Akoko

Really enjoyable evening - we really liked all the dishes on the tasting menu. The pumpkin soup was standout and the butter that came with the bread was a treat. All the flavours really worked together - it was rich but in all the right ways! Cool place with beautiful decorations. All the staff were friendly and the dishes came out very quickly. Happy we had the chance to try this place. Talented chef and we hope they do well in this challenging environment.

I love this new restaurant. The staff were so funny and personable and the food was the best African gourmet I have had in London. Very good food and still very authentic flavours. The vegan menu doesn't compromise on flavour either. There were even vegan dishes I would have taken on the non vegan menu. The restaurant was well spaced for social distancing also. I'll definitely be returning.

Amazing experience at new West African restaurant Akoko! Atmosphere was relaxed, smart, and welcoming. Menu was a succinct 5 course tasting, with all the dishes absolute successes. In particular the pumpkin soup, jollof rice, and quail were standout dishes that will definitely keep us coming back. Flavours were all on point, really interesting and innovative. No hesitation in recommending at all, especially with the friendly and knowledgeable service which added to the whole experience. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if this gained a Michie in the next guide. Total triumph of a restaurant. Total bill £170 for the two of us including 2 drinks each. 18/20 easily

Surprising restaurant with a very interesting menu based on West African Cuisine. The feeling is informal but service and food quality is up to a high standard. Glad to see new restaurants with different approach to food.

Delicious food and wine at a really great price. The tasting menu was delicious, as was the wine pairing. Looking forward to going back.

Superb food, really interesting, varied and innovative cooking. Stunning cocktails (had three!) and the most welcoming and insightful staff. I would recommend wine pairing too - natural wines, unexpected combinations but really worked.

I heard good things about Akoko restaurant a few months ago and decided that I had to go check it out for myself. Lockdown 2.0 happened, and here we are on a cold December 2020 afternoon, for a lunch time Saturday treat! ???????? A very friendly welcome set the tone for a relaxed afternoon. The interior, ARTWORK, and music were just the right vibes! I opted for the Tasting Menu. It gives me an opportunity to try different things on the menu. The Tasting menu started off with a trio of Snacks. I enjoyed the Isu Black Truffle, and the tiniest spiced goat pie. The Egusi, (melon seed sauce) smoked Tiger Prawns, served with sorrel and shellfish oil was OH! so good! You haven't cooked Egusi like this before. Trust me. Not if you are Nigerian. Can't speak for the rest of the continent. This Egusi & smoked Tiger Prawn set the tone for what was to follow. If you can, and it does ramp up your final bill, go for the wine pairing. The crescendo! Enter the Smoked Jollof Rice, with Umami stock! The orchestrated presentation was as good as it tasted! I could have had seconds. The marriage of flavours was superb! Now, was it Nigerian or Ghanian Jollof? Go visit to and come back and tell. The tender barbecued English beef, served with served with charred onions and Suya spice was delicious. The Suya spice was a mild version of what I'm used. Turn it up a notch next time. The paired wines were on point! The lady knows her stuff. Finished off with an understated Goat Milk Parfait and Uda Ice cream, with what was meant to be Ginger and cashew crumbs. Sadly, I think the ginger was missing. I needed the ginger to close off the final act! Maybe next time..? Akoko, you owe my ginger and not the Somi version. I highly recommend Akoko. Go taste and see that the food is good. See you again soon.

This restaurant has managed to impress by opening in the mids of the COVID pandemic and serve the most amazing food, in a really chic and fancy environment. The staff are all very polite and friendly and will walk with you through the tasting menu explaining to detail each one of the dishes. Even though each dish is relatively small, you will leave the restaurant feeling nicely satisfied. The experience is rather pricey but is worth all of it.

WOW! What a fabulous place - great food, such warm and hospitable staff. An absolute joy of a place that I can't recommend highly enough. It's everything a restaurant should be. A big thank you from me to the whole team at Akoko for making my day.

Absolutely wonderful!!! The team are so friendly and genuinely care about your experience - the perfect level of attentive, knowledgable about the menu, and really fun! We went for the tasting menu and every single dish was outstanding, beautifully presented and with so much flavour. The wine pairings were full of surprises - even the wine glasses are out of this world! Everyone should go. I can’t wait to go back!

Really amazing experience. Food and wine is excellent and even better hospitality. High quality dining experience in a relaxed environment. Not stuffy at all. Highly rate this place and hope to be back soon!

Summary: One of those places that you'd definitely want to return to. Atmosphere is great, food is even better. When you first enter the space you're greeted with a warm atmosphere and the beautiful sound of west African music. The open kitchen affords you the opportunity to watch the chefs perform what can only be described as magic. From the first bite of food you're transported to a far away, yet familiar world. For those of us who were born in the motherland, the nostalgia could almost bring you to tears. The chefs have found a way to corral authentic and untamable flavours into bite sized packages. Small enough to leave room for the rest of the tasting menu but big enough to drive home the artful marriage of flavours. I will try not to give away too much as the element of surprise plays a part in the experience. The tasting menu I had began with a trio of treats that rekindle memories of a childhood spent buying snacks from road side grills. The smokey taste of a well roasted yam and the subtle co-operation of boli and epa. If you've had the pleasure of eating in an African country, your first reaction might be to question the portion sizes, but remember, there are more courses to come. The next course was what I can only describe as the best pumpkin soup I have ever tasted. The soup was light and multilayered, with an incredible depth of flavour, I found myself savouring every spoonfull and wishing the moment would never end, but alas, time doesn't stand still, even for the best of reasons. Next came the jollof rice, rich with the taste of firewood and perfectly cooked. Anyone who is a connoisseur of the fine art of eating jollof knows that smokey party jollof is difficult to pull off. The chef knocks it out of the park, the rice is so good you forget about the slice of a goat ballotine that was placed gingerly on top of it. At this point I had convinced myself that the pumpkin soup was unbeatable, the summit of flavour, but then came the quail. The tiny bird packed a punch reminiscent of the smoked guinea fowl you can buy on the Lagos mainland, but it was so much more tender and succulent. Now I'm not saying the pumpkin soup was dethroned, but it now shared it's place in my heart with this small and seductive bird. I'm not a big fan of desserts and I don't think desserts are a massive part of West African cuisine but the final course was a goat milk ice-cream accompanied by some culinary twists and turns. I have to confess I had already tasted my favourite things, but this was wonderful. All in all, I can say I will definitely be coming back here to relive the experience.

My friend and I ordered one vegan tasting menu (for me) and the standard tasting menu (for her). Both were very well received, the plantain, soup and tigernut and and banana dessert were standouts for me but everything was incredible and staff were attentive without being overbearing. A wonderfully thought out menu with delicious food full of flavour. Highly recommend!

Had dinner here the last night before 2nd lockdown and I have to say it was the best choice for one last night out. The tasting menu is inventive and beautifully presented. I also recommend going for the wine pairing menu, the chosen wines complemented each dish beautifully. The ambiance is sleek but warm, you know you are in a high-end restaurant but it doesn't feel stiff or too formal. Service was attentive and kind. Overall, a great experience. I was surprised to hear that they had opened only 5 weeks earlier, it felt like a well-oiled machine!

Amazing food - particularly the jollof rice, plantain with nuts and the vegan dessert. Love it. Will definitely be back!

A great experience all round. Warm staff, beautiful layout and incredible food. Would definitely recommend

The food at Akoko was unbelievable! If I could wake up in a bowl of their jollof rice every morning I'd be a happy man! The quail was also amazing and the burnt uda cream and goats milk ice cream desert was like a party on my tongue! I will certainly be back!

Excellent food unlike anything we’ve tried, great ambience and very friendly service.

Great interior, really delicious food and great service, very keen to go back soon!

It was epically delicious. Unusual exciting flavors. The Miyan Taushe Lobster must be a standard and must never leave the menu. The music was incredible and the service was impeccable. So happy to see WAfrican cuisine taking its rightful place. At the top.

The food here is delicious, I went weeks ago and I’m still thinking about the pumpkin soup ????. I would highly recommend this restaurant!!

Went yesterday with the fam. Josh looked after us and the combo of tasting menu and associated wine heavenly.

We visited within a few weeks of their opening, and the place was pretty busy. Only a tasting menu was on offer, priced at £55. This cuisine is pretty unusual in central London, so it is certainly an interesting menu with some different flavour combinations. We really enjoyed the soup and lobster course, the jollof rice and the dessert. The quail dish was a bit overcooked though. While the food was pretty solid, the service was a bit disorganised and it ended up being a rush to get through the menu before they closed at 10pm. However, given they just opened I wouldn’t penalise them too much for this, especially as they proactively acknowledged and apologised for the delays. Our bill came to £112 per head, including drinks. An enjoyable meal overall. That said, we also had a chance to visit a very similar restaurant recently (Ikoyi), and the latter was our clear favourite from the two places.

Attentive service and good food.

Knockout menu! Foods made with dedication and lots of attention to taste detail. Will be visiting often!