A first-timer’s guide to eating jollof, waakye and banku in Accra

Ghanaian food is built around a handful of staples: jollof rice, waakye, banku, kenkey, fufu and red red. Each comes with its own accompaniments, and every cook argues for their own version.

Waakye, rice and beans cooked with sorghum leaves, is a breakfast dish and the queues at the best stands form before eight. Jollof is a lunch and celebration dish. Banku with grilled tilapia and shito belongs to the evening, ideally at a table outdoors.

Osu and East Legon hold most of the sit-down restaurants, while the best chop bars are scattered through Labone, Adabraka and Nima. Prices at a chop bar are a fraction of a restaurant and the food is often better.