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Harden's survey result
Summary
“Flavours not experienced before” – “inventive haute cuisine takes on West African dishes using ingredients like plantain and sorghum” – continue to propel Iré Hassan-Odukale and Jeremy Chan’s St James’s trail-blazer to ever-greater heights of fame, as confirmed by the restaurant’s further promotion by Michelin in January 2022. “With the second star comes the elevated price tag” however, and formerly stellar ratings here have sagged under the heightened expectations. Many “masterpieces” are still reported amongst meals, but a worrying new vein of bitter disappointments has also crept into diner commentary (“I was excited to try Ikoyi and discover its new approach, but hand on heart it was not worth the money…”; “we were angry and so disappointed, the food was really average, massively over-spiced and too hot”). Perhaps it’s no coincidence that shortly after our diners’ poll ended, Chan and Hassan-Odukale announced they were putting the original St James’s Market site on the market with a view to moving to an upgraded site (with options mooted including a move to the 180 Strand building).
Summary
“Truly surprising African ingredients and flavour combinations, showcased with stunning presentation” have rightly won culinary renown for Iré Hassan-Odukale and Jeremy Chan’s “serene and calm” venture in the swish but slightly soulless St James’s development, near Piccadilly Circus.“You will not find anywhere else a West African contemporary fusion tasting menu quite like this, with flavour combinations to die for: superb and exciting in every way”. “Excellent wine pairings, too”.
Summary
“Dazzling reinvention of African classic dishes”, featuring “really unique combinations and flavours”, has made this much-discussed three-year-old – from Chinese-Canadian chef Jeremy Chan and Nigerian co-founder Iré Hassan-Odukele – one of the most original of recent London openings. It’s in the St James’s Market development near Piccadilly Circus: an area, in contrast, “stuffed with conformity to the norm”, where “the vibes are a bit sterile”. In the evening, the main option is a seven-course tasting menu for £75, but an extended version for £100 is also available.
Summary
“Dazzling reinvention of African classic dishes”, featuring “really unique combinations and flavours”, has made this much-discussed two-year-old – from Chinese-Canadian chef Jeremy Chan and Nigerian co-founder Iré Hassan-Odukele – one of the most original of recent London openings. It’s in the St James’s Market development near Piccadilly Circus: an area, in contrast, “stuffed with conformity to the norm”, where “the vibes are a bit sterile”. In the evening, the main option is a seven-course tasting menu for £75, but an extended version for £100 is also available.
For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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Restaurant details
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £180.00 |  |
|
|
| Cost | Availability | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu1 | 300.00 | Always available | 20 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £28.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £0.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
180 The Strand, London, WC2C 1EA
Opening hours
| Monday | 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Wednesday | 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2 pm, 6 pm‑8:45 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
