Akara is the new, more casual sister restaurants to Akoko, the West African fine dining spot in Fitzrovia which we were very impressed by when we visited back in 2021
For Akara, owner Aji Akokomi has taken the same modern approach to West African cuisine that made Akoko so popular and distilled into a more everyday, approachable package with a short a la carte menu of snacks and larger plates rather than an intricate tasting menu set up.
Akara is in a converted railway arch in the newly developed section of Borough Yards, all exposed brick, green plants and big industrial iron beams. It’s still a very swish spot however, with sleek modern furniture, exquisite plates and cutlery, and smartly dressed staff. So while it certainly is more casual than Akoko in its look and approach to the menu, it’s still aiming for a certain level of refined experience – call it causal plus.
We kicked off, as everyone should, with a couple of akaras, crispy black-eye bean fritters that are almost like little doughnuts, cut down the middle and stuffed with fish, meat or vegetables. We went for the signature BBQ tiger prawn, which was coated in a spicy marinade, and the seared Orkney scallop. Both were bang on and made even better with a quick dunk in the pot of Senegalese hot sauce that they come with. Don’t ignore the first snack on the menu, though, four little rice pancakes served with a black eye bean hummus – it was one of our favourites.
Things get even better moving on to the larger dishes. Dish of the day goes to the spicy BBQ maitake mushroom, served with a dollop of mushroom ketchup-style sauce. A perfectly cooked grilled fillet of pollock was served with an excellent yassa caramelised onion and lemon sauce. We also loved the efik rice with slithers of BBQ mackerel, which was listed in the sides section but was near enough a main dish in itself. Don’t miss the grilled baby gem with crispy shallots and spiced peanuts either. We finished up with tamarind date cake, dressed in a boozy rum and pineapple sauce and a dollop of tonka bean cream.
It’s always a good sign when you’re practically booking your next visit while still in a restaurant for the first time, and we found ourselves doing exactly this at Akara. With a prime location in Borough Yards, punchy flavour-packed dishes, and that lovely minimalist dining room, we can see this becoming one of our go-to Borough spots.
Arch 208, 18 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AD
akaralondon.co.uk