From Scott’s to Akoko, here are the best things the CODE team ate this week

Akoko

It’s rare to enter a restaurant and feel completely transported to another place. Akoko achieves this and more when you walk into the warm terracotta walled dining room. After a chat with owner Aji, a nine-course tasting menu awaited. I must admit, I hadn’t eaten much West African food before so was excited to try something new. Every single plate served brought something unique and interesting, full of bold, delicious flavours. While very hard to choose favourites, the Jollof rice and Suya (made with Hereford short rib) were highlights. The final course – a smooth, rich chocolate filling wrapped in a hard chocolate coating and layered on a crunchy base – might be the best chocolate dessert I’ve ever had.
Henry Southan, social media manager
CODE was a guest of Akoko

The Princess Notting Hill

This week it was to the recently opened Princess Notting Hill from the Cubitt House team where Ben Tish is now chef director. Tucked off trendy Westbourne Grove, the site that was formerly Pomona’s has been beautiful refurbished by Georgie and Sam Pearman and it also has four bedrooms along with a courtyard that we can see being an ideal rosé spot. The Princess Royal reflects how modern pubs should now be – a welcoming spot for a pint for locals, as well as a cosy dining room that’s worth a journey across town with the brilliant Lorna MacPherson-Johnston bringing that sparkle of Corbin & King hospitality to the front-of-house. 
Adam Hyman, founder
CODE was a guest of The Princess Notting Hill

Scott’s

After nearly a month of lunching out for my 30th it was time to bring celebrations to a close in style and being a serious lover of seafood, you could say we were saving the best ‘til last with lunch at Scott’s. The cold shellfish platter and even colder champagne kept us busy for the first hour or so at least, going to work on oysters, crab, langoustines, whelks with lashings of good house mayonnaise and marie rose between chitter chatter. After a short break we ordered our mains and then after another break could easily have moved onto the hot platter to see us through dinner as well but perhaps worth saving something to look forward to for my 40th.
Sam Selwood, accounts manager

HIDE

Between Wednesday’s April showers there were bursts of spring sunshine lighting up the private dining room at Hide for a preview of what’s to come at Royal Ascot this summer. Ollie Dabbous will be taking his talents to the races among a line up of the country’s best chefs – Raymond Blanc, Brett Graham Simon Rogan and Nieves Barragán Mohacho to name a few – proving Ascot is about much more than just the runners and the riders. Ollie will be cooking at the new Sandringham restaurant in the Royal Enclosure with what promises to be a beautiful display of modern British cooking. At the preview we ate chilled pea and marigold soup followed by Cornish monkfish with Jersey Royals, then a clotted cream panna cotta with strawberries and lavender. Three plates of perfection.
Chloe Hamilton, content editor
CODE was a guest of HIDE
HIDE is available on the CODE app

Il Carmetto, Canada

Our waiter at Il Carmetto in Whistler was very enthusiastic about the “new season halibut” and enthusiasm can be off-putting. Thankfully the fish was flavourful, superbly cooked, and arrived swimming in a softly seasoned green sauce, tucked up against burnt leeks and al dente turnips. Diced pancetta is commonly paired with white fish for a reason. The ricotta gnocchi made everything sing.
Josh Barrie, editor
CODE was a guest of Il Carmetto

Warehouse

A working lunch at Warehouse was in order yesterday and the ingredient-led restaurant in Covent Garden did not disappoint. Chalkstream trout and a beetroot salad kicked us off before a beautifully cooked duck breast and brill. Stick around for dessert as you can’t leave without trying their ice cream sandwich and chocolate tart.
Henry Southan, social media manager
CODE was a guest of Warehouse
Warehouse is available on the CODE app

Temper 

Dinner at Temper really is just the ticket when you’ve got that craving for tasty, dense protein. Dense protein that was seriously well looked-after while it was alive and then treated with tantamount care in its cooking as well. We tried a few skewered barbecue dishes and some carnitas before moving onto their ‘prime cuts’ menu of more traditional steaks, the buttery rib eye from Charles Ashbridge exhibiting some treacly notes where the maillard reaction has worked its magic via the grill and a savvy chef. A scoop of lime sorbet swimming in mezcal sent us merrily on our way home.
Sam Selwood, accounts manager
CODE was a guest of Temper
Temper is available on the CODE app

Read more reviews from the CODE team here