Akoko, London, 2/19/26

exterior – 21 Berners Street, London, GB W1T 3LP

Akoko is a medium-sized place serving West African food created by Chef Aji Akokomi.  They offer the same tasting menus at lunch and dinner with a shorter one also available at lunch.  There was one supplement of caviar on goat cheese cream which we ordered one of to share.  Wine or non-alcoholic pairings are available as are cocktails and wines by the bottle and glass.  We chose to try a couple of their cocktails to go with the slightly spicy, well-seasoned food.  The long space ends in an open kitchen with 6 seats at the counter, which we were lucky to get.  The only problem with counter seating is the noise of the vent hood when combined with the background music, could get to be too much if the place fills.   We were there when it opened so it wasn’t too difficult but some of the very friendly staff were soft spoken.   It’s an attractive space and good food but not as spicy as I would have expected but then the British don’t like it too spicy.   The meal starts with a ritual hand washing, for which they bring around a bowl and water to your seat.  They do have one Michelin Star. Continue reading

MoSuke Restaurant, Paris, 12/1/23

exterior – 11 Rue Raymond Losserand, 75014 Paris, France

MoSuke served a cuisine that combines west and central African dishes with French and Japanese twists.  Chef Mory Sacko won France’s first Michelin star for African cuisine at just 28 years of age.  That was 2 years ago and since then he has competed on France’s Top Chef TV cooking show during the Covid lockdown.  The unassuming exterior does not match the stylized interior. Very modern and tasteful furnishings, down to the toilet in the bathroom, are made with light wood set to curved couch-like seating.  Lots of plants, fabric on the ceiling, windows to the garden alongside, modern art decorations and music in the background make up the pleasant ambiance.  At lunch, there were 2  tasting menu options, a four and six-course menus with optional wine pairings.  We chose the 6 and you had to choose between 2 dessert options, so we got one of each. The meal was paced quickly with good portion control.  There were a ton of unfamiliar ingredients so the descriptions are somewhat lacking, but overall it was interesting and fun food with some nice unusual variations. Continue reading