Grandma, Grandad, Pops, Uncle Val and Uncle Dale
Baby Pic of Mama J
Our Story…
… begins in 2014. Laddi, one of the co-founders, came to Abu Dhabi to teach and quickly learned something about himself: he missed the food he had grown up eating. Laddi is British, his Mother is from Sierra Leone, his father is from Trinidad and Tobago and he grew up with many Jamaican family members and friends. He saw an opportunity to not only reconnect with the food he loved but also bring that food to a community which had little exposure to it.
So in 2018, Laddi and his wife, Michele, decided to open a West African and Caribbean pop-up stall for six months, in Yas Mall, at a food incubator called Urban RetrEAT. They sourced recipes from parents, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends. Just about anyone whose food they missed! This experience encouraged them to find a permanent location, which they did in September 2019. Later the same month, Laddi and Michele hired a full-time team. They were joined by Laddi’s mum and aunty who taught the new West to West family how to make the dishes. In November 2019, West to West Kitchen opened their first, stand-alone restaurant in Abu Dhabi city.
Baby Aunty Ransoooo
A young uncle Evlyn, aunty Jean and the fam
The West to West Experience
Coming to our restaurant, to our humble abode, is like coming to Laddi’s parent’s home: you’ll be welcomed with smiles, laughter, good music and, of course, good food. If you don’t have time to sit down and enjoy the vibe, there’ll always be enough food for you to grab a takeaway.
Our food is full of flavour and West African and Caribbean herbs, spices and seasoning:
Curry Goat Meal
Awojoh Binch (Vegan)
Doubles
Oh, and the name? We wanted something that would represent where our family and culinary influences are from: Sierra Leone is nestled on the coast of West Africa and Trinidad and Jamaica are tropical islands in the West Indies, hence…West to West!
We’re excited about our family journey. We invite you to eat, smile and enjoy it with us!
