Our latest restaurant recommendation is Kudu, Marylebone.

We first visited Kudu in 2018, shortly after it originally opened on Queen's Road, Peckham. At the time, there was very little fanfare surrounding the restaurant. We lived less than a minute away, admired the fact it was founded by a young couple and, having never experienced South African cuisine before, decided to give it a try.

The dining room was almost empty that evening. Initially, we were very hesitant to go in, but as it turned out, our reservation didn’t matter because the cooking was some of the most memorable we'd experienced in London.

And so, when Kudu later opened its neighbouring bar, it quickly became somewhere we introduced friends and family to without hesitation. Then, as London inevitably does, the city distracted us with somewhere new every week.

Fast forward several years and a conversation with our Creative Director, who had recently returned from lunch at Kudu's Marylebone home, convinced us it was time to revisit it ourselves. A spontaneous dinner later, we remembered exactly why it had left such a lasting impression all those years ago.

The food is exceptional.

We ordered the house bread with two butters, oysters, prime rib with fingerling potatoes, African carrot, the KitKat dessert and the blue cheese canelé.

Not a single dish disappointed.

The prime rib was the standout. Rich, beautifully cooked and served rare, it was the sort of dish that quietly reminds you how transformative exceptional ingredients, including protein, and restrained cooking can be. The blue cheese canelé was equally memorable—unexpected, balanced and unlike anything we've eaten elsewhere.

It's the kind of menu that would feel entirely at home in Copenhagen yet still unmistakably London and South African at the same time. 

The space mirrors the food. Contemporary without feeling clinical, intimate without ever becoming cramped. If you enjoy watching a kitchen at work, reserve one of the counter seats—you'll appreciate every minute.

Service was equally considered: warm, knowledgeable and quietly attentive.

London never lacks exceptional places to eat, but very few stay with us for almost a decade.

Kudu has. And that's exactly why it earns its place at The AJOSEPO Table.