BRADFORD is renowned for the vast array of food it offers from all different cultures. If that's Indian or Italian, Thai or Chinese, the city has usually got you covered.

One cuisine which maybe is slightly underappreciated is that of African descent.

A new restaurant in the city centre is aiming to fill the gap in the market by bringing some spice to the mouths of Bradfordians.

Yam Spice, based on Bowland Street which is located in the middle of Lumb Lane and Manningham Lane, were excited to host their grand opening last week.

It was extremely successful with the business offering 50% off all their tasty products to spread the word.

Along with their traditional African offerings of Yam, Jallof rice and Chicken Waakye, the 100% halal restaurant also serves burgers, curries, samosas, and refreshments.

Jabu Phiri, Kondwani Chikuwi, Rhoda Agyei and Kofi Amoateng are the team in charge of running the ship with an aim to encourage everybody to try African food.

Kofi said: "Rhoda had the dream of bringing African food to what we already have in Bradford.

"At the moment, Africans are not really represented in the food business.

"There is a lot of restaurants in Bradford, but not a lot of African ones.

"The idea was to bring African food to Bradford, to bring that flavour.

"She has carried the vision since moving to Bradford. So, when the opportunity came up to start we all put ourselves together to make that happen.

"Today, it is exciting to see how people are really embracing it in the city.

"It is for the whole of Bradford; we want people to try new things.

"We just had a customer, who is participating in Ramadan, say, ‘the food for our Iftar was mind-blowing, we will certainly be leaving positive feedback and sharing pictures on social media.' We are happy to see such reviews."

Although other sectors have been able to operate a less restricted service in recent weeks, indoor restaurants still have had to rely on takeaways until that magic May 17 date arrives.

Collections are available but the act of welcoming customers to sit and enjoy their meal whilst being in a warm vibrant environment is simply not there at the moment.

Yam Spice is eager to get going and is counting down the days until they can use their new home properly.

"We look forward to opening up to the community," Kofi added.

"We are open as a takeaway at the minute until May 17. We are on Just Eat, Uber Eats, Foodhub and our own website which is specifically built to take orders. People call in and we deliver.

"People are already calling to book in. We have a big place so we can do parties. We cannot wait until May 17.

"Last Saturday, it was so busy from people from all walks of life. The feedback so far is great, people are loving it.

"The flavour is different. We are adding some spice to Bradford and beyond."

So, what dishes would Kofi say separates Yam Spice from the rest?

"I think our Jollof rice really stands out," he said.

"The grilled tilapia fish is also really massive. The pounded yam and the eghusi soup are really catchy."