This was my second visit at Ikoyi. I’m glad to say, the experience was even better second time around!
Most of the dishes I had were new and the dishes that I had for the second time improved. The saffron and custard dish is a lot more complex and layered now by adding sweet potatoes to it.
The downside of places with menus that change all the time is that I did not get to have the signature plantain dish, from both of my visits, which I have always been dying to try.
What makes Ikoyi Ikoyi is not just its West African heritage, but also its unapologetically excessive use of spices from all over the world. The flavours took risks and were mostly well balanced (a dish or two were just a bit too salty for my liking).
Every course I had was just full of excitement. It stands out from traditional French/Japanese values that prioritize ingredients over seasonings, these values have basically influenced 90% of fine dining places nowadays. Ikoyi remains special.
This place also had excellent lighting for food pics! The photos that I took today became one of my favourite sets of all time already.
First, gather the 48 ingredients… Though I think what I was served just the other day used langoustine sauce?
How was the tea pairing? It seems London is doing well when it comes to the non-alcoholic pairings, so I might go 50-50 on my next visits. I had a glass of the cherry wine at Ikyoi.
brianrankin on
I’ve been cooking my way through Jeremy’s Ikoyi cookbook, genuinely my favourite cookbook ever (so far) and the food has been incredible – although admittedly it’s stretching my skills to the absolute breaking point lol
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This was my second visit at Ikoyi. I’m glad to say, the experience was even better second time around!
Most of the dishes I had were new and the dishes that I had for the second time improved. The saffron and custard dish is a lot more complex and layered now by adding sweet potatoes to it.
The downside of places with menus that change all the time is that I did not get to have the signature plantain dish, from both of my visits, which I have always been dying to try.
What makes Ikoyi Ikoyi is not just its West African heritage, but also its unapologetically excessive use of spices from all over the world. The flavours took risks and were mostly well balanced (a dish or two were just a bit too salty for my liking).
Every course I had was just full of excitement. It stands out from traditional French/Japanese values that prioritize ingredients over seasonings, these values have basically influenced 90% of fine dining places nowadays. Ikoyi remains special.
This place also had excellent lighting for food pics! The photos that I took today became one of my favourite sets of all time already.
If you want to reproduce the rice, the chef provided the recipe here: https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/crab-jollof-rice-recipe
First, gather the 48 ingredients… Though I think what I was served just the other day used langoustine sauce?
How was the tea pairing? It seems London is doing well when it comes to the non-alcoholic pairings, so I might go 50-50 on my next visits. I had a glass of the cherry wine at Ikyoi.
I’ve been cooking my way through Jeremy’s Ikoyi cookbook, genuinely my favourite cookbook ever (so far) and the food has been incredible – although admittedly it’s stretching my skills to the absolute breaking point lol
This looks beautiful!