0 1 0 0 Single likely Nigerian row; keep separate from confirmed records.

Food hygiene rating distribution

This section shows the hygiene-rating distribution for the 21 publishable rows. Three rows do not yet have a matched official hygiene-rating record. Hygiene ratings are not a measure of food quality.

Hygiene distribution is available for the v1 publishable snapshot where FSA/FHRS data is matched.

Future module: Jollof Price Index

This should be quarterly unless you can collect enough fresh public menu prices monthly. Use median price, sample size, and interquartile range rather than a fragile single average.

Recommended price baskets

  • Standard/plain jollof rice.
  • Jollof rice with chicken or equivalent protein.
  • Egusi soup benchmark.
  • Suya benchmark.

How venues are classified

The classification model is deliberately conservative. It separates Nigerian, West African, broader African, uncertain, and excluded records so the headline count is not inflated.

  • Confirmed Nigerian

    First-party website, social profile, or menu evidence explicitly identifies the venue as Nigerian, or the public menu is overwhelmingly Nigerian and the venue presents itself that way.

  • Likely Nigerian

    Several public signals point to Nigerian cuisine, but the evidence is not strong enough for confirmed status.

  • Confirmed West African

    The venue self-describes as West African or clearly spans several West African cuisines.

  • Broader African

    The venue is African, Afro-fusion, or African-Caribbean, but Nigerian or West African evidence is not specific enough for the main count.

  • Excluded or inactive

    Duplicate records, closed venues, non-public catering-only operations, grocery-only businesses, or listings without enough evidence are excluded from headline counts.

Ownership-identity safeguard: Do not infer Black-owned, Nigerian-owned, or owner ethnicity from names, cuisine, location, or Companies House records. Only include ownership identity where the business has voluntarily self-identified in a public source.

Public data-source stack

Each source has a different job. Official data is used for venue records and denominators; open place data and first-party evidence help with cuisine classification.

  • Food Standards Agency / Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

    Used for: Venue existence, business type, address, local authority, hygiene rating, inspection/rating date, and geocoding where available.

    Limitation: Does not classify cuisine, so it cannot identify Nigerian or West African restaurants by itself.

  • OpenStreetMap cuisine tags

    Used for: Cuisine and place-discovery signals, including Nigerian, African, West African, Ghanaian, or related tags where present.

    Limitation: Community-maintained and unevenly tagged; use as a signal, not final proof.

  • Overture Maps Places

    Used for: Place enrichment, contact fields, categories, operating-status signals, and deduplication support.

    Limitation: Not a cuisine-specific source; categories may be broader than the asset needs.

  • Nomis / ONS Census country-of-birth data

    Used for: Population denominators, including restaurants per 10,000 Nigeria-born residents where geography allows.

    Limitation: Census data is not monthly and does not equal restaurant demand.

  • Companies House

    Used for: Legal-entity context, company status, and SIC-code checks where a reliable match exists.

    Limitation: Does not reliably identify cuisine, venue activity, or owner ethnicity.

  • Google Trends

    Used for: Directional demand signals for terms such as Nigerian restaurant, jollof rice, suya, egusi, and African restaurant.

    Limitation: Shows relative interest, not absolute search volume or market size.

Download the data

Use the CSV for research, journalism, and citation. Check the methodology, caveats, and attribution notes before reuse.

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Citation note

MILIKI SPOT, UK Nigerian & West African Restaurant Statistics, v1 public-source snapshot.

Data dictionary

Corrections

Missing venue, closed venue, wrong cuisine label, or updated hygiene record? Submit a public source for review.

Submit correction

Change history

Future monthly updates should record real data changes and methodology changes. This prevents superficial date-refreshing.

Questions about the dataset

Is this an official government count of Nigerian restaurants in the UK?

No. This is a public-source estimate built from food hygiene records, open place data, first-party restaurant evidence, and manual review. It should be treated as a transparent dataset, not an official government register.

Why separate confirmed and likely venues?

Cuisine data is not recorded consistently in official business datasets. Separating confirmed and likely records avoids false precision and makes the uncertainty visible.

Do hygiene ratings measure food quality?

No. Hygiene ratings reflect hygiene standards found at inspection or visit. They are useful consumer information, but they are not a score for taste, service, cultural authenticity, or culinary quality.

Can restaurants request a correction?

Yes. Corrections should include a public source, such as an official website, public menu, social profile, or updated food hygiene record. Approved changes are included in the next snapshot.