Joké Bakare's independent West African restaurant started life after the chef won a contest to stage a Brixton Village pop-up – and at the end of 2023 she set up shop in Fitzrovia, serving a sensational tasting menu of sinasir rice cake with white crab meat, moi moi bean cake with creamy duck egg sauce, fragrant pepper soup and guinea fowl with taro root, ehuru and uziza sauce. She's now the first black female Michelin star chef in the UK and the second in the world.

What Chishuru lacks in literal, physical space it makes up for in vibrant personality and bolshy flavours. The menu of Adejoké Bakare’s supper club-turned-restaurant reflects the owner and head chef’s excitement and innovation. Much of the West African restaurants produce is found in Brixton’s Market Row - just around the corner from the restaurant - and the results, like groundnut cauliflower soup, or goat ayamase, are truly spectacular.

When Adejoké Bakare’s Chishuru won its first MICHELIN Star in 2024, it was the cherry on top of the restaurant’s rapid rise over recent years. Propelled by the talent of self-taught Adejoké, the restaurant is a fun and welcoming place underpinned by delicious West African cuisine. The set menus offered at lunch and dinner deliver an array of well-balanced, confidently judged and easy-to-eat dishes.

By several yardsticks, Chishuru is one of the most exciting restaurants that London has produced in years, and its rapid rise – from ambitious Brixton residency to a Michelin star in a short span – says nothing of chef Joké Bakare’s fiercely original vision for West African fine dining. Those long in the tooth will remember when the likes of The Clove Club charged sub-£50 for a tasting (!) and here, the lunch prix fixe is still yours for £40 at the time of writing, best taken in one of the cosy booths in the breezy main dining room where Bakare herself roams occasionally to greet guests like old friends. Dishes like asaro of smoked eel and spicy goat asun are winners (the plantain and jollof rice is well worth the supplement), and starters like fermented bean cake with squash puree are a revelation.

Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare’s sell-out supper club was one of many (such as Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen and Lola Oduba-Vine’s Club Naija) that nudged West African cooking into London’s lexicon of late. Joké’s Nigerian heritage is at the forefront of her home-style cooking, and it’s hugely exciting – if not long overdue – to see a business run by a Black woman flourishing in London's competitive restaurant scene. The menu changes frequently (snacks every week, larger plates depending on what ingredients look good) with a rotation of fiery, no-frills dishes such as bavette steak rubbed with yaji dressing (served with the requisite quarter-tomato as is custom, Rafal explains), and ekuru with pumpkin-seed pestou and Scotch bonnet sauce.

Firmly cementing Fitzrovia's place as the destination for the capital's finest West African food, Chishuru was also awarded its first star in the 2024 Michelin guide. Growing from an immensely popular Brixton pop-up, chef patron Joké Bakare opened Chishuru's permanent home in Fitzrovia in September 2023, decking the new space out in soft furnishings by British-Nigerian designer Eva Sonaike, light features by South African designer Mash.T and tabletops custom made in North Africa. Lunch and dinner are served as set menus only, with a regularly revolving roster of dishes including upscale spins on tradition, such as moi moi bean cake with bone marrow, roasted goat belly with pepper relish, and peppersoup with shellfish.

We were disappointed to hear the news that our favourite West African restaurant was closing down a while back, but that disappointment was replaced with anticipation on hearing the news that it was to return in September. If you didn’t get a chance to try the excellent cooking at Chishuru when it was running in Brixton you should absolutely put it at the top of your list of places to eat now that it’s opened again. The cooking does a great job of being artful and small-plates-y while still retaining a healthy dose of the homeliness that we (and everyone else) love about the place.

Such was the success of Nigerian-born Adejoke Bakare’s tiny Brixton village restaurant Chishuru (itself the result of winning a culinary competition) that she is planning to open a bigger and better replacement in Fitzrovia in early summer. Meanwhile, check social media for her pop-ups. Her dishes range from peppered pork belly with charcoal-grilled peppers and onions to bavette dusted with suya, a fiery blend of ground chillies, ginger, garlic and onion powder with fermented locust beans and ground peanuts.

What: What started out as a pop up has turned into a key part of London’s restaurant scene, earning itself loyal fans with a heartwarming story and an innovative menu that champions West-African cuisine. Offered as a tasting menu only, you can expect a multi-course menu of anything from fermented rice cake to goat cutlet with coffee and yaji dressing. Joké Bakare has taken the city by storm and is showing no signs of slowing down yet with her latest win of a Michelin star.

Just under a year after she closed her Brixton site, Adejoké Bakare’s Chishuru has finally re-opened in its shiny new Central London location. The new site, which is located on Great Titchfield Street, is bigger than the Brixton original but still not huge by any means – there’s a maximum of 55 covers, split across two floors. They’ve done a great job on the space, however, with earthy-toned walls, splashes of light green, modern artworks, and smart spotlights.

Part of the charm of West African restaurant Chishuru is the story that comes with it. Nigerian-born chef Adejoké Bakare spent years hosting dinner parties and supper clubs before winning a competition which allowed her to set up her own restaurant in Brixton Market. It opened in September 2020, a tricky time for hospitality (remember the tier system?), but against all odds Chishuru survived – and thrived, cultivating a loyal fan following.

Chishuru stands among the very best restaurants in London full stop. Originally a supper club, Chishuru first became a permanent fixture in Brixton, and then moved to Fitzrovia in 2023, boasting a modern menu that blends age-old recipes with modern flavour. It received its first Michelin Star earlier this year, with chef Adejoké Bakare making history in 2024 when she became the UK’s first Black woman to receive the accolade.

Chishuru does one and it is, as David Dickinson would say, a real bobby dazzler. At the moment, starters include sinasir, a fermented rice cake with cherry tomatoes and a clementine and chilli dressing, and bean fritters stuffed with okra and candied chillis. Later comes smoked eel with sweet potato cream, yams, beetroot and pepper relish, or chargrilled guinea fowl with celeriac and a jalapeno and bitter leaf sauce.

If you haven’t heard of Nigerian-born chef Adejoké (Joké) Bakare, don’t be embarrassed but rather be curious. She is a culinary force to be reckoned with. Since winning the Brixton Kitchen competition in the amateurs category in 2019 she has been on a whirlwind journey, from home cooking to opening her West African restaurant Chishuru through to the restaurant recently winning a Michelin star.

Modern West African food, cocktails, and natural wines in this south London gem from Adejoké 'Joké' Bakare, Head Chef and owner. What started as a supper club went on to win a prize for a permanent space in Brixton Village. “The restaurant is a complete and utter joy, wonderful in its informality and serving up incredible food,” explains The Independent's Molly Codyre.

: While the tasting menu is excellent, don't miss the à la carte pepper soup - a signature West African dish that showcases Bakare's talents. Adejoké Bakare's West African restaurant where she became the first Black female chef in the UK to win a Michelin star. Her dishes like pepper soup with shellfish and Cornish cod with fermented tomatoes are highly acclaimed

Inside this sweetly unassuming Brixton restaurant lies a breathtaking world of flavour. Depending on the day, you might find shito (a Ghanaian hot pepper sauce) fried rice on Chishuru’s set menu, while Sundays are dedicated to jollof, served with roasted chicken or hispi cabbage. The goat ayamase features the most gloriously tender meat in a spicy stew.

Starting life as a supper club in Brixton, Chishuru has already lived many lives since its launch in 2020. With SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year 2024 winner Joké Bakare at the helm, it comes as no surprise that these set menus of punchy, West African fare resulted in Chishuru’s first Michelin star.

One of London's hottest new Michelin-starred restaurants, Adejoké Bakare's Chishuru has a modern West African menu that's absolutely worth seeking out and great for a Monday visit. It's a set menu affair, and a pretty affordable one for lunchtime too. Open: Lunch and dinner

Chishuru: Located in the centre of Brixton, Chishuru brings the taste of West African cuisine to London. And with the Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare award at the helm, he knows it’s going to be good.