Afrikana, Walsall

And in a town where decent eating places are extremely thin on the ground - it has my vote.

I love a good curry as much as the next person, but I hate it being my only option when I go out for a meal.

Afrikana has a wide menu featuring dishes such as beef tagine with cous cous, wild boar sausages, seared yellow fin tuna and flame grilled pork ribs.

Beers are imported from Namibia, Mauritius and Kenya, wines from South Africa and Fair Trade coffee from Ethiopia is served.

My friend Tamsin and I ventured there on a

Thursday night and were immediately impressed.

The place features a large open plan kitchen, African inspired artwork and a very modern and stylish decor.

Our server for the evening was Jenny, who was first class from the minute we entered, taking us to our table and offering us a drinks menu.

Before we took time to peruse the menu we chose a bottle of Inada sparkling white wine (£12.95).

We decided to try two starters to share. I chose garlic stuffed olives (£2.50) and my friend opted for smoked apricot kernels (£2.50).

The olives were excellent and the apricots were very morish, the pine kernels cooked to perfection, and another great starter because they don't fill you up too much.

The restaurant prides itself on its flame grilled kuku chicken, with their own special brand of sauce called dilitya, but this was for another night.

I opted for the Morrocan beef tagine (£9.95), a dish of prime tender Hertfordshire beef in extra virgin oilve oil and slow cooked with prunes in an aromatic sauce flavoured with chilli, ginger, garlic and North African spices.

The beef was cooked to perfection, virtually melting in the mouth and the spice blend was just right.

I enjoyed it with a side order of green leaves in balsamic and basil dressing, which was fresh and flavoursome and priced at (£2.25).

Tamsin went for the yellow fin tuna (£8.95) which was served pink and marinated in pineapple chilli and basil.

She said she really enjoyed her dish, which she ate alongside a side order of three rice blend, mixed rice and put lentils flavoured with crispy pancetta and herb dressing (£2.50).

Not wanting to spoil the spirit of things we both opted for desserts.

I could not resist the mango and coconut brulee which was priced at £3.95 and consisted of a smooth mango and coconut cheesecake on a rich chocolate biscuit base frosted with a passion fruit sauce and brulee dressing.

Tamsin opted for Afrikana fruit salad, an exotic fruit salad dreshly served with kiwi, lychees, water melon , honey dew and red grape (£3.95). Both were delicious.

I would definitely visit Afrikana again, we both agreed that the place was like a breath of fresh air for the town.

It almost felt like you were seated in a trendy eaterie in London rather than Walsall. Our server Jenny was fantastic, she is a real credit to the place and couldn't do enough to help us.

She even opened the door for us when we were leaving, and you don't see good old fashioned manners like that everyday.

Fiona McCartney