Twelve months ago, London’s Akoko and Chishuru joined the handful of West African restaurants worldwide to be awarded a Michelin star; now Akoko’s former executive chef, Ayo Adeyemi, is consulting on the menus of this glossy Marylebone newcomer, where day-to-day cooking duties fall to head chef Victor Okunowo.
Wallpaper* dines at Shakara
The mood: modern African artistry
Architects Red Deer are behind some of London’s more distinctive restaurant interiors, from Lina Stores to St John Marylebone. Here they have taken inspiration from the red soil of Nigeria in earthy-coloured terracotta tiles, though there are allusions to African culture wherever one looks, from the talking drum graphics stamped into wax that pay homage to the hourglass-shaped instrument that imitates the rhythm of human speech, to the art on the walls supplied by the Red Door Gallery in Lagos. The contemporary African connections don’t end there: resident DJs spin Afrohouse and Afrobeats until midnight.
The food: British ingredients meet African spicing
Okunowo was a semi-finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2020 before becoming head chef of Talking Drum on Old Kent Road, a Nigerian restaurant that served as a blueprint for the current crop of cool West African dining rooms. The chef is taking inspiration from Ghana and The Gambia as well as Nigeria, though British ingredients are just as important: dry-aged Hereford beef comes spiced with Nigerian yaji and uda, while native blue lobster sits in a bisque of pepper soup. There’s more conventional comfort to be had in sides of jollof rice and yam chips, plus plantain bread with vanilla ice cream and corn custard for pudding.
Shakara is located at 66 Baker St, London W1U 7DJ, United Kingdom; shakaraldn.com
-
Six beautiful books to gift the watch and jewellery loverFrom an encyclopaedic love letter to watchmaking to a celebration of contemporary jewellery, these tomes are true gems
-
Inspired by a pebble, the stylish new Alma charger provides pocketable convenienceWhat if technology could quietly allay anxiety and not cause it? That’s the pitch behind new luxury accessories company Addition, starting with its new Alma wireless charger
-
This clever café-cum-playroom in Poznań makes space for everyoneDesigned by Poland’s Cudo Studio, Sunday proposes a warm, dynamic take on the family café
-
Sir Devonshire Square is a new kind of hotel for the City of LondonA Dutch hospitality group makes its London debut with a design-forward hotel offering a lighter, more playful take on the City’s usual formality
-
This sculptural London seafood restaurant was shaped by ‘the emotions of the sea’In Hanover Square, Mazarine pairs a bold, pearlescent interior with modern coastal cuisine led by ‘bistronomy’ pioneer chef Thierry Laborde
-
Montcalm Mayfair opens a new chapter for a once-overlooked London hotelA thoughtful reinvention brings craftsmanship, character and an unexpected sense of warmth to a London hotel that was never previously on the radar
-
Follow the white rabbit to London’s first Korean matcha houseTokkia, which translates to ‘Hey bunny’ in Korean, was designed by Stephenson-Edwards studio to feel like a modern burrow. Take a look inside
-
Poon’s returns in majestic form at Somerset HouseHome-style Chinese cooking refined through generations of the Poon family craft
-
One of London’s favourite coffee shops just opened in Harvey NicholsKuro Coffee’s latest outpost brings its Japanese-inspired design to the London department store
-
Enjoy a Kyoto-inspired menu with London attitude at this new restaurantAki London offers a serene counterpoint to Oxford Circus, where stately interiors and elevated Japanese cooking cross paths
-
At this charming bolthole in The Cotswolds, doing nothing is an art formLeave your mobile on ‘do not disturb’, switch off and slow down at this 16th-century manor-turned-hotel
