For those wondering, a moko is a stilt-walker in an AfroCaribbean festival, who dances as they tower over the carnival.
And now, appropriately looming over the rest of London up in Tottenham, we have our own Moko. This is the second listening bar from the team behind JUMBI down in Peckham (named after an ancestral apparition), and it’s every bit as fun, too. The idea is for it to be a kind of rhythmic journey through the African-Caribbean diaspora, both in the music and in the food & drink. You know, hence the names.
You’ll find it sandwiched neatly between Seven Sisters station and the Wetlands. (which are worth exploring in their own right). Inside, it’s a cavern of retro-futuristic, industrial chic cloaked in dim but colourful lighting, casting an otherworldly glow on a congregation of audiophiles, huddled in reverence around the altar of vinyl. That altar is the DJ booth, with an impressive curved wall framing a collage of albums in cubist shelves.
The music coming from it is largely driven by the collections of the owners, Nathanael Williams & Bradley Zero. They’ve amassed some seriously impressive records in their time, and they gleefully show off their hidden gems whenever possible.
For the food, they’ve collaborated with Sisterwoman, a resident chef who channels her Jamaican & American heritage into soul-food dishes that owe their own origin story to the African diaspora. That mean grilled okra with fried chicken & ackee mayo; spelt cornbread with thyme honey butter; cheesy grits with jerk-grilled oyster mushrooms; and a gumbo with nine kinds of greens. And it’s all vegan.
Wash it all down with one of their rum raisin espresso martinis, and you’re in for a very good time.
NOTE: Moko is open now. You can find out more, and make a booking at their website right here.
Moko | 39B Markfield Rd, Tottenham, N15 4QA
If you wander across to the other side of the Wetlands… you’ll find Big Penny Social.