The chef and restaurateur says she has been looking for a new site for a number of months with a location in Brixton, where her restaurant is currently located, or east London possible options.
In an interview with BigHospitality, Bakare says that the small size of her restaurant - which has space for just 20 people inside and 14 outside - is now too restrictive given its popularity.
“The waiting list is bigger than the number of people we can fit in the restaurant,” she says. “We get booked up really quickly because we are so small, the space just isn’t big enough.”
“Brixton has shown proof of concept so I know we can take it somewhere else.”
The new Chishuru will be bigger than the original but Bakare insists it will remain true to its roots, with locations such as Mayfair off the cards.
“I’m never going to do fine dining,” she says. “I want us to be considered premium casual. Yes, the new restaurant will be nice and shiny, but not too shiny.”
Bakare opened Chishuru in Brighton Village’s Market Row in 2020 having won a competition run by Brixton Village owner Hondo Enterprises the previous year. Despite its challenging birth, with the restaurant only opening for six weeks before the UK went into its second lockdown and trading for only one day between December and April, it has won plaudits from many people, including receiving a glowing review from Jay Rayner in the Observer.
Earlier this year it was ranked the 93rd best restaurant in the UK at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards and has been named Restaurant of the Year Time Out and Eater London.
To read the full interview with Bakare, click here.
