‘Food That Feels Worth It’: Meet The Couple Behind Aces Foodcraft

Aleksandra Jazevica (L) and Alex Craciun (R)

Shh…don’t tell anyone, but the best London restaurant I know is not booked out for months in advance (yet!).

Tucked away in Fitzrovia, across the street from flashier establishments, Aces Foodcraft has recently been included in the Michelin Guide, although it’s already made waves among the foodies through word of mouth alone.

Best of all, Aces doesn’t take itself too seriously

Connoisseurs of London’s gastro scene may recognise the founders by name and reputation. Aces is helmed by Alex Craciun, former executive head chef at Sosharu, and his wife Aleksandra Jazevica, who also runs Primeur, the high-end greengrocer used by many of London’s top chefs.

Together, the duo deliver a tasty, produce-driven menu, focusing on seasonal, carefully-sourced ingredients. Best of all, Aces doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a lively venue, decorated with works by London-based artist MISTER, and Craciun DJs while cooking, adjusting his performance to match the energy of the diners.

Aces is fiercely independent, and determined to stay that way. The couple lost their jobs during the pandemic and didn’t want to end up in that position again. ‘We knew we had to build something of our own—something for our family,’ said Craciun, referring not only to himself and his wife but also their young son.

‘More than anything, we wanted to build a place where we could actually enjoy life together.’

‘We wanted to create something unique, even though it sometimes feels like everything’s been done before,’ Jazevica adds. ‘More than anything, we wanted to build a place where we could actually enjoy life together. When Alex works in a kitchen 16 hours a day, six days a week, we barely get to see him. But at Aces, we’re together as a family.’

The restaurant business is a challenging one, even if you’re entering it with a strong emotional partnership like theirs. ‘Opening a restaurant with someone else—or even for someone else—means you still have to cook food they approve of,’ Craciun explains. ‘Finding the perfect business partner is never easy.’ Luckily, he and his wife are in tune. ‘We have fun,’ she says, ‘we meet new people and we do what we love most—taking care of others.’

‘At Aces, we’re together as a family.’

And boy do they do take care of you. Their chef’s tasting menu (at a very competitive £95) is served at a nine-seat counter each evening and showcases the Japanese influences Craciun picked up from time spent living in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, where he worked at Michelin-starred Kikunoi and Ryugin.

The tasting menu and their à la carte offerings fuse Japanese and modern British elements, creating dishes that are at once refined and surprising. Some of their standouts are versions of much-loved classics (chicken liver parfait on toasted brioche), while others showcase exceptional ingredients, like an English baby lamb soufflé, or Kagoshima wagyu with seasonal vegetables.

‘Alex cooks bold, funky food, and I get to chat with our guests. Honestly, what could be better?’

Access to the best seasonal fruits and vegetables from Primeur helps maintain quality while ensuring good value for money. They’re also willing to get theatrical. One tasting menu course, called ‘Chinese Man in France’, features a perfectly crisp prawn dumpling sitting atop a test tube of vibrant ‘mussels green juice’ to be sipped alongside, adding a mad-scientist flair to the experience. Another, ‘Japanese Man in the Basque Country’, is an unexpected but delicious combination of mushrooms, truffle, quail egg and seaweed bamboo.

As for crowd-pleasers, Jazevica says their ‘temaco’, a hybrid of a Mexican taco and a traditional Japanese temaki, or hand-roll sushi, is their most popular dish. Filled with a classic combination of bluefin tuna, avocado, sushi rice, and wasabi, it exemplifies Aces’ winning formula: top ingredients plus a creative playfulness. ‘We came up with it around 10 years ago, and it gets constant compliments to this day,’ Jazevica shares.

‘In challenging times, it’s important to deliver food that feels worth it—something special but still accessible,’ Jazevica continues. ‘Alex cooks bold, funky food, and I get to chat with our guests. Honestly, what could be better?’

All images courtesy of John Carey