Weekly Review: Akara
Fun and discovery. Thoughtful food wonderfully prepared. Intriguing wine choices. Modern yet comfortable.
Quick hit: Spicy, intriguing “West African via Brazil” inspired tidbits full of fun and delight. Share everything or hoard your own.
Details: Booking advised. Borough Market. ££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and from the Michelin Guide.
Find it on Google Maps. 18 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD.
The full picture: It’s often hard to go exotic for a Professional Lunch. There are good reasons. Hesitation about picking something your companions may not like. Concern about dietary restrictions or spice levels.
But sometimes, exotic is exactly right.
And so it was yesterday when I finally had the chance to visit Akara in Borough Market with an adventurous colleague.
“West Africa via Brazil.” I arrived with no particular idea what that meant, in spite of having read positive review after positive review.
I left not much the wiser, except that it was delicious.
I went for the £25 set lunch option, with the choice of one Akara and one main with an option for dessert.
The first course was the eponymous Akara, which I would describe as stuffed fritters — about 3 or 4 bites worth. In this case, the fritters were made from a cornmeal dough (and reminded me of huge, savoury hush puppies), stuffed with generously seasoned king prawns, and served with a fabulous spicy sauce.
My main course was “Lagos Chicken” served with Efik rice. The chicken was moist and perfectly cooked. It was pleasantly spiced but not too spicy for me. And the rice was a treat. Fried (I think), and almost crunchy then blended with a zesty sauce.
For dessert, I went for the tres leches, a traditional cake from Latin America which was anything but traditional here. It included a lemon filling and a fantastic caramel sauce.
No wine for us, but I had a look at the list, and it was intriguing, offering a nice selection from a wide range of regions, including some classics as well as a few emerging spots and a couple of more fashionable choices.
The interior was fantastic. We ate at the food counter with a view of the kitchen, which I aways enjoy, but the furniture is all light colours, and the sun shining into the restaurant made the whole experience bright and pleasant.
If you order from the full menu, the dishes are really intended for sharing, and I definitely wish I’d brought a bigger group so that we could try everything. The short ribs, in particular, looked epic.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Akara and will definitely be returning, if only to try those short ribs.
And, much to my own surprise, I am happy to recommend it for a Professional Lunch. While it turned out to be a little exotic, Akara offered the chance to discover something new (to me, at least) and made that fresh experience both accessible and pleasant.
It’s telling that Michelin has already added Akara to its guide, and among a bushel of famous new openings in Borough Market (Camille, Oma, etc.), Akara still stands out.
