The story
Akoko is the London restaurant where chef Aji Akokomi reimagines West African cuisine through a fine dining lens. Located on Berners Street in Fitzrovia, the restaurant offers a tasting menu at both lunch and dinner, alongside a shorter lunch option for those seeking a lighter experience. The cooking is precise, ingredient-led, and rooted in the traditions of the region—elevated without losing its soul.
Aji Akokomi’s approach earned Akoko a Michelin star in 2026, a recognition that underscores the restaurant’s ambition and execution. The award reflects high-quality cooking that respects its West African foundations while pushing boundaries. Akokomi’s background and vision are central to the restaurant’s identity: a place where tradition meets culinary creativity, and where every plate tells a story of place and technique.
The full tasting menu is priced at £130, with wine and soft pairings available. For lunch, guests can choose the same full experience or a shorter menu at £65. The restaurant recommends arriving by 1:30 pm for the full lunch. Dinner service runs Monday to Saturday, with last bookings at 8:30 pm. The space itself is designed for focused dining—counter seating puts guests close to the action, while private event options allow for exclusive use of the restaurant. Air conditioning and wheelchair access make the space comfortable and inclusive.
Akoko is one of the few fine dining restaurants in London dedicated to African cuisine, and it wears that distinction lightly. The tasting menu changes with the seasons and availability, showcasing ingredients and techniques from across the continent. Without inventing specifics, the menu is described as a journey through West African flavours—bold, nuanced, and beautifully presented. For anyone curious about the depth and sophistication of African cooking, Akoko is an essential destination.
Recognition
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History
High quality cooking
* Head chef Ayo Adeyemi has left and been replaced by Alain Ducasse alumnus Mutaro Balde. Watch for a new review coming soon.* Judging by our most recent lunchtime visit, this Fitzrovia hot spot is a restaurant on the up and up. We found the warm terracotta-toned dining room almost full to capacity, with diners occupying the well-spaced tables and thronging the comfortable counter. The £55 lunch menu is appealing, but most opt for the full tasting deal (competitively priced at £120 at the time of writing), with the option of tatale (Ghanaian plantain pancakes) with goat cashew cream and Exmoor caviar available for a supplementary £35. With chef Ayo Adeyemi at the helm, the cooking is overtly complex although the concept as a whole is straightforward: West African flavours, British ingredients. Kick off with a pair of terrific openers: waina (a fermented rice pancake) with chicken liver and Senegalese yassa, followed by a deep-fried oyster with a Gambian red pepper relish. Every dish has something exciting it wants to share with us. Seared mackerel, blackened on top, but fashionably near-raw underneath, comes with Afro-Brazilian vatapa sauce and dense cubes of moi moi (steamed bean pudding), while monkfish with grilled maitake mushrooms is paired with a fresh, fruity 'sosu kaani' chilli sauce. Meat cookery is a strength, the benefits of the charcoal grill in the open kitchen highlighted in a skewer of ox tongue suya. That said, while the dishes were individually praiseworthy, the tasting menu overall lacked a little range – smoky flavours and smooth emulsions dominated. An icy clementine and goat's milk palate cleanser arrived just at the right time during our meal. The wine selection, in service to the food, wanders from Kent to Austria and on to South Africa and beyond, with a good range by the glass. A final word about the front-of-house team, who are friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
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