Ikoyi, the high-flying restaurant bringing West African flavours to London’s West End, is to move from its small premises in St James’s, behind Piccadilly Circus, to a bigger site nearby.

Yet to be confirmed, the mostly likely candidate is the Brutalist landmark 180 The Strand building, recently converted into a cultural centre. If Ikoyi does move there, it will be a neighbour to another relatively new high-flyer, Toklas.

Ikoyi – named after a district in Lagos – was launched in 2017 by chef Jeremy Chan (right in picture) and business partner Iré Hassan-Odukale (left). The pair have spearheaded the rise of upmarket African and Caribbean-based cuisines in Britain and built an international profile, while the Harden’s 2022 guide enthuses about their “West African contemporary fusion tasting menu [with] flavour combinations to die for: superb and exciting in every way”.

Chan confirmed the planned move, saying: “St James’s Market has worked really well for Ikoyi. The restaurant has gone from strength to strength in the past few years, particularly since we reopened after the lockdowns, and we are in the process of looking at larger premises.”