Akara

Verdict: Book It for a Date Night or a Confident Introduction to West African Cooking

Akara is the right call if you want something genuinely different at Borough Market without paying fine-dining prices.££ in central London. If you are looking for a special occasion dinner that does not require a three-month booking window or a three-figure bill, Akara should be near the best of your list.

The Space

The setting does more than its raw description suggests. Brick arches and exposed ventilation are Borough Yards standard issue, but the interior here is finished with leather banquettes, a breezy bar, an open-plan kitchen with counter seating. The atmosphere leans relaxed rather than reverential, which makes it work as well for a celebratory dinner as it does for a catch-up lunch. The open kitchen means the aromas from the grill reach you early: smoky, spiced, with the char of Scotch bonnet heat threading through the room. For a date or a small group celebration, the counter seats facing the kitchen offer a more immersive experience; for a quieter conversation, request a banquette.

The Food

The menu is concise and built around West African and Brazilian references, anchored by the dish that gives the restaurant its name: akara, the black-eyed pea fritter common across West Africa and Brazil. Here it arrives puffy and hot, stuffed with options such as smoky braised ox cheek and paired with a blistering Scotch bonnet sauce. The kitchen's signature move is that balance: bold heat and smoke offset by careful acidity and richness. Larger plates include grilled sea bream with a caramelised onion and lemon sauce, Lagos chicken (BBQ poussin) served with a Senegalese hot sauce. Sides are worth ordering seriously: the Efik-style coconut rice with ginger and garlic, topped with a blackened carrot, the softened plantain with grilled octopus and pepper relish are both cited in Michelin's own notes as highlights. The drinks list runs to Afro-themed cocktails, draught lager, pineapple tonic, a modest global wine selection by glass or bottle. Staff are happy to guide you through both food and drink pairings, the service tone across multiple sources is described as among the friendliest in the borough.

Lunch vs Dinner at Akara

Lunch sitting is the quieter, lower-pressure version of the Akara experience. Walk-in availability is more realistic at lunch, the pace is unhurried, the room is bright enough to get a clear read on the food. If you want to try the kitchen without the evening buzz, lunch is the more practical entry point, at ££ pricing it is an easy decision for a midweek break or a Borough Market afternoon.

Dinner service is when the space shifts into something closer to a proper night out. The bar fills up, the counter seats become a front-row seat to the kitchen, the combination of smoky aromas, Scotch bonnet heat, a well-paced menu of small and larger plates makes for a dinner that works well as a celebration. For a date night or a birthday within a small group, evening is the better pick: the energy and the pacing of the meal both improve. Booking ahead for dinner is advisable, especially on weekends, even if the lead time here is nothing compared to the pressure of getting into CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury.

In short: lunch for convenience and value; dinner for occasion and atmosphere. Either way, the cooking quality does not drop between services, which is a meaningful point in the kitchen's favour.

How It Compares

Akara operates in a different tier from the ££££ London flagships. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, CORE by Clare Smyth, The Ledbury, and Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library are all serious tasting-menu commitments with booking windows measured in months and bills measured in hundreds. Akara is none of those things, that is the point. At ££, it delivers Michelin-recognised cooking with relaxed service and no dress-code pressure. If your priority is a technically accomplished, genuinely distinctive dinner without the financial or logistical overhead, Akara wins the comparison easily.

Within the African and West African restaurant category in London, Chishuru is the closest peer: both restaurants bring precision and a contemporary lens to West African cooking. Chishuru sits slightly higher in terms of formality and price point, is a useful upgrade option if you want a longer, more structured meal. For travellers comparing the London offer against international equivalents, Dōgon in Washington D.C. and Bintü Atelier in Charleston offer different national takes on contemporary African cooking worth noting.

For anyone planning a wider London trip, our full London restaurants guide covers the complete range. If you are building out the rest of your itinerary, see also our guides to London hotels, London bars, London wineries, and London experiences. For destination dining outside the city, Waterside Inn in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are the benchmark options at various price points.

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