Food & Beer Culture

What do people in Lagos eat with their beer? Suya comes first: thin skewers of grilled beef, dusted with a spicy peanut spice blend called Yaji. The seasoning comes from Hausa cooking in northern Nigeria and has long since made itself at home in Lagos.

Pepper Soup also pairs well with beer culture: a thin, fiery broth with goat meat, fish, or offal and bold spices. With heat like that, a cold, light lager helps, since chill and carbonation ease the burn in the mouth.

With Jollof Rice — the tomato, onion, and pepper rice dish that shows up at every celebration — people drink lager or stout, but also soft drinks or water. Beer belongs with the meal, but it's never obligatory.

People in Lagos call the place for this a Bukka, a simple eatery, or a bar. There you'll find food off the grill, cold bottled beer, and plenty of conversation. Alongside it sits palm wine, a drink made from the sap of the oil palm, which also holds a firm place across West Africa.

In the north, millet beer plays its own role. Pito and Burukutu are drunk among neighbors, often outdoors. The brewers are frequently women supporting their households this way, which gives the beer a social meaning no corporation can replace.

Daily life in Lagos also means music, noise, and conversation filling the streets at night. Drinking beer there is usually a social affair, rarely a solitary one. People share skewers and table space, talking about football, work, and family.