Ikoyi

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Cuisine That Defies Categories

When Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan-Odukale launched Ikoyi in 2017, they came with little formal training and no interest in fitting a mould. What they built instead is one of London's most distinctive restaurants: a spice-based cuisine anchored in British micro-seasonality, where aged native beef, sustainable line-caught fish, and slowly grown vegetables meet a vast, carefully sourced collection of herbs and spices drawn from across Africa and Asia. Chan, who is Canadian-Chinese-British, describes the result as "a journey through bold heat" — a phrase that undersells nothing.

The Room and the Philosophy

Ikoyi now occupies a larger space at 180 The Strand, designed by David Thulstrup. Copper-clad walls, a curved metal-weave ceiling, oak furniture and a limestone floor create an environment that feels considered without being cold. The interiors directly reflect Chan's dual obsessions — spice and British produce — translated into material form.

Service, led by Hassan-Odukale, is deliberately arms-length. The intention is for the food to occupy the room the way art occupies a gallery: present and self-evident, with the team ready to illuminate any detail on request.

What Arrives at the Table

The tasting menu is the full expression of Ikoyi's spice-led approach. Dishes shift with the seasons, but the smoked jollof rice has remained a constant — arriving late in the meal in forms that evolve through the year. Before it, guests might encounter drunken squid with fermented rice, turbot with crab salad and tonnato, or sweetbread with white flint grits. Desserts push further still, incorporating ingredients like Scotch bonnet to sustain the restaurant's uncompromising, spice-forward logic through to the final course.

A shorter tasting menu is also available alongside the full experience, and the drink list spans signature cocktails — built around ingredients like ehuru, pandan and baobab — through a geographically arranged wine cellar.

Recognition

The trajectory has been steep. Ikoyi caught global attention with the One To Watch Award at The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2021, and has climbed steadily since: ranked 49th in 2022, 35th in 2023, 42nd in 2024, and reaching 15th place in 2025 — the same year it took the Highest Climber Award. That kind of momentum, sustained over several years, reflects something more than novelty.

For private occasions, an intimate dining room seats up to six guests, and exclusive hire of the full space is available for bespoke events.