Chishuru

"All you need is one meal at Chishuru to start thinking about Oxford Street as an area you want to spend time in. The modern West African restaurant is a breath of fresh air for this hectic part of the city and the whole of London. After relocating from Brixton, Joké Bakare has expanded both Chishuru’s ideas and space, and from our first sip of the weapons-grade spiced okra martini, we knew that this restaurant had something special. The two floors are warm, comfortable, and cosy. The kind of place you could nod off in if the sauces and spices weren’t as thrilling. Lunch and dinner are a set menu roller coaster of flavours, from moi moi with earthy mushrooms, to beef sirloin with onugbu-inspired bitter leaf sauce." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, heidi lauth beasley

"Some set menus don’t offer a tonne of excitement, but every one of Chishuru’s carefully curated dishes packs a punch. The warm West African restaurant just off Oxford Street has one of London’s most exciting menus from start to finish. From things like mushroom moi moi and a scotch bonnet sauce siphoned from Mount Doom, to beef sirloin with onugbu-inspired bitter leaf sauce." - jake missing, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak

"Chishuru's home is right in the thick of things near Oxford Street, but this modern West African spot is as transportive as London restaurants come. Its two-floor space is spacious and cosy, with terracotta tones and a set dinner menu featuring spices and sauces you’ll want to mainline. Kick off with a spiced okra martini or a suya and smoke mezcal creation, before settling in for a night of all-round sensational stuff. If love hasn’t already bloomed around the table, just wait until you try the egusi." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, heidi lauth beasley

"Open for: Lunch and dinnerPrice range: $$$Joké Bakare’s small, two-story central London venue is no secret to anyone interested in restaurants: The chef’s modern recreations of classic dishes from Nigeria and the broader West African region have earned recognition from across the globe, including from the Michelin guide, which awarded Chishuru a star. As well as the chef’s immense presence, inventiveness, and ability to convey her love of food, the brilliance of Chishuru’s menu is rooted in age-old practices of fermentation, which lend many of the dishes a deep and lasting umami. It’s there in dishes like beef sirloin and dawadawa short rib with Tokyo turnip and a bitter leaf sauce, as well as grilled guinea fowl breast with celeriac cake, jalapeño, and egusi sauce. Must-try dishes: Be sure to try Bakare’s jollof rice, and leave room for dessert." - Adam Coghlan

"“It’s rare that a soup changes someone’s life. That’s what I thought anyway, until it happened to me on a stormy Tuesday night. OK, it wasn’t stormy. I’m being dramatic. But the point is that this West African restaurant’s groundnut and spiced peanut butter soup is so warming, so tasty, that a little theatrics are in order. Ever since eating here, it’s lived in my head rent-free.” - HLB" - oliver feldman, heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak