Can you believe you’ve been able to chop, chat, chill at Chuku's for 10 years? Yep, our Nigerian tapas restaurant concept has now been around for a whole decade. 3,650-ish days.
And when we started as a pop-up in January 2016, the world looked very different. Beyoncé was about to give us Lemonade, along with that unforgettable yellow dress and baseball bat.
Prince and George Michael were still with us. Instagram was somewhere you posted photos, rather than somewhere you accidentally spent three hours watching strangers organise their fridges.
And London's food scene? Well, that was different too!
Food halls weren't quite the fixture they are today. Vegan and gluten-free options? Good luck with that! And ordering your meal almost always meant talking to an actual person. QR-code menus hadn't taken over yet.
London was also in its golden era of food pop-ups and hosting a pop-up or supperclub was the ultimate side quest. Everyone was doing it, just like everyone is running a Hyrox today. And so we thought we'd give it a go too.
Because while Nigerian food was loved in Nigerian homes and communities across London, back in 2016 it wasn't grabbing headlines and had relatively little presence on the high street or in London's mainstream food scene.
Our ambition was simple and audacious: to get more of the UK enjoying Nigerian food, more often by creating a welcoming, unapologetically Nigerian dining experience.
So, we started Chuku’s as a pop-up and invited you to come chop, chat, chill. Fast-forward 10 years and a LOT has changed. To put a decade into perspective, here are 10 things that didn't exist when Chuku's started.
1. Lime Bikes
Hard to imagine, we know but cast your mind back to 2016 and London’s pavements weren’t littered with bright green bicycles.
Lime didn't bring its electric bikes to London until 2018. Now, it feels like half the city gets around on them and you’ll find them everywhere, even in places that make absolutely no sense.
To those of you who jump on one after dining at Chuku’s, we salute you. With a belly full of Jollof and Suya, we’re not sure we’d be cycling anywhere.
2. Instagram Stories & Reels
When Chuku's launched in January 2016, Instagram Stories didn't exist. Neither did Reels. You posted a photo. Maybe added a filter. Got a few likes. And kept it moving.
Today, we’re all about the content creation – even those of us that pretend not to be. One photo isn’t good enough. Now we are sharing our whole journey to the restaurant on Stories, at least three photos of our meal (because angles) and we’re posting a reel to sum up the weekend, spending ages finding the perfect soundtrack.
Do we miss the simpler times? Sometimes. But we do love seeing your Chuku's content, so please don't stop!
3. TikTok
Speaking of content, TikTok wasn't even around when we started. Read that again.
Yep, nobody was holding a mic sharing their hot takes, filming get ready with me videos or making us laugh at 1am when we should definitely be sleeping.
Now you can open TikTok for five minutes and somehow lose an entire evening. We'd like to speak to management about getting those hours back, please.
4. Hinge
Okay, so technically, Hinge existed in January 2016. But the Hinge of today, with its famous prompts, didn't. And it certainly wasn't the dating institution it is today.
Now we're all answering questions about our simple pleasures, ideal Sundays and what makes us weirdly competitive. All in the hope of finding someone who gets us.
Before Hinge prompts, there was Chuku's and we've always been big on a good conversation – that’s why we invite you to chop, CHAT, chill. And why we've even got conversation cards in-restaurant when you need a little inspiration. (You can watch them in action below!)
We don’t have a dating app (yet). But first dates at Chuku’s have led to weddings and babies. Yes, really!
And after witnessing our fair share of first dates over the years, we'd like to think we've developed a sixth sense for knowing which dates are getting a second one.
5. Monzo
Back when we started in January 2016, Monzo was still called Mondo and was just a prepaid card. No splitting bills in the app, no instant payment requests and certainly no "I'll Monzo you". Going out for dinner with a big group of friends meant chaos when the bill arrived.
Ten people, one bill and everyone trying to work out who owed what. One person could never remember what their main was called. Another would struggle to calculate the service charge. And the person who'd had the most cocktails would helpfully suggest splitting it equally. All whilst the waiter stood there patiently.
Now one person can pay and everyone else can transfer their share in seconds. Getting ten friends together for dinner, though? That's still the tricky part.
6. ChatGPT
Back in January 2016, ChatGPT didn't exist. In fact, the idea that we'd all be casually chatting to artificial intelligence like it was our very knowledgeable mate would have sounded like something from a sci-fi film.
Today, we're asking ChatGPT everything: Where should I go for a winter break? Can you help me upgrade my CV? How do I professionally tell Tiwa the answer is in the email thread? The list goes on…
And here's something we definitely didn't see coming. People are now discovering Chuku's by asking ChatGPT where to eat in London.
Ten years ago, we were trying to get the word out about a little Nigerian tapas pop-up. Now AI is doing some of the introducing. We certainly didn't have that on our 2016 bingo card.
7. The Plantain Waffle and Yam Brownie
Here's one even some longtime Chuku's fans might have forgotten. When we started in January 2016, two of our best-loved desserts didn't exist. Not even in our own kitchen.
Our original pop-up menu featured Plantain Pancakes and Chin Chin Cheesecake.
Chuku’s 2016 Plantain Pancakes
The now-famous Plantain Waffle and chocolate Yam Brownie came later.
While Apple was busy inventing AirPods (they didn't exist in January 2016 either), we were busy dreaming up new ways to enjoy Nigerian flavours. A decade of playing in the kitchen, and we're not finished yet.
8. The Elizabeth Line
Remember Crossrail? For years, it felt like one of those things Londoners talked about but weren't entirely convinced they'd ever see.
When Chuku's started, the Elizabeth line was still under construction. It would be another six years before the first passengers climbed aboard in May 2022. We've literally been serving Nigerian food for longer than the Elizabeth line has been serving Londoners.
Admittedly, we can't get you from Paddington to Canary Wharf in 18 minutes. But we can transport you to Lagos, no passport needed.
9. Working From Home As a Thing
In 2016, working from home was something you requested occasionally, when you had a delivery coming. Then 2020 happened. Suddenly, kitchen tables became desks, bedrooms became boardrooms and the phrase "You're on mute" entered our collective vocabulary.
Now hybrid working is part of everyday life and now most of us cant face a commute five days a week. But whether you're in the office or working three feet from your fridge, one thing hasn't changed. The joy of signing out and switching off to head somewhere with good food and great company.
10. Detty December as a Global Phenomenon
Nigerians have been doing December properly for decades. But back in 2016, Detty December hadn't yet become the international phenomenon it is today.
Fast-forward 10 years and suddenly everyone's booking flights to Lagos, planning outfits six months in advance and preparing their bank accounts for serious damage. What was once largely a homecoming for Nigerians in the diaspora has become an experience people from around the world want to be part of.
The music, nightlife and culture were always there. The rest of the world just caught up.
10 Years Later, Here We Are
When we look back at January 2016, it's hard not to marvel at how much has changed. The way we connect, the way we work, the way we get around the city.
London's dining scene has evolved enormously too. Today, there's growing excitement around African food, greater appreciation for regional cuisines and a generation of food businesses introducing people to flavours and experiences they might never have encountered before.
It's exciting to see, and we're proud to have played our part in that cultural shift. When we launched Chuku's, we wanted to create something we believed was missing. A space where Nigerian food and culture could be celebrated, shared and enjoyed by everyone.
We didn't know exactly where that journey would take us. But here we are, 10 years later. Still championing Nigerian food. Still celebrating the culture. Still building community.
To everyone who's been part of the journey, whether you've been with us since our pop-up days or only recently discovered us, thank you. Here's to the next 10 years of chop, chat, chill.
