Restaurant in London, United Kingdom

Akoko

Name: Akoko
Address: 21 Berners St, London W1T 3LP, United Kingdom, London, GB
Telephone: +44 20 7323 0593

950Pearl Points

London's strongest case for West African fine dining.

About Akoko

Akoko earned its Michelin star in 2024 and makes the strongest case in London for West African cuisine at the fine dining level. The tasting menu runs £125 per head with a shorter £55 lunch available Wednesday to Saturday. Booking is easier than most comparable starred rooms, and the arrival of Alain Ducasse alumnus Mutaro Balde as executive chef in late 2024 gives returning visitors a clear reason to come back.

Verdict

Book Akoko if you want the clearest argument London currently makes for West African cuisine at the fine dining level. It earned its Michelin star in 2024 and the tasting menu at £125 per head delivers enough technical ambition and flavour range to justify that price against any comparable room in Fitzrovia. If you have been once under the previous kitchen, the arrival of executive chef Mutaro Balde — an Alain Ducasse alumnus — gives you a concrete reason to return.

The Room and the Experience

The dining room on Berners Street runs warm: terracotta tones, well-spaced tables, and a counter that puts you directly in view of the open kitchen. For returning diners, the kitchen counter is the right call, you see the charcoal grill work that produces some of the more technically demanding plates on the menu, and the front-of-house team is knowledgeable enough to make that proximity feel interactive rather than intrusive. The room fills quickly at dinner, so a full house is the norm rather than the exception.

The tasting menu is the main event at £125 per person and runs approximately two and a half hours. A shorter lunch format is available Wednesday through Saturday, which runs to £55 and suits a first visit if the full commitment feels like a stretch. The cooking draws on West African regional traditions, Ghanaian, Senegalese, Nigerian, and pairs them with British-sourced ingredients. Charcoal-grilled preparations and smooth emulsions feature prominently; the kitchen's strength is in meat cookery and the layering of spice-forward sauces. The wine list moves between Kent, Austria, and South Africa, with a creditable selection available by the glass.

Akoko has been open since 2021 and spent its first three years building the case that West African cooking belongs in London's fine dining tier alongside the French and modern British rooms that have historically dominated it. The 2024 Michelin star confirms that argument has landed. The kitchen transition from Ayo Adeyemi to Mutaro Balde in late 2024 is the most significant change the restaurant has made since opening, and early indications suggest Balde's Ducasse training has added further precision without diluting the regional character that earned the star in the first place.

Groups and Private Dining

Akoko works for groups who want a shared tasting menu format, the two-and-a-half-hour dinner pace and the structured progression of dishes naturally suits a table with something to celebrate. The kitchen counter seats a smaller number and is better suited to pairs or a tight group of three or four who want closer engagement with the cooking. For larger parties, the main dining room provides the space, but contact the restaurant directly to confirm private dining availability and capacity, as those details are not publicly listed. The format, fixed tasting menu, attentive service, dishes that prompt conversation, makes it a more purposeful group booking than a standard à la carte room. If you are weighing Akoko against other Fitzrovia options for a milestone dinner, nothing else in the immediate area offers this cuisine type at this level.

Practical Details

Detail	Akoko	CORE by Clare Smyth	The Ledbury
Tasting menu price	£125 pp	£195 pp (approx.)	£195 pp (approx.)
Lunch available	Wed–Sat	Yes	Yes
Lunch price	£55	Higher	Higher
Michelin star	1 star (2024)	3 stars	2 stars
Booking difficulty	Easy	Hard	Moderate
Cuisine type	West African, Creative	Modern British	Modern European
Closed	Sunday + Monday lunch	Varies	Varies

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Akoko sits against London's other ££££ rooms.

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Further Afield

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Akoko accommodate groups?

Akoko works for groups willing to commit to the tasting menu format — the structured two-and-a-half-hour progression suits a shared dining experience rather than individual ordering. The counter seats and well-spaced tables in the terracotta dining room are better suited to smaller parties than large groups. If your group wants flexibility over dishes, this is not the right format.

What should a first-timer know about Akoko?

Akoko is a Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant on Berners Street, Fitzrovia, built around West African flavours applied to prime British ingredients. The current menu runs at £125 per person under executive chef Mutaro Balde, an Alain Ducasse alumnus. Allow two and a half hours, and ask for a counter seat if one is available — the open kitchen view adds considerably to the experience.

How far ahead should I book Akoko?

Book at least three to four weeks out for dinner; lunch on weekdays may have more availability, but Akoko is noted as frequently running close to capacity. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. Given the Michelin star awarded in 2024 and the recent chef transition generating renewed attention, leaving it last-minute is a risk.

Is lunch or dinner better at Akoko?

Lunch is the better entry point on price — the lunch menu has been offered at £55, compared to £125pp for the full tasting menu at dinner. Dinner is the fuller argument for what Akoko is trying to do: the complete progression of West African-influenced dishes over two and a half hours makes the strongest case for the kitchen's ambition. First-timers on a tighter budget should start at lunch; if the format is your thing, return for dinner.

What should I wear to Akoko?

Akoko is a ££££ Michelin-starred restaurant, so dress in line with that bracket — think smart evening wear for dinner rather than casual. The venue's tone, described as warm and friendly rather than stiff or formal, means you do not need to overthink it, but turning up in trainers and jeans would be out of step with the room.

Location

21 Berners St, London W1T 3LP, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

Compare Akoko

Akoko vs. Similar Venues

Venue	Cuisine	Price	Awards	Booking Difficulty
Akoko	££££ · African, Creative			Easy
CORE by Clare Smyth	Modern British	££££	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay	Contemporary European, French	££££	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library	Modern French	££££	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
The Ledbury	Modern European, Modern Cuisine	££££	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal	Modern British, Traditional British	££££	Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown

Comparing your options in London for this tier.

Also Consider

CORE by Clare Smyth, Modern British, ££££
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Contemporary European, French, ££££
Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library, Modern French, ££££
The Ledbury, Modern European, Modern Cuisine, ££££
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Modern British, Traditional British, ££££

At £125 for the tasting menu, Akoko sits roughly £70 below CORE by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury on price, while offering something none of the other ££££ rooms in London can match on cuisine type. If you are specifically weighing where to spend on a single starred dinner this season, Akoko is the better value proposition, one Michelin star, a genuinely differentiated menu, and a booking process that does not require planning two months ahead. CORE and The Ledbury are harder to get into and more expensive; the trade-off is three stars and two stars respectively, and a more established track record under the current kitchen.

Sketch's Lecture Room and Library and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay are the comparison for occasion dining in a more theatrical or classical French register. If the room and the ceremony matter as much as the food, those two deliver more in terms of visual spectacle and formal service tradition. Akoko's room is warm and contemporary but not a set piece; you are there for what is on the plate, not the surroundings. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is the closest comparison for a venue built around a distinct culinary argument, British historical cooking there, West African regional cooking here, and at a similar price point Akoko is the more interesting booking right now, partly because the kitchen transition to Mutaro Balde makes it worth watching closely in 2025.

For groups deciding between these rooms, Akoko's tasting menu format and two-and-a-half-hour dinner pace make it a more cohesive shared experience than à la carte alternatives. The £55 lunch also gives it a practical advantage over most of its peer set for daytime bookings on a tighter budget. If your group wants something none of the others offer, a West African menu with technical Michelin-level execution, Akoko is the only room in London currently making that case at this level.