Carlitos – The review

Monday, 7.25 P.M,

Hey y’all

Every new year comes with new aspirations right? This year I have decided to change tactics. Remember how I would say I didn’t think it was appropriate to review new restaurants? I met someone recently who made me see reason why it is important to review them; it’s funny that even this blog’s demographics points towards that too. So hurray to those wanted that. So you see, I do listen.

This review was done at the relaunched Carlitos restaurant & lounge. It used to be in VGC  but it has recently moved to Victoria Island. The main dinning room itself isn’t particularly big but the space was well utilized. It will probably sit about 40 people on the inside and about 10 guests dinning alfresco. The decor in the dinning room was not wow but it was neat and  well put together.

Whilst we waited for Fregz (it was his birthday) to come, we ordered the virgin mojito(N1800-$8) and Prawn spring roll (N1,800-$8). We must have read the menu wrongly because we assumed that it was prawns and mayonnaise spring roll because when it came, it didn’t have mayonnaise. Instead, it was served with coleslaw, sliced lettuce, dinner rolls and sweet & sour sauce as a side dip. It was slightly different, in that the spring rolls were smaller sized. It tasted nice albeit a bit dry but then I can attribute that to the fact that we were accustomed to eating it with mayonnaise which moistens the inside. We tried it with the sweet and sour chilli sauce and it definitely tasted better. The cole slaw and dinner  rolls on the other hand were not particularly fresh but it was not off either…you just know these things. We also had a problem with the plating  of this dish- the plate was too small and there was too much going on with it.See picture below

 

We got tired of waiting for the birthday boy so we just went ahead and ordered our mains. We ordered the 7- hour braised beef oxtail with pesto rice and grilled vegetables and The Chicago Style  BBQ Pork Ribs with French fries, cole slaw and corn salsa. Na hin we begin wait oh. The food took about 40 minutes to be served. Hiaan!

Finally, the food made an appearance by which time, the birthday boy had come too . Pheww! Did I hear someone say about time?  He ordered the Spanish Jumbo Prawns with  Gnocchi and Pesto oil. Thankfully, this didn’t take too long to come.

We decided to split all the meals. We started with Renee’s Chicago style barbeque pork ribs (N5,880- $28). The menu described it as “fall off the bone tender…” but it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it was not hard but it definitely was not fall off the bone tender. It was neatly seasoned  with the marinade and then grilled. We cleaned it out in no time with the fries, the coleslaw and the corn salsa on the hand were left  untouched because they didn’t taste fresh. Am I alone in believing that ribs are best enjoyed with your fingers? i.e the bone crushing  African way ?

We moved on to my 7 hours braised beef oxtail served with grilled vegetables and pesto rice. (N7800-$36 ). Hmnnn. I doubt the veracity of how long  this was cooked for because if meat was cooked for that long and it doesn’t soak up all the seasoning and juices of the broth, then “na abami meat you cook oh” this was the case of the oxtail. It either was not properly seasoned or cooked long enough in the broth . In this case I reckon it was both. The oxtail could have tasted better if it was better seasoned and it was not soft for something that had  been cooked as long as they said it was cooked for. Eating it with fork and knife was “getting long” so we used our hands *covers face* . The pesto rice wasn’t any better even with salt added.The seasoned and grilled peppers and carrots on the other hand were  amazing. They were crisp and nicely seasoned.

Then came  Fregz’s Jumbo Spanish Prawns (N7,800 – $36).  The visual appearance of this was appealing. It was by far the best looking dish of the night. I stopped for a second when it came. Three  jumbo prawns were opened up , seasoned and grilled. It sounds pretty simple right? If only I could cook it like that . The icing on this prawns was the charred  lime! Yup you heard it, the lime was charred. I knew lemon and seafood was a great combination but the grilled lime took it  on a whole new level of deliciousness. I don’t think the sweet and sour sauce on this was appropriate.

This was my first time eating Gnocchi  as an accompaniment , i have always had it as an entree. Gnocchi is dumpling cooked in thick rich creamy sauce . This was a very good interpretation but I am not sure it worked with the prawns it was served with. It looked like 2 separate dishes. If I were the chef, I would serve the gnocchi on its own tossed with mid sized prawns… But then I am not. Hehehehe.

Before the birthday boy came, we had requested that the chef made the dessert extra special for him. For desserts, we ordered their Apple pie (N2400-$11) nsogbu! N2400 for Apple pie in Lagos! When I saw this price I asked if it was the whole apple tree that would be put in it. The dessert was served by a singing waitress, boy!! She could singgggg. For that voice?, I will pay 2500 sef. We had to make her do it a second time and it was just as good!  Well the apple pie itself didn’t do it for any of us. I am not a fan of serving it cold or lukewarm, I like apple pie hot. This was served almost cold. Hmnnn, i didn’t like the presentation either- a large chunk of apple pie on a plate and then there were 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream on another plate. I didn’t understand the logic behind serving the ice cream in a different plate.  The apple pie didn’t werk for me at all. It’s not value for money and it didn’t taste great. Why are desserts so pricey at these restaurants?

I did a round of the restroom and it was sparkling .

Would I go back there? Yes

We paid (N30,960- $144) for 2 entrees, 3 mains , 1 dessert, 2 bottles of water and 2 non alcoholic cocktails. Whilst writing this post , I realized we over paid by N1,200. The menu advertised the Prawns spring roll as N1,800 but our bill had N2,400 per portion. Oya make una do refund shaparly!

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 7.5

Quality of food- 7

Value for money- 7.5

Customer Service- 8.5

 

CARLITOS RESTAURANT

 Oju olobun street,

Victoria Island

Lagos

Thank you for always reading.

 

DISCLAIMER: These reviews are my opinion of my dining experiences at these restaurants. They are not sponsored by any establishment unless otherwise stated.

 

 

R.S.V.P – THE REVIEW

Sunday,  7.35 p.m

Happy New year!!!

How are you all doing? I have been very lazy to blog about food and other things i love doing. To those that have asked if I have lost the passion for food blogging , it’s an absolute No…I have just been caught up with all sorts. I will endeavour to do better this year… 1 post at a time, so help me Lord.  🙂

I am always skeptical about reviewing new restaurants but I didn’t have a choice in this case. My dear friend “uncle J”  goaded me into it.  We reviewed R.S.V.P restaurant . It has only been opened for about seven weeks or thereabouts.

R.S.V.P restaurant is a mid sized  fusion restaurant that sits about 40 people. The decor had this minimalist monochrome feel to it…you know that barely there , no fuss but elegant feel to a room? That is it! The dinning area had several long line tufted sofas with individual tables that were neatly laid out with personalised napkins and well polished cutlery . To a corner, sat a mini bar and a cashier’s desk.

A waiter introduced himself and handed us the menus. The dishes listed on the menu were a breathe of fresh air. It was somewhat tilted  towards the middle eastern cuisine. It didn’t have the fancy exaggeration of a typical restaurant menu in Lagos. Straight to the point , no fuss descriptions. I do not remember what the drinks menu listed but we sha ordered something.

For our drinks, we ordered the Pina colada and the Naija spritz. For food, we asked the waiter for recommendations and he told us everything was delicious. To me , he sounded like he was not conversant with the dishes on the menu. Uncle J took laws into his hands  and almost shut down the kitchen with all the food he ordered. Our starters were the Salt & pepper cauliflower, the Quinoa crunch salad and the fish machos. For mains, we ordered the fish fillet & chicken tajeen. For dessert, we had the chocolate almond tart a la mode. Hmnnn, all these for 2 people?

I don’t know why I bother ordering mocktails in restaurants. They always fail to impress me. My Pina colada (N1,900-$10) was too watered down to make sense to me, it had more ice than the drink mix itself. I was told the Naija spritz (N2,200) was watered down too. So there’s nothing to review here. Why do these guys charge premium for drinks and still can’t get it right?

When the starters came, I was confused for a second. The three came together. The question was which to start with. We went with the fish machos. The fish machos (1900-$10) was flaked sauteed fish mixed with cream or mayo, spring onions and thinly sliced red peppers . It was served on crisp plantain tacos. It was finished off with delicious sun dried tomatoes. The combination worked so well. I found the plantain crisp a tad oily.

The second starter was the Quinoa crunch salad (N3,400- $17). Before this review, I had been anti – quinoa… just because it’s usurping my beloved rice’ s place, all in the name of fit fam and this healthy eating fad. I am not anti healthy eating but biko leave my rice. Anyway before I digressed, this quinoa crunch salad is the best thing I have eaten in a while. It seemed rather simply done but it had the right balance of everything. The cooked quinoa was tossed with juicy tomatoes, apples, olive oil, watercress and spring onions. Sesame seeds were supposed to make an appearance somewhere in the mix but I didn’t see it. This dish is not something I would have ordered on a regular day but I am glad I did. We both decided it deserved an ace!

The third starter was the Salt and pepper cauliflower(N2200-$11.5). If you have read enough of my post, you would know I don’t fancy breaded foods. I didn’t have a problem with this because the menu said the batter was light. If you are doing fit fam ,“don’t tink it oh”..Yes it’s vegetables,  but fried vegetables with batter on it equals a milli calories. Or you can be like me, you eat it and pay the penance later. This was cauliflower seasoned with salt and black Pepper, lightly battered and fried. It was crunchy and fresh. I found this a little oily as well. It was served with chili tahini dip. I had not heard of this dip before but I didn’t like it because it had a somewhat bitter after taste. It looked and tasted kinda like hummus but it didn’t work for either of us so we left it.It was nice even without the tahini dip.

The mains were brought and we started with the fish fillet (N6200-$33) served with steamed rice. The plating was a problem here, see picture below. The rice was in a small cast iron skillet, the sauce in a bowl and the fish fillet on the plate. The plate looked stark. I don’t know what they could have done better but this plating didn’t werk for me. The concept behind the dish was nice but it was bland. This dish was two breaded fish fillets, sandwiched with a spicy filling in the middle and then baked. It didn’t have salt and it was overcooked . The sauce that accompanied this was not properly seasoned and it was not reduced enough so it was too light for the fish. This did not work for me. I also felt this was overpriced.

The menu described the chicken tajeen (N4500-$24)  as pomegranate chicken served with couscous and Moroccan spices.This was  iffy for me. The sugar/sweetener in the sauce used to marinate this chicken was over the top. I didn’t fancy this at all. The chicken was tender but the sauce  was poured over it so we didn’t eat it. We could have sent it back but we decided to let it slide.

 

The dessert menu was not particularly interesting so we settled for chocolate tart a la mode (N3000-$15). When you order dessert a la mode it means that it is served with an accompaniment i.e ice cream or sorbet. The waiter brought our tart and it was not a la mode, I asked him why, he said that was the way their a la mode was served. I asked him to go back to the chef to ask . He came back to retrieve the plate. He came back with the tart served with vanilla ice cream. This is one of the best desserts I have had in a restaurant in Lagos!!! The chocolate filling was rich, smooth and not too sweet. If you have trained palette for chocolate, you will know premium chocolate was used. The tart shell was crisp and nice. The ice cream was smooth and creamy. We thought it was a known store bought brand but the waiter said it was made on site. Who were we to argue? Errr, I had a problem with the pricing. I wasn’t expecting a whole tart or anything of that sort but this dessert for N3,000 was pricey!

I took a trip to the restroom and it was spotless..

Would I go back there? For that quinoa crunch salad and chocolate tart? Oh yes!!

We paid N24,650-$130 for 3 starters, 2 mains , 1 dessert and 2 mocktails

 

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 9

Quality of food- 7

Value for money- 6

Customer Service- 8

 

R.S.V.P RESTAURANT

9, Eletu Ogabi  street,

Victoria Island

Lagos

Thank you for always reading.

 

DISCLAIMER: These reviews are my opinion of my dining experiences at these restaurants. They are not sponsored by any establishment unless otherwise stated.

LA TAVERNA – THE REVIEW

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,

It’s been a longggg time.  I have missed you guys oh. I don’t have many excuses for not blogging in almost two months. It’s just been one thing or the other! To the dear faithfuls that checked up on me one way or the other. Thank you!!! And even those of you who didn’t. ..I nor fexx.

I recently watched the movie The Chef and it opened my eyes to how I might be perceived by some establishments/chefs. If you have watched the movie, you would understand.  I would like to reiterate that I am not out to witch hunt or malign any food catering establishment. My posts are about my dining experiences. I once described it to someone as giving people informed choices about where to eat in Nigeria and I am sticking to that. I have never been paid a dime to review these places. I do it on my  free volition so why should I be biased? The movie has further hardened my resolve to believe that my wishes and aspirations will come to fruition  if I work hard towards them . Hard work & persistence does pay. Phew!! rant over (I need the sweaty emoticon here ).

I was out on a dinner date with Mr U to La Taverna– a Chilean/Spanish/Italian fusion restaurant.  It’s deeply tucked into one end of Balarabe Musa Crescent in Victoria Island. As always, we didn’t have a reservation but it didn’t seem to be a problem. The decor was basic. A bit rustic like a typical spanish trattoria. Nothing fancy with traditional chairs and tables with a wine “cellar” to one end . The other end had  arranged wine barrel tags from different wine manufacturers around the world. There is an area for alfresco dinning but it had some sort of private party going on there on the night we visited.

The menu was quite extensive with fusion Chilean/Spanish/ Italian staples. This was my first experience with Chilean menu. I wasn’t sure what to order, so we agreed on ordering from the 3 countries.

Whilst we waited for the food, I ordered a glass of moscato which was delicious. I don’t remember the name though.The appetiser was Camarones a la parmesana. The mains were Prawns ravioli and Grilled salmon with mashed potatoes. And dessert was Tiramisu. (They had  desserts du jour written out on a board in the corner).

Next came a basket of bread with some tomato dip. I am not sure I can describe this properly but I was dazed by how lovely the combination was. I had to ask the chef what he put in. The bread was soooo darn good. It was a Chilean staple called Marquetta. It’s dense and sweet kinda like agege bread but far better- perhaps it’s agege bread’s posh cousin. They bake it fresh every morning. With the tomato dip? Heavenly. No it didn’t taste like bread and stew 🙂 . I did oliver twist , I asked for seconds and I still got take away. This appetizer  deserves an ace!!!

Then came the starter- Camarones a la parmesana. This was prawns baked in cream and cheese. It was baked with a slight crust so it was slightly crispy on the outside and stringy like hot cheese on Pizza. It was served in a seashell. I thought that was quite original. In the looks department, it wasn’t grand but it tasted amazing.

The mains came and they did not look too happy either…hahaha. To me, it seemed like they made them and just slapped them on the plate. Starting with the prawns ravioli, looking at it did not impress me one bit. It was basically ravioli pasta ,stuffed with prawns and cooked in tomato sauce. Here plating was non existent. It was just poured in  bowl, no garnish whatsoever.When I tasted it, I was quite surprised because the tomato sauce was good . The pasta on the other hand, had a bite to it, somewhat chewy.Like it had been frozen and not properly thawed. I am trying to convince myself that a restaurant that sells seafood pasta would make their own ravioli fresh. My conclusion was that it had been previously made and had just been hurriedly thawed before it was tossed in the tomato sauce…I could be wrong.

The salmon.. Hmnn, I need to remember when next I go out to review that it don’t have to have  seafood.  The Salmon did not look interesting either. As always, I added black pepper to the mashed potatoes. The never judge “a book by its cover” rule applied here. The mashed potatoes was creamy, fluffy and no lumps! Yes, no lumps, that’s a breathe of fresh air in Lagos.   The menu stated that the salmon would be served with lemon sauce but when it came, there was no lemon sauce.. It came with some sort of creamy sauce but definitely not lemon sauce. I think it was a little overcooked but it still tasted alright. Yet again, it was slapped on the plate. So if per chance they happen to see this review, PLEASE your meals are too nicely made to be slapped on the plate! You can do better with your food presentation.

For dessert, I had requested for Tiramisu, unfortunately, it had finished before we placed our order. I didn’t feel like I wanted anything else so we skipped it altogether. Sob….

I got a chance to speak with the chef- Cristian who was  friendly. I discovered that they offered cooking classes. That’s a date idea for those that send mails asking what they can do for date night, you can both learn to cook and then eat your creations afterwards. Win-win situation if you ask me.

We paid about N14,000 for 1 appetizer, 2 main entrees , a glass of wine and a bottle of water

P.S : I apologise about the quality of these pictures. I could not adjust my camera settings with the lighting.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 7

Quality of food- 8

Value for money- 8

Customer Service- 9

 

LA TAVERNA

48, Balarabe Musa Crescent

Victoria Island.

08051788782

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BASILICO ITALIAN RESTAURANT- THE REVIEW

Tuesday, 5.15P.M

Hello Gorgeous,

How are you all?  The Nigerian circle on social media was agog this past week because Miss Kemi Adetiba, a renowned video producer was refused entry into Spice Route restaurant on Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island.  She was refused entry because she was not accompanied by a male . Yes! You read right. I know they have a right to who they admit and all..  but  biko , since when did we need to have male escorts to eat out  or even get soial? Only in Lagos. Absolute balderdash! What’s your take on this? Kemi, (if you happen to see this), even though you are always taunting me with food pictures and harassing my eyes, me thinks you should sue the pants off them for gender discrimination.   * straight faced*

I went out on a dinner date with my dear friend Fola  of the stylefash25 blog. We went to the newly opened Basilico Italian Restaurant on Musa  Yaradua street,Victoria Island.  There was just something warm about the restaurant that drew me in. I tried to figure it out before we  left the place, but I couldn’t . Probably  because I was too carried away with chatting with my dear friend.  I felt the room was a tad sterile with white walls and an odd painting here and there. They had traditional seats with  nicely laid out tables. The best word to describe this would be Warm and Comfortable. OK, I know that’s two words. : ).   There was also an outdoor eating area, this area would be my choice any day of the week if it the weather was fine. I have not uploaded any pictures of the interior of the restaurant  because, the manger came to us and requested that we didn’t take pictures  because management didn’t allow it.

For once in Lagos, an Italian restaurant is sticking to Italian foods only! No continental meals or a few Nigerian dishes to make the menu look “full”. They had straight up Italian foods. Even the wines and digestivos were Italian . The menu was loaded with Italian yumminess, from salads to soups, bruschetta,  cheeses, spaghetti,  risotto,  ravioli, lasagna  etc.

We ordered the Assorted starter – Basilico style, the artichoke  ravioli with shrimps and basil sauce, Ossobuco creole sauce and saffron rice and mousse al cafe as our dessert. We also ordered  2 glasses of red wine~( I dont remeber the names ) whilst we waited for our food to come.

The waiter came with the bottle of wine, and asked if we wanted to taste it first.  Hmmnn in Lagos?  She gave us tasters and we said we liked it, she filled our glasses. The wine  was served with complementary  fish balls and cherry tomatoes. Oh Lawd, please don’t let this free fish balls be IGG,- if you don’t know what IGG is, I cant help ya … The fish ball was OFF THE HOOK! I  don’t know what kind of fish  was used but it was very well seasoned and it was piping hot! I kinda thought it would have been nicer with some sort of sauce with it, maybe a sweet chilli sauce , but then that’s hardly Italian right? With or without the sauce , it was all forms of amazing.

The Assorted Starter-Basilico way (N1500-$9) was a combination of Grana cheese cuts, Smoked ham, seasoned yellow bell peppers with cheese and a mini serving of  chicken salad. Move over Dr Dolls, this chef is my new besto….yes I agree that i am a friend for food.  This chef sure knew a way to my belly. I wish  there was a picture of me savouring this starter, that would be some picture though.  The yellow bell peppers was tossed in olive oil,  shaved cheese and some black pepper and  probably some secret seasoning, . the chicken salad was not a salad per se , it was well marinated chicken tossed with carrots. it was my first time having Grana cheese , i liked it . All these “elements” put together was one fantastic combination.

When we were placing our order for our entree , we requested that the entrees were to be brought together , uncle waiter brought the Artichoke Ravioli with the starter so we sent it back.  On hindsight, we shouldn’t have, we should  just  have enjoyed it whilst it was still hot because by the time he brought it back, it was warm. The Artichoke Ravioli( N3,500-$20) was freshly made ravioli pasta that was stuffed with artichoke and shrimps, . it was served with  basil sauce and some grilled tomatoes. I liked the plating of this dish. The chef added colour to it with the sauce stained plate, the tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. For me, this meal was an ACE! I  had no complaints .

The Ossobuco creole sauce with Saffron rice (N3,500-$20) – this was browned and braised veal that was  cooked sooo tender that it came off the fork without any hassles. The creole sauce was a first for me so I didn’t know what to expect. Alas! It was  brown spiced  gravy. I liked it. It worked well with the veal. I however did not like the Saffron rice. First it was cold and secondly, it was bland. Even salt and black pepper didn’t make it better. It was risotto-ish. I am not a fan of risotto so maybe that is why I didn’t fancy it. To me, risotto is soggy rice, unless I have never had it good. If i am wrong, can someone recommend  a good place to get fab risotto in Lagos?

We called for the desserts menu and I was disappointed. There was no Tiramisu on the list. An Italian restaurant without Tiramisu? What a shame. They had about 3 or 4 items on the desserts menu, ice cream, creme brulee and Mousse al cafe. We opted for Mousse al cafe (N900-$5). I didn’t like the way it was presented but it was delicious. it was a chocolate mousse  with a layer of what I suspected to be condensed milk , it was finished off with a dusting of cocoa powder. The contrast of the unsweetened cocoa powder to the sweetness of the mousse created a perfect balance to this dish. I would still have wanted my Tiramisu but this sufficed in this instance.

After all the food indulgence , I decided to visit the restroom. Hmnnnnn. I wasn’t impressed one bit. The restroom smelled musky, it was a full sized bathroom with a standard sized bath tub in it. Chai chai.…, this people fall my hand no be small! To make matters worse, when you finish doing your business in there, you would have to use the same towel that probably 10 others before you have used .Not a good way to end such foodie goodness. I hope their management will come across this post and do something pronto.

At a little corner in the restaurant, sat a delicatessen, where they had Italian goodies from savoiardi biscuits, virgin olive oil, espresso , all sorts of pastas. Well, since Tiramisu wasn’t available in the restaurant, I bought espresso and Savioradi to make my own Tiramisu at home.

We paid N 11,650-$67  for 1 starter, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 2 glasses of wine,and a bottle of water. All taxes were inclusive. Be sure to have cash , as their POS machine wasn’t working on the day we visited.

Would i go back? ASSOLUTAMENTE!!! ( Thank God for google translation)

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 7

Quality of food-  9

Value for money- 9

Customer Service- 8.

 

BASILICO ITALIAN RESTAURANT

15, Musa  Yaradua street,

Victoria Island

08068447246

Thank you for always reading.

DISCLAIMER: These reviews are my opinion of my dining experiences at these places. They are not sponsored  by any establishment unless otherwise stated.

 

 

 

CAFE JADE- THE REVIEW

Sunday , 12.05 P.M

Hello to the good people of Foodieland,

I have been quiet right? I know and  I am almost certain you are tired of my apologies.  Work has been very hectic. You know I have to work hard and extra hours too to be able to afford this my eating out habit (hahaha)... I have not gone out to eat in five whole weeks!!! I actually went to check my calender to be sure. I need to do better, please bear with me.

.Recently, I met up with my friend  Funmi for Lunch at Cafe Jade. I was a little confused with the name because i kept thinking it was Jade Garden (The Oriental Restaurant). They are different…very different.  Cafe Jade is a small restaurant that will probably sit about thirty people. The sitting area is rather small but the space was well managed with lounge sofas to one side and formal dining chairs to the other side.  A television at one end and the other end by the entrance had the mini bar. It didn’t have a particular theme, but it was clean and tidy. It was somewhat too compact for my liking.Good things come in small packages abi? Lets see….

dinning room

The menu was not elaborate. It was simple easy meals, It ranged from breakfast to sandwiches, pasta and finger foods. Even the beverage list was simple! They did not have alcoholic beverages on the menu , even though I saw some bottles up on their bar shelves. For cocktail perhaps?  Have you been to any restaurant or cafe in Lagos that didn’t sell alcohol?

For our starter, we ordered the spicy chicken wings. For mains, we got the chicken curry with rice  and  Spicy Prawns with boiled sweet potatoes. I ordered sweet potatoes because I am /was tired of  eating rice. I am not sure a day passes without eating rice. Hiannn. We also ordered the virgin Pina colada (N1,000-) and good old Chapman( N1000-). I learnt a trick a while ago from an older friend. When ordering chapman or any drink with ice, you get more value for your money when you order with ice in a different glass, that way you get more of the drink and you can add ice at your pace so it doesn’t get too watered down. We did that with Funmi’s chapman and it worked!

The drinks came with the chicken wings ( N1700- $9), When it came, I realised the waiter didn’t ask how spicy we wanted it to be. Well, it was nice and juicy and it wasn’t too spicy, you know the type that you would like to chew to the bone but your are busy forming? yeah..that type. One question please, Do you enjoy chicken wings or pizza when you eat with fork and knife? If you answered yes, na OYO you dey. 

The Pina Colada was a bit watered down. I complained about it and the waiter apologized and promptly brought back a glass of thicker Pina Colada. It was alright…just alright. Funmi’s Chapman was a bit too concentrated but remember we asked for it without the ice which was supposed to water it down? so be mindful of that when doing the trick.

The food came promptly. First up, was the Chicken Curry – (N3,700-$21). It looked nice and it was not just slapped on the plate. I had food envy instantly because mine didn’t look as good. I took some from it and i really liked it, The curry sauce was thick and it had just the right amount of seasoning. The vegetables was crunchy and chicken was moist and well seasoned. Commendable also, was the portion of this meal .The chef was not miserly with the accompaniment. I  didn’t try the rice but Funmi said it was nice.

The menu stated that the Spicy Prawns – (N4,000- $22) as grilled prawns served with green pepper.  When my meal came, it was peppered prawns, like pan fried prawns in tomato sauce, in my chef fregz voice- ata dindin. Infact, i’m almost sure he used the same sauce that he used for the spicy chicken wings for the prawns as well.You dont believe me?  See the pictures and tell me what you think. Why do restaurants in Naija do that? You describe the meal as one thing on the menu, when it is served, it is served as something else, yet you charge the same! I didn’t complain about it which is very unlike me , I was too hungry to. Yes the sauce was nice but that was not what I paid for . The sweet potatoes was cold and just slapped on the plate. I  didn’t like the way this was served too, He could have garnished the potatoes with some herbs and butter. This was just slapped on the plate with oil seeping onto the potatoes. There is no point writing about it again as I have already described it . it was just the same sauce as the chicken wings

They didn’t have any desserts that day so we decided to go to Sweet Kiwi In Lekki Phase 1 for Fro-yo. Hmnn, it was sooo good. I have realized the need to do a series of non- restaurant posts soon.i.e .Best place for  burgers, pizza etc so watch this place for what’s coming.

For two entrees, one starter, two mocktails, one bottle of water ,we paid about  (N11,600 -$67).The waiter brought back the change after he signed off on the bill. All taxes were included.

Would i go back? Probably.

 

SIDE NOTE

Remember  the Lost in Lagos restaurant  week sweeptakes I posted sometime ago? Well, I bought some of the lunch voucher for my self and my hub . I also entered for the food photo contest. All I had to do was send pictures of my meals at the restaurants and tag @city chops and @lostinlagos12 on social media . I was super chuffed when i got a tweet and mail from them saying I had won a hamper from @angelikasthehomestore. I won?  How?  I have crap luck when it comes to winning stuff so this got me on a good day. I hope someday SOON, I will announce that I  have won biggggg money or something like that.* winks*.  When I went to pick the hamper from Angelikas on Akin Adesola in Victoria Island, I almost exchanged Mr U for all the fabulous crockery and displays items  they had there. LOL. I need to go back there. Y’all should check them out  too.

 

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 5

Quality of food-  6

Value for money- 7

Customer Service- 8.5

CAFE JADE

Plot 1139, Bishop Oluwole street

Victoria Island

Lagos

 

Thank you for always reading.

DISCLAIMER: These reviews are my opinion of my dining experiences at these places. They are not sponsored  by any establishment unless otherwise stated.

 

 

355 RESTAURANT & LOUNGE – THE REVIEW

Thursday, 10. 06P.M,

Hey People,

How have you been? I know I went AWOL yet again. I apologize, its been rather hectic at work . The life of an entrepreneur in this town is not for the lily- livered . May God bless the hustle.

I don’t particularly fancy reviewing  new restaurants but quite a number of people have spoken to me about this restaurant so I finally caved in. I chose to go during the week because restaurants are generally calmer then, unlike weekends when the chefs have to work under so much pressure.

I asked my friends who recommended 355 Restaurant what they liked most about it  and they unanimously said it was the theme.  The decor is New- York themed- places, landmarks etc . The furniture and lighting were contemporary, with a slight twist with stone wall tiles. They had street name tags adorning the walls. At the reception, there was a large framed picture of the Brooklyn bridge with a backdrop of the New York skyline. The menu cards were done like New York subway map. This was quite ingenious in my opinion. I really fancied the fact that it was a No Smoking restaurant. Phewww! Good bye to the smell of stale dinning rooms. This is quite a small restaurant, but the space was well utilized.  I felt it was kinda tight …. a little bit

We were met by a smiling waiter who introduced herself and showed us to a table, we sat for a couple of minutes and decided to change tables. We realized we were sat near the rest rooms. while it didn’t smell foul, it was quite odorous with a strong disinfectant smell emanating from there .

We were handed the drinks  and  food menu. The menu was quite extensive… hopefully they had everything they advertised. They  had some Mexican , Italian and American staples. Breakfast was available all day too! Will it still be called breakfast though? hahaha. Anyway, I ordered a bottle of coke ( I had been craving this BADLY) with some corn chips and salsa. My date wanted nuts but they didn’t have any, so he opted to share  the corn chips. For the meals, we ordered the Chicken salad, Prawns Aoili, smoked Salmon with mashed potatoes.

Our drinks , Corn chips and Salsa ( N700- $4) came together. I loved the corn chips, the salsa was a No-No, it was way too watery and it tasted off . I can’t explain it. I told the waitress who promptly took it away and replaced it with another bowl, this time less watery but just as off and bland. I had my corn chips plain.

The food took a bit to come. I was taken a little bit aback when the salad  I ordered as a starter came together with the main course. we had to keep the salad aside to go for the mains otherwise they would both cake up. We decided to share both meals so that we could have a fair assessment of the meals

We started with the Prawns Aoili  (N3000-$17), I didn’t particularly enjoy the pasta in this dish.  It was cooked right but it wasn’t memorable . For starters, it was almost cold. I  had to ask for salt and black pepper because it was bland. Could the chef have forgotten to add seasoning? The pasta was served with chili sauce. I don’t fancy spicy food per se but I decided to try some of this. It then dawned on me that maybe the  chili sauce was meant to be mixed in. I added some to the pasta and it tasted much better. So what happens to people that don’t eat spicy food? Will they be forced to eat this too? I felt like I was eating pasta and stew with Prawns. Talking about the Prawns, I don’t know what the chef did to it, but it was delicious!

We promptly moved to the baked Salmon and mashed potatoes (N5500-$31) . When I was ordering this,  I don’t remember the sauce she said it would come with it, but  I know she asked me to choose. When the meal was served, it was without any sauce or gravy (see picture below). Was I supposed to chow down the mash and salmon like that?  so I asked her. She came  with the same spicy chilli sauce. My date asked me  if the sauce was  generic to all their meals.  I didn’t have an answer oh. As always, I added black pepper to my mash. First bite- cold mashed potatoes with lumps in it! o ga oh, ( its possible that the mashed potatoes got cold because we did the pasta first) but then how long  did it take to eat the Pasta? The mash was cold and lumpy but it tasted alright. The Salmon was BEAUTIFULLY done, moist on the inside and the outside  was slightly crisp. I could live on this for days, I decided to try it with the spicy sauce. It was even better. I must have downed a  50 cl bottle of water just to water down the sting of the sauce. It was way too spicy for me but it tasted darned good.

After all that water and spice, my tummy could take no more , I didn’t touch the salad. I requested  for it to be packed as take away. I had over done it. I didn’t bother looking at the dessert menu.

All that food ,water and spice had driven me to lazy mode. ( covers face in shame). I did not check the restrooms out but if I could smell the disinfectant from outside, I wonder what it smelled like inside.

Are you wondering why I didn’t write about the salad?  Well, I was so high on water and spicy sauce that I forgot to take the packed salad. I remembered when I was miles away. I called the restaurant to ask why it wasn’t given to me. The gentleman I spoke to apologized and was nice enough to offer me another salad whenever I was in the neighborhood.

There is an outdoor lounge / smoking area. Right by the parking area. (I forgot to take a picture)

Would I go back there? For that Salmon, oh yes!

For 2 bottles of coke, 1 bottle of water, 1 starter, 2 mains and 1 appetizer, we paid N14,580. All taxes inclusive.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 7

Quality of food-  7

Value for money- 6

Customer Service- 8.5

355 RESTAURANT & LOUNGE 

9A,Oko- Awo close

Victoria Island

Lagos

08079213638

Thank you for always reading.

DISCLAIMER: These reviews are my opinion of my dining experiences  at these places. They are not sponsored  by any establishment unless otherwise stated.

GINGER TAPAS N GRILLS

Sunday, 11.45 P.M

Hello My Lovelies,

SWEEPSTAKES

I promised to do another sweepstake and here it is. Another opportunity to review  a restaurant with me.

In 50 words or less, tell me your best or worst  dinning  experience f0r 2013.

To Enter:

1.Please send me an email with the subject title   – MY BEST OR WORST  DINNING EXPERIENCE OF 2013  to thecriticng@gmail.com

2.You must be 18 0r older.

3. Since this is for theservicecriticng.com  faithfuls, you must follow @pejuu on twitter, subscribe for the newsletter on this site  OR  follow thepejuu on Instagram.

This sweepstake ends by midnight on the 26th January,2014. The winner will be announced shortly after .

You are probably tired of all the “Happy New Year song” so I wont add to the headache of the broadcast. I wish you an “awesometastic” year ahead. The word  “awesometatsic”  was borrowed  from Toke Makinwa by the way.

GINGER TAPAS N GRILLS

I recently discovered  a tapas restaurant in Lagos – Ginger Tapas N Grill. For those that don’t know what a tapas is, tapas are Spanish appetizers or mini Spanish cuisines. The idea is to order  different  tapas to make a full meal. The decor and layout were quite nicely done in bright colours and  contemporary furnishing.  To one side sits a semi open kitchen ( you can see the chefs making the meals but not the meal itself .  next to this, is a cozy lounge with soft lighting and comfy sofas adding  a homely touch to it. On the opposite side of the lounge  is the main dinning room. The main dinning room will sit about 40 people. I would like to describe this restaurant as a laid back place you can have a decent meal and a nice conversation.*I apologise for this grainy picture*

I don’t particularly remember what drinks menu had but it was not exactly extensive . I ordered the White sangria – N1800 ($10) and Miss diva ordered Chapman N1000-($6).Whilst we waited for the drinks, the food menu was handed to us. The food menu was more of  Spanish staples with a Nigerian twist to it.  They had cold and hot tapas ,desserts and some continental dishes.The drinks came promptly and we ordered our meals. My white sangria was nice, my only complain was that it was not chilled. We ordered Guacamole and Chips, Empanadas,  Cinnatains,  Smoked salmon salad, Molten brownie with ice cream.. yeah I know it seems like a lot for two chics to eat but remember they are tapas!

First up was the Guacamole and chips-N2200($13). Guacamole is basically an avocado dip/sauce usually served with chips or fries.  I didn’t read the smaller prints  properly to see that this  Guacamole was served with tortilla not like there was anything wrong with it. I was just more conversant with it being served with nachos. I didn’t knock it off though, when it came, It looked quite nice and it was not just slapped on the plate. We tried it and both loved it. We gobbled it all in no time and almost asked for seconds, but then I realized that there was no point . we had other dishes coming. We did order a second helping of the tortilla though because we had some Guacamole left. Well worth it.

Next up was the Empanadas-2300 ($13). You can liken Empanadas to samosas or meatpie. i.e stuffed dough, baked or fried. We had the option of minced meat or chicken. We opted for minced meat served with a salsa dip. There were 2 large pieces cut down into 4. It was quite nicely made.The salsa was amazing. I know they are tapas, hence the portion, but the money paid, was not commensurate to what was served. I have decided to overlook this because it was very well executed. Still…

The smoked salmon salad- N6000- ($35)  was served next and I was impressed with the presentation. At this point, I had to send my compliments to the chef. The ” smoking salmon salad” as the menu called it was  grilled chunky salmon  served on a bed of beets, greens, aubergine , carrots and tomatoes. It was garnished with breadsticks.  I am no lover of beets but this was different, I absolutely loved it in this salad. I found the grilled salmon a  little oily but it didn’t take anything away from the deliciousness of the salad. I could eat this all day, everyday- well if it was free of course. At 6K a pop?  all day , everyday will probably be twice a year. Maybe Ginger TapaS n Grill is for Lagos bigz boyz and gehlz. Dont judge this girl please.

The Cinnatains N600($3.5) as you may have guessed, is fried plantains dusted with cinnamon syrup or sauce. I wasn’t particularly keen on this . I guess its because I have gotten used to eating my plaintain seasoned with salt. It could also be because the plantain was not cooked through. It did not werk for me.

I almost always have room for desserts….dessert time is my happy time. For dessserts we ordered the molten brownie with ice cream. N1,800-($11) .Hmmnn, when this came, My dear restauranteur letter came to mind. I was pained, for me to have complimented the chef on his presentation  earlier and then he serves me dry cake (mini cupcake) as brownie and then serves it with runny grainy vanilla ice cream is a slap on my face, I almost sent it back but Miss Diva said we should leave it. Plus we paid premium for it! Who pays N1,800 for brownies and ice cream? well in Lagos we do! Common guys, you have good stuff going on here! why mess it up with the dessert?  … and the price too. Get a pastry chef or send them off to be trained properly. This put such a damper on everything for us. My diva of a friend  decided to eat the cinnatains with the ice cream, what normal person does that anyway? Hmmnn… silence is golden. She said she imagined it to be her favourite dessert, banana fosters. ishhh.

Whilst we were waiting for the bill, the owner came round to ask how our meals went ,  she introduced herself to us. I found her amiable and savvy about being a restauranteur. We shared our opinions with her and  she wrote them down. Hopefully they’ll look into some of our complaints we laid. We inspected the restrooms and it was sparkling clean.

When we were leaving, we discovered there was a gazebo outside for the grills and alfresco dining. I loved it. I know that’s where I would definitely stay the next time I visit.

For four tapas ,1 dessert, 2 drinks and a bottle of water, we paid N 16,650- ($98). What saith thou?  Pricey I would say.

Would I  go back there?  Most definitely.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience / Aesthetics- 8

Quality of food-  7

Value for money- 7

Customer Service- 8

GINGER TAPAS N GRILLS

The Cosmopolitan

6A, Ologun Agbaje  street

Victoria Island.

0706969097, 08187813511

THE CRITIC’S 2013 / SWEEPSTAKE

At the beginning of this year, I remember saying we would take one day /post at a time till I am able to post weekly. This year I did 25 posts of restaurants in Lagos, Who would have thought? Last year, I was barely doing a post a month. I ask myself sometimes if it’s actually worth it ,but you my dear faithfuls have helped me more than you will ever know. Can I say thank you enough? I don’t think so!

This post is about the best dinning moments of the year 2013. Shall we call it the service critic’s award? OK let me not get ahead of myself here, but you catch my drift abi?

Based on the restaurants I blogged about, my categories will be

1. Best Dinning experience

This was more difficult than I thought it would be. Finally, I shortlisted to two.They are

(1) Uptown Restaurant 

(@) Restaurant La Provence

WINNER- UPTOWN RESTAURANT

2. Best Value for Money

(1)Rhapsody

(2) Spice Route

WINNER-SPICE ROUTE

 

3. Best Ambiance

(1)Rhapsody

(2) Spice Route

(3) Uptown Restaurant

WINNER- SPICE ROUTE

4.Best Customer Service –

WINNER-  EKAABO RESTAURANT

5.Best Meal of the Year – This was a tie . I couldn’t wriggle my way out of this one.

WINNERS: (1)The  Grilled Salmon Fillet with mashed potatoes and vegetables from  Uptown Restaurant

(2) The New Zealand Lamb and sauteed potatoes from Restaurant la Provence.

For good measure, I decided to do the worst dinning experience of 2013( please  close your eyes if you don’t want to see this).

6.Worst Dinning Experience of 2013.

I had 2 contenders for this category.

(1) The Voyage Restaurant  – Radisson Blu hotel

(2)  Orela Grill House.

WINNER:  THE VOYAGE RESTAURANT.

 

SWEEPSTAKE.

Last week, I promised I would do sweepstake and here it is!. Another opportunity to critic a restaurant with me.

In 50 words or less, tell me your best or worst  dinning  experience f0r 2013.

To Enter:

1.Please send me an email with the subject title   – My best or worst dinning experience in 2013 to thecriticng@gmail.com

2.You must be 18 0r older.

3. Since this is for the service critic faithfuls, you must follow @pejuu on twitter and  thepejuu on instagram.

This sweepstake ends by midnight on the 11th January,2014. The winner will be announced shortly after.

Thank you for being a part of my 2013.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!

 

MILANO RESTAURANT- INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL-THE REVIEW

Tuesday, 8.30 p.m

Hello people,

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I hope my letter got to the Messrs Restauranteur, I patiently await their response(s). For those that missed my letter to Mr Restauranteur please  click on this link. I have got quite a number of mails asking why most of the restaurants I review are on the Island, I have done quite a few on the mainland. I am open to suggestions on places to review  on the mainland. Proper restaurants only please i.e no fast  food places.

I had heard a lot about the restaurants at Intercontinental Hotel in Victoria Island. This day  seemed like a good opportunity to explore so we ended up at Milano Restaurant. This is the Italian restaurant on the second floor of the hotel.  Milano Restaurant is a well laid out dining room that seats about 60 guests. The furnishing is quite contemporary and elegant with well laid out tables. Most outstanding piece here is the champagne wall or shall we call it a divider? It had almost unending rows of premium bottles of champagne. The view is quite lovely- overlooking the lobby area.

Once seated the waiter brought the menu. E be like say  I go need a language instructor to order food here. The food was written in Italiano so you would have to try to pronounce the names to order. I shan’t gree.  With the help of the waiter, I ordered the meals.  I asked the waiter if they had any house wines, he said yes , he offered to show me the bottle. Unfortunately they did not have rose I wanted. I opted for white wine. He brought the bottle to show me before pouring but he did not pour it in my presence. There was no price for the house wine , I begin wonder oh. Should i be worried?

After about twenty minutes,  the waiter came with the appetizer- an assortment of Italian breads and dips. The breads were a breathe of fresh air. They were  fresh!  We had bread sticks ,sourdough bread and a “baguetty” like one I dIdn’t know. The breads were served  with the “traditional ” olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip, the crushed olives dip and a salsa dip. I have been told several times by an Italian chef and a few culinary school classmates that  dipping bread in Olive oil with balsamic vinegar is not a traditional Italian practice , they also said that serving bread before pasta is not typical of Italians .The reason they gave was that  balsamic vinegar ruins the rich taste of  their highly priced olive oil and also that eating bread before a meal ruins the appetite. The Italians said so , no be me oh! And errmm, some of you might be wondering why they didn’t just give us butter, The Italians don’t do bread and butter…they say.  let’s just leave that story for another day, I learnt that in quite an embarrassing way…..

The entrees came after about forty – five minutes, in my books that is forever. First up was the Petto Di Pollo Ripieni (N 7,900-$48 ), this was described as  chicken stuffed with liver pate served with truffle whipped potatoes. I subbed the truffle whipped potatoes with baked potatoes. …..as my Ghanian friends say. bluffo(sp)…. big grammar. In my opinion this was a basic meal with a fancy name. When it came I was not wowed. Yet again, the term -value for money comes into play . I have had better Italian food. The chicken came with some sort of gravy I could not place. It was basically stuffed grilled chicken with baked potatoes served with vegetables. It was quite nice but was it commensurate to the price paid for it? No.

The second entree was the Carre’d agnello con crosta d’erbe (N8900- $55) . Hmmmn, I will buy you one plate of  Ofe nsala and pounded yam if you can pronounce this right…. that’s if you had no prior knowledge of Italiano. The menu described this as baked rack of lamb with whole grain mustard and herb crust and truffle whipped potatoes. This entree had three chunks of  lamb chops with mashed potatoes , vegetables and the same sauce that came with the first entree. I was not impressed  that it was the same sauce that was served with the chicken and the lamb….. the sauce seemed a bit watered down too. If you read my post regularly, you would have noticed that I don’t quite fancy breaded foods, this was no different. I painstakingly  scraped off the breaded crust before eating the lamb. It was very nicely done, well seasoned and tender. The truffle whipped potato was mashed potatoes with a smoother and creamier texture. very nice, it tasted too smooth and rich to have been from freshly mashed  potatoes, I suspected that it was boxed mashed potatoes. It was very nicely done so it didn’t really matter.

The dessert menu had three desserts on offer. One of which is my favorite  dessert ever- Tiramisu. I absolutely love this dessert. but I had to borrow myself a brain when I saw the price. It was a whopping N 3,800 ($23), Make una no worry, the juju no catch me. It had better be a whole tray of Tiramisu for that price. I  jejely nursed my glass of wine after my meal.

I observed that the menu was not that extensive. I was hoping to see a variety of pasta  meals especially  ravioli, seafood and cured meats but the menu was in trickles of these , In my opinion, it  lacked the originality and staples of a typical  Italian restaurant.

P.S :  The glass of house wine caused N 2,300… The wine was called San Valentin…. Lagos na wa. Way overpriced if I may say so.

For a glass of “house white wine” and 2 entrees , we paid (N19,850- $121). did anyone just scream blue murder. Well I did.  It brings me to one  conclusion. Would I be right to say that in Lagos, we actually pay for ambience and not the meal per se? Help a sister out here please.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout/ Ambience  / aesthetics -9

Quality of food-7

Value for money  6

Customer Service – 7

MILANO RESTAURANT

Intercontinental Hotel

52, Kofo Abayomi street,

Victoria Island ,

Lagos

01-2366666

PARIS DELI – THE REVIEW

Monday, 1.09 A.M

Holllaaaaa!

Recently,  I read a column where the writer complained that all there was to do  for fun in Lagos were,  going out to eat ridiculously expensive food,  going to the movies and a third thing which I don’t readily remember but I know I agreed a 100%  with the article especially with the going out to eat  ridiculously expensive food bit.  Some of these restaurants just amaze me with their outrageous charges and we Lagosians in the name of bigz boys and girls  suck it up and continue to enrich restauraneurs who regularly  serve us substandard meals at outrageous prices.

I had reason to fly solo this week ( for those that don’t know what flying solo is..I dined out alone) and I realized how much I had missed  my own company, I find it quite therapeutic actually.  As always, I wanted  somewhere new.  I decided on Paris Deli on Akin Adesola  street, Victoria Island. I would describe  Paris Deli as a casual/bistro cafe . They deviate slightly from the cafe norm in that they serve not only the “brunchy” meals but they have the ” full works”  and lots of desserts as well. One thing the cafe is known for is the free wifi…in Lagos , that is a big plus if you ask me.

Miss P sat down to  late lunch; she waited, waited and waited for a waiter to make himself  available but no one showed up until I almost had  to go and get someone  to attend to me.  Ok oh…this is not very good for a first impression….I was particularly surprised because there were just a handful of people being served. Finally, someone noticed  and brought the menu. The menu was quite extensive  ,they had from Mexican  fajitas to chicken escalope to sandwiches to some Lebanese shish Tawouk and quite a number of seafood  meals too. I was quite impressed . I decided to go for a sandwich.

I requested the Philly steak cheese sandwich, this came with 2 sides- french fries and coleslaw.  I ordered a bottle of water with it.  I didn’t order any cocktails today oh! I am taking a break from that for a bit….8 out of ten times, I have been left wishing I never ordered them. If I want it bad enough, I will order from my good old reliable Saffron & Cinnamon…..simples!  My sandwich came after about 20 minutes, I guess it took that long because they had to sautee the steak or something…. well little did I know. Anyhoo!  My Philly steak cheese sandwich  came and  I was  very far from thrilled. Anyone that fancies  Philly steak cheese sandwich will know it to have LOTS of thinly sliced  juicy steak and cheese stuffing. Oh well, Paris Deli’s Philly steak cheese apparently isn’t that. The chef must have counted  the strips of “steak” in question here, there were about 10 thin strips in the sandwich, even the cheese portion was quite miserly as well.  This was by no mean a Philly steak cheese. It was more like ” risque burger” – bread and suya  combo which I would pay just about 10%  of what I paid here and it would be better value for money . I cant believe I paid N3,300 ( $22) for this.  The baguette for the sandwich was fresh but the fillings in it was too small to make any tangible impact.  The sides were nothing to write about , the coleslaw was rubbery and it was not fresh. I didn’t fancy the fries either because it tasted like it was previously fried and heated up in the microwave. Hmnnn. So what was the hype all about?

They had a lot of nice looking  desserts on display so I decided to try one,  i went to the display and looked, i wanted to test the waiter’s knowledge on what he was serving but he apparently had no clue. I asked about several desserts but  he could not tell me anything…isorrai. The Baba -au-rhum and Cappuccino layer cake got me drooling. I was tempted to buy both but greed never helped anyone. I settled for the Cappuccino layer cake N900 ($6).  I absolutely loved it , it was all the fabulous  shades of awesome  genoise cake moistened with cappuccino , sandwiched with chocolate and  topped with a delicious frosting. The different textures of the layers made it even nicer.  It reminded me somewhat of Tiramisu

I called for my bill and it was promptly brought. I brought out my card to pay and the waiter announced that they did not accept cards.” Why in the world not”?  I asked. This cashless Lagos biz is not werking…please scrap it already. Ngwanu, I started rolling my sleeves oh.It is time to start washing plates abi?  He then informed me that there was was a bank close by that he could follow me to get cash . In 2013?

Uhmmn, I hate to ruin all the good feelings that has come from reading  about the food  but I just have to mention this.  I had reason to go into the restroom and I was shocked. The bathroom was nasty , it looked like it had not been cleaned for a bit.  The floors were dirty, bins were overflowing with used tissues, floors were wet. I looked up  and there were cobwebs everywhere.  The worst part of all this for me was the musky smell. It seemed like the small window there was never used. I could not get over it….. I reached swiftly into my bag for my  sanitizer before i go go house with wetin no consign me. To restaurateurs  out there, the restrooms are a part of  your establishment, pay as much attention to it , as you would your dinning rooms.To this end. I have decided to include  restroom inspection in my weekly  reviews.

I paid about N4,600  for my meal….this brings me to a question. I would LOVE  answers please…. a.When is it OK  not to tip?  b.Why do you tip?

Would I go back there? Yes..especially for the desserts.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience/ Aesthetics – 6

Quality of food-6

Customer Service-5

Value for money-5

Thank you for reading.

PARIS DELI

11B, Akin Adesola street,

Victoria Island

Lagos.

+234 803 855 5557.