#blahvsfood goes to Ikoyi, London.. by far the best restaurant in the UK

 

Ikoyi is the best restaurant in the UK. Of that there is no doubt. The question is whether it deserves a higher spot in the world’s top 100 than number 15. Because this is the best meal I’ve eaten in Europe in half a decade or more. A meal of such singular originality and brilliance, that it is impossible to try and describe it or critique it in a manner that is accurate and does it justice.

Native breed beef, Damson and pigeon gravy 

You keep reading that Ikoyi is African inspired. It’s not. Yes there is a jump off point that is African in origin, but it’s just a reference point, rather than a point of origin. I feel that if you needed to locate the food within a geography, then it would be in the multiculturalism of London. But to try and create a spatial boundary for the food of Ikoyi is reductive and reflects the diner’s lack of imagination. The produce may largely be British, but the spices, the references, traverse the world from Ikoyi in Nigeria to Tokyo, from Algeria to places that exist in the furthest reaches of Jeremy Chan’s beautiful mind. 

Gola pepper broth 

We start with the birthplace of Co-founder Ire Hassan-Odukale, with a chicken wing consommé flavoured with Nigerian Gola Pepper, a warm, deep broth layered with spice, the rich umami of shitake mushrooms and the sweetnes of scallop 

Guinea Fowl Suya

This is followed by a Guinea fowl suya which is not a Nigerian skewer at all. It’s almost like a paste, wrapped in a glutinous rice ball, covered with sesame seeds and topped with British truffles. It has a gamey depth with the truffles enhancing meaty flavours rather than  overwhelming it the way Alba truffle would. 

Seabass, pistachio pudding and black mint

The Seabass with Pistachio Pudding is almost ceviche like. But the freshness of nashi pear and black mint is contrasted with the hint of fat that comes from the pistacio pudding and tarragon, adding wisps of subtle flavour to the acidity and citrus notes. 

Aged beef, roasted rose and tagettes

A 120 day old aged beef is loaded with Ostrava caviar and served in a rose petal tart with black carrots. This is followed by another course featuring caviar, this time a fattier Beluga rather than Ostrava, along with razor clams and saffron Creme caramel custard. The custard is fragrant and sweet, courtesy the clams, a beetroot reduction and some saffron oil, all of which come together to bring out the fatty saltiness of the caviar. 

Wild Turbot is the quintessential British summer fish. Here the Turbot is cooked tempura style with a fermented chilli paste. Served with a Cornish crab salad, parsley oil, Madeira sauce and Langoustine and melon reduction. Again there is an extraordinary interplay of flavour and texture.. Sweet, acidic, sharpness, fat, richness… you can taste every element and it still feels so cohesive. No description can ever do justice to the complexity and skill needed to bring this together. 

I love sweetbread, and the Caramelised milk brined sweetbread with Manosteen sauce is one of the best I have ever had. It was accompanied by a Merghez sausage on pencil cob corn grits. The sweetbread came with Blackberry in spiced red wine reduction and wild plum, taming some of its strength. But the sausage went in the other direction, a peppercorn and mushroom paste (with a hint of mustard on top) giving the sausage a sharpness in addition to its meatiness. Something about this dish felt wonderfully rooted and humble despite all its refinement. 

Tuna, basil and Girolles

A lightly seared bluefin tuna had an almost  wagyu like texture. The black and white pepper bernaise sauce added spicy, peppery notes to the Jeremy mushroom while the basil emulsion added brightness and light. Again the interplay of freshness and fat was at a level that I have rarely seen before. 

Crispy Jollof rice 

The final savoury course was the show stopper. Hereford beef Rib aged 4 months, Damson & Pigeon Gravy, with Ikoyi’s signature Smoked Jollof Rice.  The beef was excellent but the rice was the star. The canonical African rice dish was transformed into a fragrant, textural, comforting marvel. Cooked in spiced mustard stock and caramelised in a ginger, crispy onion paste, almost risotto like in mouthfeel and texture except for a socarrat-like crunch, and made even more indulgent thanks to the accompanying lobster custard. 

Brown butter and red long pepper 

Jasmine, pumpkin seed and crystal lemon cucumber 

The desserts may not have been unforgettable like the savoury courses but they were still very good. A light, summery plum peach and jasmine sorbet with pumpkin seed milk, Crystal lemon cucumber jelly and Scotch bennet oil. And finally a Calamansi and ginger cake with Brown butter ice cream, with a Green yuzu and a red long peppercorn mousse, green yuzu zest and Confit caramel. 

Petit fours 

One of the most fascinating things about Ikoyi is that chef Chan doesn’t taste his food. These magnificent creations, this alchemical blend of science, imagination and skill, they exist purely as a product of his mind. Like a genius mathematician, he takes individual elements and combines them in his head to create complex masterpieces that appear to have emerged fully formed and whole. I’ve never seen any chef with this process before, but I guess it works for chef Chan. Because Ikoyi, in its audacity of ambition, fearlessness of imagination, and excellence of execution, is unlike any other restaurant in the world.

This is truly one of the world’s great restaurants.