SKY RESTAURANT

Hello good people,

I can’t believe it’s August  already. We were screaming happy new year like 2 minutes ago. I hope you are doing well. An article I recently read got me thinking –  Is it right for premium restaurant or restaurants generally  to run a No-Kids policy? This particular restaurant’s reason was that some customers complained that noisy kids distracted them from enjoying their meals and/or just generally ruined the ambience of their outing. What saith thou? Kids or No Kids?

It was our wedding anniversary last week, so Mr U and I went to Sky Restaurant for dinner. Sky Restaurant is probably the highest restaurant in Lagos. It is housed at  the penthouse of Eko Hotel and Suites with views to die for. Depending on where you are seated, your view could either be the Atlantic Ocean or the city view. On entry, to the right is the lounge whilst to the left is the  formal dinning room.

I can’t particularly put a theme to the decor but it seemed kinda dated for what the restaurant was touted to be.There were the sequined see – through curtains acting as wall divider. The dining room had traditional dinning chairs and tables which were nicely laid. It was not out of sync but it was not particularly grand. I am of firm opinion that decor in Lagos restaurants has evolved beyond this.  I later found out from the waiter that the restaurant  would be closed for about a month for renovations and redecoration so  I am guessing that they know too.

We arrived at about 5.30P.M, to be told that dinner service was not until 6P.M. We decided to have aperitifs , errr not exactly aperitifs  because we ended up with a mocktail. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t pay attention to the name so I can’t tell you what I ordered. I didn’t like the way it looked and even the presentation was not  great ( mismatched straws and boring old glass) but it tasted really nice…. I left it for a bit  because I got carried away with loloxing  and  the drink became layered. You could see the cream layer and whatever else was added to it had its own separate layer as well, not a pleasant sight.  I asked for nuts to “hold belle” and the “oncle” brought me some dodgy looking peanuts with the skin on. Issshh, I cant shout abeg. The next thing will be garri, ice cubes and bowl. This is a premium restaurant for pete’s sake!

At 6P.M prompt, a smartly dressed waitress introduced herself and showed us to our table. We opted for city view. Did I mention how gorgeous it was? Pardon me for repeating it but I felt like I was floating in the sky (exaggeration). The menu was a fusion menu. It had Italian, Asian, French and American dishes. Well, having a wide variety on your menu is one thing, availability is another.

We ordered the assorted seafood tempura as a starter, Grilled Salmon with stuffed vegetables with dill beure blanc ( ina su oyinbo), Roasted lamb rack, oven grilled eggplant  with mozzarella and  rosemary juice.  We added a side order of Hong Kong rice. For dessert, we ordered the Brooklyn choco mousse cake with pistachio  ice cream and chocolate sauce. Those are really long names I know but no be my fault oh, na so dem write am.

After about 10 minutes, sisi waitress said there was no seafood tempura so we ordered  sushi instead. We ordered the sweet sixteen roll sushi and whilst we waited, she brought a basket of assorted dinner rolls with butter. How predictable! Why does it always have to be dinner rolls?

Eventually, the sushi came and it was nicely plated. Sweet sixteen roll sushi ( N3700-$22) had  smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese, shredded cucumber and shrimps rolled into the rice. It was served with wasabi, pickled ginger and soy sauce. The rice had the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness and it didn’t smell fishy at all. (If you order sushi and it smells fishy, it means it’s not top grade sushi even if it has fish – no be me talk am oh, na my Japanese chef friend talk am). If you can not tolerate pepper (spicy food) please steer clear of wasabi.I learnt the hard way years ago.

Our main courses with the Hong Kong rice came at the same time. We decided to start with the Grilled Salmon  with dill beure blanc and stuffed vegetables (N7200-$44). I don’t know if I can  say it was well plated or it was neatly arranged. I will leave you to be the judge (see picture attached).  Whilst I can’t make up on my mind on the plating, there were no doubts about how beautifully done this entree was.The outside of the Salmon was crisp and the pink insides was moist and nicely seasoned. The addition of the creamy dill beurre blanc (butter reduction sauce) was a perfect accompaniment to the fish. Even the vegetables was nicely seasoned and steamed but it was not stuffed like the menu described it to be. We cleaned out the plate in minutes! This dish deserved an ace but I am being stingy because I had to pay for a side dish. The Hong  Kong rice (N2,400-$14.5) was not great, I found the rice to be a tad oily and over cooked. 

The second entree was the Roasted lamb rack served with oven grilled egg plant, mozzarella and rosemary juice (N6,800-$41). I requested not to have the grilled egg plant because I don’t particularly fancy it. Yet again, plating was an issue for me. Or was I the one expecting too much? The picture always tells the story, have a look. I have repented from ordering overcooked meat  so  when the waiter asked how cooked I wanted it, I ordered medium- well.  I had no idea what rosemary juice  was whilst ordering but it was sooo good with the lamb. It was probably reduced broth spiced with rosemary….my guess.  It was a perfect  match with the tender chops which incidentally was not as fatty as I knew it to be. It was nicely seasoned too. We had this with Hong Kong rice.

For desserts, we had ordered the Brooklyn Choco mousse cake with pistachio ice cream (N2950-$18) but we had to change the order because it was not available or something like that- I really don’t remember. So, we opted for the Chocolate Bavarois (N2,950-$18) which was not  listed on the menu,it was recommended by the waitress. We were mistakened  for another couple who had made a reservation for their anniversary on that day as well. We told the waiter who asked  we had not made any reservations but it was our anniversary as well. So when the Bavarois came, it was with the waiters singing with candles on our Bavarois. They actually put in an effort with the whole presentation. The plating came into play yet again. The Bavarois was just there, it didn’t leave me wanting more. For one, it would have tasted better with less gelatine. The chocolate was not top notch either or maybe it was that,it was not properly tempered because it was grainy.

The restrooms were well apportioned and kept sparkling.

We paid  about N26,000 ($157) for 1 starter, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 1mocktail and a bottle of water.

Would I go back there? Oh Yes

NOTE: This is more pricey than your average Lagos restaurant , so be well prepared if you don’t want to wash plates o. #justsaying. 

 MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 8

Quality of food- 9

Value for money- 7

Customer Service- 9

SKY RESTAURANT

Eko Hotels & Suites

Victoria Island

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 VERANDA ITALIAN RESTAURANT- THE REVIEW

Monday 10.40 A.M,

Hello people.

How have you all been doing? Thank you for all the feedback on the last post. I would like to point out that I have NEVER received any freebie to review any restaurant. Yes, there have been several offers but I usually turn them down.I turn them down because I need to remain as objective as possible when assessing the restaurant. You shouldn’t  look a gift horse in the teeth now, should you? When / If I start taking freebies? It will be clearly stated that the meal was unpaid for or sponsored. So now that we have cleared the air on that, we will move along swiftly.

It was my friend’s birthday recently and we decided to meet up for lunch at La Veranda- an Italian restaurant In Victoria Island. Hmnnn, how does one do healthy eating  with all these eating out sef? If you have a winning formula, please help a sister out. Please don’t say I should order salad or limit eating out  to my cheat days. For now, I will stick to portion control.

La Veranda is housed at the back of Blowfish Hotel in Victoria Island.To get to the restaurant, you would need to go through the hotel reception and then through the pool side. You can choose to dine alfresco or stay in the main dinning room. The dinning room overlooks the swimming pool.The decor was pretty basic with pink, white and blue furnishing. it will probably sit about 25 or 30 diners. In one corner sits a masonry oven and the end had the cashier’s till. There really isn’t much to say about the decor. I would classify this as warm and comfortable.

 

 

A polite waiter showed us to our seats and handed us the menu. I wanted a glass of white wine badly but i had to restrain myself so I ordered water and jazzed it up with lemon and cucumber. The girls settled for Chapman. Did you know that Chapman is a Nigerian mocktail?

The menu had loads of Italian staples- Soups, Pastas, Pizzas,Salads and Sandwiches. We asked the waiter what he would recommend and he reeled out a list of things but eventually, we all decided on Pasta- Tagliatelle and Linguine. For our starter, we ordered Gamberoni Pil-Pil and Salmone Affumicato. For mains, we ordered Tagliatelle con pollo, Tagliatellie al salmone and Linguine del mare. No one wanted desserts so I  secretly ordered Tiramisu for the birthday girl.

Quite surprisingly, the meals did not take too long to come, first up were the antipasti. We started with Gamberoni Pil-Pil (N3,800- $20).This was prawns sauteed with probably olive oil and capers served with some sort of spicy brothy sauce. It served with sliced baguette. It had the right amount of spice and seasoning. Delicious. One question I had to ask though? Was it value for money at N3,800? Absolutely Not!!

Next came the Salmone Affumicato,(N3,800-$20). Sliced smoked salmon served with toast quarters with capers, sour cream, lemon wedge and a sliver of lettuce. Hmnnn, there isn’t much to write about this. There was no actual cooking done by the restaurant. It was all just plated. At least that’s what I think.  For N3,800? yet again, I say this isn’t value for money.

When the pasta dishes came, it smelled delicious. You know that feeling of just get in my belle already? Everyone claimed theirs was the nicest. My girls  opted for the spicy version of what they were having. Well, mine was Linguine del mare-(N4,200-$23). The waiter described this as seafood and pasta in pink sauce. Hmmnn, when it came, there was nothing pink about it. It was not like the colour  mattered much but  I still wonder why it was called pink sauce .It was very well put together. It had the right amount of the “pink sauce” and pasta cooked right  with the mussels, prawns and calamari  nicely seasoned. The portion was quite generous too. I couldn’t indulge as I would have wanted to because I am doing portion control** double eye roll*. so I ate a quarter and had the remaining packed as take away. On the second day, It tasted even nicer to me. I would have given this an ace if it was better plated. In as much as this wasn’t just slapped on the plate, it wasn’t high on presentation either. A pop of colour would have made a difference.

I had bites of the Tagliatelle con pollo (N3600-$19.5) and Tagliatelle al Salmon (N4,100-$22). It’s so difficult to say which tasted better. They were both really nice.The Tagliatelle con pollo was tagliatelle tossed in white creamy sauce, with sauteed chicken and mushrooms.Well, this was a bit varied from what they normally serve because  my friends wanted it spicy. You could actually see the pepper flecks in it. It was too spicy for me to indulge in but the owners loved it. The salmon was pretty much the same- just substitute the chicken for the salmon and leave out the mushrooms. The portions were reasonable but I still had a problem with the plating of these dishes.

 

When it was time for desserts, everyone chickened out. I would have been miserable if we didn’t order that Tiramisu oh. We had the perfect excuse, it was Seun’s birthday!!! and we had to sing her the bee-day song surely there had to be some semblance of a cake abi?. Oh well, I had told the manager beforehand that the birthday girl was with us . So when the Tiramisu(N,2400- $13) was being served it came with a cake sparkler and the birthday song was playing. Her expression when she saw it? Priceless, hahaha. So after the whole birthday song shebang, we decided to split a portion of Tiramisu 4 ways. It was sooo worth the extra calories, a tad sweeter than I would normally like it but it was still the rich creamy mascarpone with layers of ladyfinger biscuits and coffee. When I saw the price, fear caught me sha. Yes mascarpone cheese is imported, yes but the portions and the prices aren’t just at par. Most restaurants in Lagos are guilty of serving over priced desserts and food. Hian 

I did an inspection of the restroom and it was sparkling clean.

We paid N30,280 ($164) for 2 Appetizers, 4 entrees, 1 dessert, 3 drinks,and a bottle of water.

Would I go back there? Absolutely

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 7

Quality of food- 8.5

Value for money- 7

Customer Service- 9

LA VERANDA

BLOWFISH HOTEL

17,OJU OLOBUN STREET

VICTORIA ISLAND

08121111222

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.

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.

 

 

 

VILLA MEDICI- THE REVIEW

Monday 11.42 A.M

Hello Valentine and Valentinas ,

Sooo, the Love season is here again . There are all sorts of deals on dinning, flowers , romantic getaways etc. Shall we say Valentine’s day on a Friday will be plenty chaos in this town? Plenty nlaru (sp)  things* winks*. I sometimes get uneasy with all the commercialization going on with Valentine’s day. I recently read an article where there was some sort of bidding contest on who would “win” the services of a Michellin star chef that would  dinner cook a four or five course meal  for 2 people for $100,000. yes you read right, 100 grand!!! Biko wetin he wan carry cook am? I am not being  judgmental  but that will feed all of us from my village. LOL.

It was my Sugar’s birthday recently and we went out for dinner at Villa Medici. It used to be known as Medici to the best of my knowledge so I guess the name change  occurred recently. Villa Medici is a fine dinning  restaurant that serves intercontinental dishes leaning ever so slightly to the french cuisine. It doesn’t have a set theme  but it’s quite well put together : contemporary paintings on the wall, an odd mask here, antique light there. It all worked  together nicely. The table setting was informal- neatly laid out. I would like to describe this restaurant as an upscale  and romantic restaurant.

I must say, that for a Monday night, Villa Medici was packed.  Some  sort of private party I  later figured. We were given a table in a quiet corner. Our assigned waiter  handed us the drinks menu. The drinks list was quite extensive.  We ordered the Virgin Bellini (N1000- $5.5) and the Apple Colada.(N1,800-$10.5) He came back swiftly with a basket of artfully wrapped  toasted garlic bread and some dinner rolls.

Whilst we waited for the drinks, he handed us the food menu. The food list was extensive. They had quite a number of  dishes that were different from the norm for Lagos . This was the first time I was seeing Carpaccio and Frog legs on a menu in Lagos ( I am not saying it doesn’t exist).  We ordered a smoked Salmon and Prawn salad, Seafood ragout, and the Fillet Steak Royale.

The starter was the smoked Salmon and Prawn  salad (N3600-$21).  The picture shown below doesn’t do this plate justice at all. I was too impatient to eat to have gotten a better shot. I apologize.  I liked the presentation. Most restaurants where I’ve had this salad,  serve the  prawn and salmon on a bed of greens but this was the reverse. The salmon  and prawns were served as the bed with the greens in the middle. The greens were tossed in some sort of vinagriette . I didn’t bother  asking the waiter what it was . Miss gulu had reared her ugly head. I added a dash of  lemon juice to it and gobbled it in no time.  I found the prawn perfectly cooked. The salmon was  a tad too salty from the curing i guess. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The 1st main course was the Seafood Ragout (N5,750-$33) served with Potato Tatin and steamed vegetables. The first thing that came to mind was that I had ordered seafood stew, it looked just like that. Hmmnn, It wasn’t slapped on the plate just like that but it was not that interesting to look at as well.  The menu stated that  it was light Prawn broth with Seabass , mussels, Prawns  and calamari. It was chunks of  sauteed Calamari , Prawns and Fish tossed in tomato sauce garnished in parsley.. It wasn’t a broth and there was no mussel in the dish. The seafood was well cooked  but I found it to be a bit under seasoned. When it comes to potato tatin, I am quite queer, I like it with a crust. I would prefer to eat the crust than the baked potatoes itself, This had a bit of both, so I loved it.The steamed vegetables was fresh and crunchy and it added the some colour to the dish.

The second main course was the  Fillet Steak Royal (N6,750- $40) served with Potato Tatin and steamed vegetables. When I placed my order for this, the first question  the waiter asked was how well done I wanted it to be. If you are a regular reader of my posts you probably know the automated answer by now. Steak well done please. I am a typical naija chic that must eat all things overcooked . hahaha. Well he said to me ” ma’am may I suggest that you  try the medium -well done  so that you can enjoy it better. He explained that  steak well done  often tastes tough to chew. Hiaaan see me  see wahala oh? Well, I agreed to steak medium well. When it came it didn’t look too bad,it had mild  traces of pink. Four  thick slices  of span seared  steak was served with  reduced mushroom sauce. It was well seasoned and flavourful . I hate to admit that it was actually less chewy than what I normally had.  I shall do medium – well from now on. It was served with the same potato tatin and vegetables. I absolutely loved it. If only I could “thief ” that reduced mushroom sauce recipe… Note worthy is the portion size , it was not baby portions like most restaurants  in Lagos serve.

Whilst  going round taking pictures for this post , I got talking with the manager of the restaurant. He was a charming chap who asked if everything was alright. He was probably wondering why I was taking the pictures. I later introduced myself to him and he instantly recognized the  name. Hmnnnn…endangered species move. I need to start thinking of disguises when I go out to eat now oh or else…….Anyway, I introduced him to the hub and told him it was the hub’s birthday.

When we called for the desserts menu, the waiter left like he was going to bring it. Some minutes after, no waiter, no menu . As if on cue, the lights dimmed  and the husky voices came up with the birthday song, we were pleasantly surprised. It was such a thoughtful gesture .  He was given a  chunk of cheese cake with Happy birthday written on the plate. With the free cheesecake, we didn’t need to order desserts again. Just by some stroke of luck they read this, Thank you guys. I still called for the menu to see if there was anything interesting on it. There was no list, it just said desserts from the trolley. It was (N1,800- $11). I was able to get a picture of the trolley whilst another table was being served. I am not one to look a gift horse in the teeth but the cheesecake would have been nicer with a little less gelatin.

For lovers of alfresco dinning, there’s a lovely outdoor area .

For 1 salad, 2 mains, 2 cocktails and a bottle of water , we paid N23, 280-($137) inclusive of all taxes.

I went to inspect the restroom, yes it was clean and the mini sitting area was daintily done up but it had a smell, like disinfectant had been used. The connector pipes for the WC  were rusty. I know this will be overlooked by some but its a fine dinning restaurant, its not appropriate .

Would I go back there? Oh yes!

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambiance / Aesthetics- 8

Quality of food-  9

Value for money- 8

Customer Service- 9

VILLA MEDICI

1, Babatunde Jose  street

Victoria Island

Lagos

08191495381

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

SPICE ROUTE- THE REVIEW

Wednesday, 10. 04p.m

Hey everyone,

Writing food reviews has brought me in contact with many fabulous people I never imagined I’d be friends with. I really can’t believe how far I have come, from the girl that rambles on and on about food, to the food writer that I have become today. I couldn’t have done this without you all.  Thank you for all your kind words, encouragement, criticism and even threats sef. It has all made Peju strive to be better.

Recently, I met up with my friends for dinner. These are fab chefs that churn out the good stuff- Chef Fregz, Chef Renee and Chef  Bemigho.  Ollll’ boy, I knew it was going to be a blast. You can imagine how this review went.  Savvy foodies meeting up to review food.  Dinner was at  Spice Route, It is located on Adeola Odeku, the same building with a popular pizza place. The  menu here consists of Eastern and Southern Asian cuisines.

I was shown to the elevator by a polite waiter. Oh wow…..It was totally different from the typical  naija restaurant decor. It had a theme that they followed to a tee! I felt like I was in a totally different place.The decor here was amazing, right from the fabulous stairway (I felt like a  princess walking  down a magnificent flight of stairs  to meet  my prince  charming) to the terracotta guards protecting the imposing image of Buddha to the spice tables and the bangle art wall.The lighting here depicts the atmosphere of a laid back lounge where you could have a nice tete-a-tete, kinda romantic. This could have been because I went at night. We dined alfresco overlooking the main road. The main dinning room was “Moscow” (too cold).

When we called for the menu, the waiter came with 1 copy of the menu, hmmmn, there were four of us, why one menu? We asked for extras, he brought just 1 extra. Until we actually spelt it out to him that there were 4 of us. He  grudgingly brought the extras. Was it  that they didn’t have enough menu cards? Taking about the menu, it was quite well put together in terms of aesthetics.

Renee and I had had our fair share of alcohol for the week and we decided to be good girls. We ordered iced tea, after about 10 minutes,  broda waiter came with our drinks.  Errrr iced tea kwa?  The bros brought us Long Island iced tea. Surely you would expect a waiter to know the difference, of course we sent it back. He came back minutes later with iced tea only this time it was room temperature and it  came without ice!  Hmmn room temperature iced tea? Only in gidi town, iced tea without ice not to talk of sugar rim? Issokay. Before the guy would clear the back of his throat in my drink, I jejely collected it and requested for ice. Chef Renee flatly refused and sent it back yet again, this chic had liver fa. Well, this time the bartender came  himself and asked what the issue was. We explained to him that we didn’t want warm iced tea and explained how we would like  the tea served. He explained to us that it was room temperature because it was freshly brewed tea.  Akiko.  He finally took it and brought back a perfect glass of iced tea. Persistence does pay off.  The final product was nice.  Phewww...all this energy for  just tea.

Whilst we waited , we were served stuffed  poppadum(sp) , jalapeno peppers. with some sort of mint dip with onions. Hmnn, lets just say it didn’t werk at all because none of us could eat  it. We asked the waiter for the name of the dip ; he didn’t know but we knew the base was yoghurt and it had mint  and coriander. The rest was lost on us, possibly a mint chutney i’d say.

We finally placed our orders. For our appetizer we ordered the Dawat-E- Shahjahan( N 5,500-$33)  and Tandoori Jhenga ( N 5,500-$33).  Make una go learn Hindi oh. Well, in simple english, the Dawat-E- Shahjahan was mixed meat platter of chicken, lamb and seafood kebabs. The Tandoori Jhenga was spicy prawns made with select indian herbs and spices. I don’t remember the waiter asking how spicy we wanted it.  When it came, I wasn’t impressed. The dishes were just slapped on the plate with a heap of onions.  Infact, the Dawat-E-Shahjahan looked like overcooked vegetable soup…quite unappealing looking. The Jhenga  was a line of prawns  that had a heap of onions on the side.  Whoever came up with the adage” never judge a book by its cover” didn’t veer far from the truth . I had a piece of the lamb and  I was surprised it tasted that good considering the way it looked. The calamari was even better , crunchy and nicely spiced. I didn’t particularly  like the chicken cos it was somewhat dry. The prawns didn’t  impress me either; in my opinion, the chef  overdid it with the herbs and spices.  Perhaps the Tandoori  Jhenga is supposed to be an acquired taste. The spices were too over powering to enjoy the prawns. It had a bit of a bitter aftertaste because it got charred on the grill I guess.

For the mains, we ordered the Goan Fish Curry (N 2,500-$15)  with the cheese naan bread, the second entree was the  Bhuna Ghosht (N2,400-$14) with steamed white rice (N800-$4). When it came, Chef Fregz said it looked like ata dindin, Chef Renee said it was ofada sauce. I couldn’t stop laughing. Yet again, presentation came into play. The food was just slapped down on the plate, i am not sure they remembered to clean the plates after serving because the sides were messy. That’s a huge turn off. I didn’t  complain because we had  bugged the waiter enough. The cheese naan (Kulcha) was delicious, there was something different about it and it was served hot. The Goan fish curry was very good. The menu described it as  fish  cooked in roasted coconut, fresh mango,  poppy seeds and Indian herbs. Whether it was cooked in all of that, I don’t know but it tasted so dang good. We unanimously awarded it the best meal of the night. It really is a must try with that cheese naan bread.The ata din din Bhuna Ghosht  was like eating white rice and fried stew. That’s definitely not something I would want to eat in a restaurant…at Iya Mayowa’s bukka for a fraction of the price?  Yes I ‘d indulge, the lamb was tender and well seasoned.

Worthy of mention here is the customer service, despite the fact that  we were not the nicest of customers with our complaints and all, they were still polite and they paid attention to us. When we paid, the waiter came back with the change… shall we  safely assume that things are getting better or did they get served with the Dear Restauranteur letter? They need to pay attention to the plating of their dishes. It is unappealing being served food like that.

We paid (N 28,290-$171) for 2 appetizers, 2 main entrees, 2 sides, 9 drinks. (I  am wondering why we had to pay for rice or naan bread as  side orders , shouldn’t a side dish be served with a sauce?)

Would i go back there? Most likely.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience / Aesthetics- 10

Quality of food- 7

Value for money- 8

Customer Service- 8

SPICE ROUTE

36, Adeola  Odeku street

Victoria Island

08080208080, 01-7615555

EKAABO RESTAURANT- INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL

Hey lovelies.

How have you all been?  I hope you  have been treating yourselves well, remember you only live once.  Recently, I came across an article on huffingtonpost.com for the lover of cocktails. It was titled “What your cocktails say about you”. Please click here to read about it. I found it funny but it was kinda true….

The hub and I met up with our dear friends for lunch at Ekaabo restaurant at the Intercontinental  hotel, Lagos. I had heard so much about Ekaabo  sunday brunch  but I didn’t take it all too seriously because it was still new so I figured it was  still “initial gra gra” that they  were doing. I bet you know all about the Lagos fad mentality. Also I wasn’t too keen because one of their restaurants didn’t live up to its billing. If u missed my review of Milano Restaurant , please click here.

The dining room at Ekaabo Restaurant  is well apportioned  with optimum use of the space. The layout was tastefully done with gorgeous white skylights suspended from the high ceilings. They also had the imposing champagne wall at the bar like they had at Milano Restaurant.  The most outstanding piece of the décor here is the fountain out on the terrace. With the right lighting, this should be a romantic spot  in the evening for the lovers of alfresco dining. So, to those that have sent emails asking for nice spots for dinner and  romantic spots to propose, this wouldn’t be a bad idea. Did I mention that  for Sunday brunch, there was a live band with one sisi eko  singing sonorously?

We were greeted by a warm and well clad waitress who showed us to our table. As if on cue, a waiter walked up to us to ask what we would like to drink. He reeled out the list of drinks and I was quite impressed. Well, just so that plate- washing mode won’t be activated after eating, I asked just to be sure that drinks were covered as part of the buffet charge… and yes it was. I believe this  is taking buffet  dining to a whole new level. Your girl ordered  a mimosa whilst we waited for the rest of the clan.

Well, the clan was taking forever so we decided to start without them ( yeah! shoot me Kimps, FBI, Seun  and Funmi)  When we got to the food displays, for a second I was disoriented! There was such a wide variety to choose from. How did these guys pull this off? Talk about being spoiled for choice.  The name needs to be changed from Ekaabo Restaurant to foodie’s paradise  or maybe even chop till you almost quench place. I loved it already. I went to the soup section first. I possibly can’t state everything they had  but I will mention just the ones that caught my attention. Not all the foods were labeled though so I might mix them up.

I   was a bit confused on how to do this post; do I write everything they had or should I just write about what I ate there?  I decided to do a little bit of both. They had quite a number of soups… goat meat peppersoup, fish peppersoup, and seafood chowder to mention a few.  I started with the goat meat pepper soup , For me it was perfect. It was boneless goat meat with just the right amount of spice in the broth…very well made.

a.  My saImon and salsa salad  b. Pasta salad  c. Potato salad  d. Greek salad

I drool even as I write this.   I moved on to the salads, they had about 8 different types, and there was a create your own salad bar as well. I had some of the Greek salad, potatoes salad, the mixed vegetable salad with thousand island sauce. I created one with pasta salad with salmon and salsa sauce…you see why I  suggested that they should rename it the chop till you almost quench place. The salads were amazing, my favourite here was the one I created with the pasta salad, salmon and salsa….that salsa was divine.  I had my salad with sourdough bread. They had about 10 varieties of bread .

To one corner sat a cooking dock with chefs willing to answer questions  or whip up  something different from what was available at the display stands. At this dock sat quite a variety. They had shish kebab, barbecue chicken, shish tawouk ,  waffles, pancakes, sausages,  naan bread, spring rolls, etc. They had  all sorts of dips and dressing accompanying  them.  I had some waffles with maple syrup with grilled chicken and some sort of kebab. I had no complaints whatsoever.  It was all nicely done. At this point my glass had been refilled about thrice. It was time to sit and let my bits and pieces digest a little bit.

I moved to the mains, I had some fried rice, herbed potatoes with steamed vegetables,  grilled chicken, grilled beef fillet and some sautéed lamb.  I didn’t fancy the fried rice, It was bland.  The sautéed herbed potato and beef fillet were quite nice and well seasoned too. The chicken was a bit dry. And that lamb, was the highpoint for me. It was nicely seasoned and moist…yum! The guys decided to do some local delights , when I saw the assortments of meats, and the variety of local staples available, I knew these people  had “bad” plans for us. Where was all this food supposed to go? Hian! If you know you suffer from gluttony, be well guided that you should steer clear of Ekaabo restaurant otherwise, you’d blame yourself later.

a. fried rice b. lamb c, beef fillet d, grilled chicken e. herbed potates f. steamed vegetables.

I moved on to the desserts, there were quite a number of them. The problem here was that they weren’t tagged so I wasn’t sure of some of them. There were fruit platters, mousses, puddings  and gateaux, See my selection below. I had some black forest gateau, chocolate mousse, strawberry swirl cheesecake and some combination gateau that I couldn’t put a name to. It wasn’t all wow but from my selection, the strawberry swirl cheesecake , the  white chocolate mousse were really nice. ..you know that melt in your mouth goodness.

I could go on and on with the number of  fabulous things I ate here but I would be doing them great injustice if i fail to mention the  customer service here. One word describes the  service here- outstanding! The waiters were polite and attentive to a fault. They are definitely in contention for best customer service restaurant. A friend of mine felt it was because they were relatively new  , she was of the opinion that the Naija factor would soon set in … well if that is the case, I would enjoy it while I still can but I doubt it though.

Sunday buffet costs N9500 per person, drinks were included. On a good day i ‘d scream blue murder but I believe this was  good value for money.

Would I go back there? … Absolutely!

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience / Aesthetics- 9.5

Quality of food- 8

Value for money- 8

Customer Service- 10

EKAABO RESTAURANT (INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL)

52, Kofo Abayomi street

Victoria Island,

01- 2366666.

Uptown Restaurant ( The Avenue Suites) -The Review

Monday 4.50 p.m

Hey My Lovlies,

My name is ‘Peju ……I am an addict…yes  a food addict. It has just sunk in. I have not gone out to eat  in like three weeks and it feels like forever.  I sincerely apologize to you all for being AWOL. I have been unbelievably busy with work. One piece of advice to all the  entrepreneurs  out here especially the artisans…know your business….know it well too. I have been itchingggg to go out to eat.

Someone needs to start paying for all these meals oh, my kolo is not jingling again….my list of places to review is getting longer by the day. It is getting quite confusing choosing too. A friend whose judgement I trust added Uptown Restaurant  to my list.

Uptown Restaurant is on the 6th floor of  the Avenue suites on  Victoria Island . It has a sweeping look over the the Atlantic ocean. The view is to die for. The first thought that came to mind when I saw the restaurant layout and view was that whoever did the layout and decor sure knew their marbles. It was beautifully done. The  well laid out tables, contemporary furnishing and light fittings  gave off  a grand layout. I loved the fact that they played with colours in there. 2 words aptly describes this setting…elegant and romantic. For my buddies looking for where to propose….In my best igbo accent ,  I say dis na d very place.

We were shown to our table overlooking the ocean…..there was just something about the ambiance of this whole setup that made me all mushy. When the waiter came with the menu I was somewhat disappointed with the quality… Laminated paper written in ink? naaa. Not for this kinda  place. Moving on, I am still not doing cocktails or wine these days. so we ordered a bottle of water. The waiter  brought us  popcorn and nuts  for our appetizer… that’s a first in a restaurant (the popcorn). I stilll love that combo…good ol’ guguru and epa. I had to make the perfect pairing with that…coca-cola! Have you had the combination before? ….yeah thank me later if you have not.

Back to  the menu, it was not very extensive ,they had sushi platters, pasta and pizza and some intercontinental dishes. we decided on a fusion of meals so that we  could assess extensively. we decided on Quattrocento pasta, the grilled salmon  with tatrtar sauce and for our appetizer, we had  steamed shrimp dumplings.

We started off with fresh baguettes  with olive spread and butter. Then came the piping hot  steamed shrimp dumpling(N2880-$17)  served with  soy sauce. It was served in the traditional steam basket and chopsticks. It was delicious. The dough was freshly rolled and soft. The portion was quite generous too, ( we had 6 pieces of dumpling) I would have liked it better if the filling was more.

I was not sure how much more I could eat after the appetizer. Remember that I had had popcorn, groundnuts, baguette rolls, and the dumplings. All that changed when the Quattrocento pasta(N4,320-$26) came. This was a fabulous idea in my books, The Quattrocento pasta was our choice of any four pasta dishes from their pasta menu (lasagna was not included) . We chose –The spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli, The Tagliatella Al Salmone, The Tagliatelle Alfredo and Penne Arrabiata. It was served with a mini bowl of cheese. Whoever  came up with this idea is a genius….talking about having the best of all worlds.

First up was the cheese and spinach  ravioli, this was pasta dough filled with spinach and cheese. ( I am not sure it  was ricotta cheese). It was served in a creamy sauce . I found the  filling to be  slightly saltier than necessary, the hub did not think so. It was nice nonetheless. We moved on to the tagliatelle al salmone and tagliatelle alfredo. I have paired this two together because they were quite similar. The tagliatelle was cooked to perfection in a white creamy sauce served with salmon, mushroom and peppercorns. It was garnished with an assortment of herbs. The next was the Penne Arabiata. I am not a fan of penne pasta but we ordered it for variety  sake. Did I fancy it? Not particularly, It was just alright. Two things worthy of note here. The presentation of each selection of pasta was quite appealing. secondly, the portion was generous.  My favourite here was the tagliatelle al salmone.  I would order it again and again.

a- Tagliaatelle Alfredo        b.-Tagliatelle al salmone      c- spinach & ricotta raviolli    d. -Penne arrabiatta.

The grilled salmon fillet came and I got the biggest surprise of the day, If I had to judge this dish based on presentation alone. I would score it a 10 out of 10.  Please permit me to say that I fell in love with this dish instantly. I looked for something to complain about , there was nada!  This dish comprised of perfectly marinated and grilled salmon fillet , laid out on a bed of vegetables served with tartar sauce. The chef  added a dainty touch to it with a wedge of lemon garnish tied up in mesh fabric. The guy sure knew his marbles. The mashed potatoes was creamy and fluffy.  For me this dish was an ace! The portion was generous too. We actually requested that  the remaining food be packed as take out as we had had more than enough to eat.

Talking about take out… kai, this people fall my hand o. They charged me for the take out pack. If it was a fast food place I went to, it would not be an issue. but for a proper restaurant to charge for take out pack? That to me , is taking a piss. In my opinion ,if you must charge for it, factor it into the cost of the meal . This should be a hidden cost ,

There was  no room for desserts. The menu did not look too interesting anyway. On our way out, we were given a feedback card to fill.

We paid N15, 100 ($93) for 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, I large bottle of water and 1 bottle of coke.

I did a check on the restroom and it was spotless.

Would I go back there?…Absolutement!

MY SCORE CARD

Layout/ Ambience  / Aesthetics- 9.5

Quality of food- 9

Value for money- 9

Customer Service – 8

UPTOWN RESTAURANT

6TH Floor,The Avenue suites

1390, Tiamiyu Savage street,

Victoria Island

Tel: +23419033300/08

Thank you for always reading

BISTRO 7-THE REVIEW (REVIEW WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES WINNER)

Sunday 9.11 p.m

Salut  des Gourmandes!

Recently, I put up a post of   sweepstakes and some thought I was faffing about. In the name of awuf, some people begged, some threatened, some even bribed me to choose them as the winner  but I had  promised to be fair , and fair I was in my choice! My randomly selected winner was Mr Yemi Okanlawon who was accompanied by his wife , Damilola. Better luck next time folks. We were to review restaurant X but it was being renovated. Quickly, I whipped out my ever growing  list of places to review ( May I never declare bankruptcy because of these reviews oh…Amen). We finally decided on Bistro 7. Everyone that has told me about Bistro 7, has said one similar thing- it is easy to miss the location and yes we missed it too! Thankfully, I had saved their telephone number , so I called them and I was given apt directions. Voila! we were there. The first thing that struck me here was  the layout. There was a coffee shop ( The Beanery),  The flower shop ( The Rose Garden),  then the restaurant. The restaurant was nicely laid out with uber chic furniture and the lighting created a romantic ambience to it. There was a little  set up for alfresco dinning.  I was instantly attracted to the corner with the cutlery chandelier ( really nice piece of art). There was just something about the ambience that drew you in. The drinks menu  was  not particularly extensive but it had a little bit of  everything. Cocktails are off my list for a while, so I settled for wine, I looked at the prices of the wine and I did a double take…. these  dudes that drink wine are real cashogies. The wines were priced between N 8,000- N 30,000 ($53- $200). Its not small something at all. We ordered from the house wine list . Dami & I ordered the  Arra Blanc et Noir 2011 (Rose) and Deyemi ordered the Torres san valentine(white). Each glass cost N1,100($7).  Were we served what we ordered? We would never be able to tell. The wines were not poured in our presence. Wine enthusiasts in the house, help a novice out please. Is this the norm? I learnt quite a few things about wine here.                                                                    a.Torres san valentine. b. Arra Blanc et Noir Rose.

Deyemi: As we stepped in, we were greeted by a waiter who didn’t seem to match the upscale environment and I was to find out soon enough that he knew next to nothing about the food being served. Luckily , a supervisor was on hand to answer our questions and give recommendations about the menu. Another thing I noticed was the cluster of other waiters who paid us absolutely no attention. I found it interesting when the waiter confessed the white wine listed was not available and there was a substitute. On Peju’s insistence he showed us the bottle AFTER pouring our wine from the bar – I’ve always suspected most restaurants list fancy named wines and serve something else.

On to the food menu, for our appetizer we requested the Ravioli, whilst we waited, we were served  delicious warm bread…..it tasted more like cake. I would love to steal that recipe. Then the Ravioli came,  for how quick it came,  I reckoned it was not freshly made. If it was freshly made,the cheese filling in it would have been somewhat stringy and the spinach would have greener and not that wilted. It was served with some sort of gravy ( efforts made to know the name of the sauce were futile). It was delicious nonetheless. We unanimously scored it an 8. The food menu had quite a number of Italian staples. For our entrees, we ordered The Prawns Thermidor, Fish in Saffron Sauce and Chicken Cordon Bleu. We did not have to wait too long. The three came at the same .  For a couple of secs , when the meals came, I was just transfixed, the three plates looked “scrumpdelicifantasticalllllyyy”  good!

First up was my Prawns Thermidor ( N4800-$33), this was cut up sauteed  jumbo prawns served in baked  cheese sauce, with 2 sides- sauteed vegetables and  mashed potatoes. As always, I asked for black pepper for my mashed potatoes, and I dug in..first question I asked was why it had to be one jumbo prawn because it  was so dang tasty! Talk of foodgasm. The prawn was perfectly seasoned and that cheese it was baked in took it to a different place of perfection. The mashed  potatoes was smooth, rich and creamy. The vegetables can best be described as perfectly sauteed and seasoned  mushrooms, peppers and the juiciest cherry tomatoes. The three dishes had the same sauteed vegetables.I grudgingly let Dami and Deyemi taste it. I had a problem with the plate my entree was served in, it was a bit too small and my food was almost spilling out.

Deyemi: For my entree, I had The Chicken Cordon Bleu (N 2,900-  about $20). This was served with mashed potatoes sauteed vegetables and a creamy mushroom sauce. Having tasted everyone else’s meal, My meal was in my opinion the tastiest. However it was slightly more salty than I thought was necessary. The chicken was tender and nicely seasoned. The vegetables were really nice too.

Damilola: I had the Fish in Saffron Sauce (3900-$24). I had it with herbed potatoes and a  bright yellow sauce ( apparently the saffron sauce) My meal was colourful and tasty  with the most delicious vegetables ever. The fish and sauce  portion was quite generous.  I did not like the fact that my meal  was served in such a small plate. I did not want it to finish.

After our entrees, we were handed the desserts menu. It had seven desserts on it out of which only 4 were available.  Did u say hmnn? Well,  that was not the problem, the problem here was the prices of the desserts. The cheapest dessert here was N1,500($9). For desserts kwa? So I respected myself and said no but for the sake of our review we had to order at least one . Finally, we settled for the Triple flavoured frozen panacotta (N1,500-$9) and the Butterscotch Crepes with banana (1,800-$12). This desserts had better take me to cloud infinity or else…. The desserts arrived and three of us gasped! gasped because of the portions. What? The more you look the less you see!! This is extortion simple.

The triple flavoured frozen panacotta was almost none existent on the plate. This was 2  mini cylindrical Panacotta on a bed of strawberry coulis  garnished  with halved grapes. I liked the presentation. but it did not live up to the billing. The menu described  this  as layers of  vanilla , chocolate and coffee in a cream based dessert, it was not this, the coffee and chocolate were lost on me. It was rubbery…too much gelatin? The strawberry coulis was delicious though.  We scored it a 4. (based on taste and portion). It was not worth that price!

Damilola :  When it was time for desserts, I chose a Panacotta, expecting a nice dish of creamy goodness, I was more than  disappointed to see two tiny cylindrical globs in the middle of a big plate in the name of desserts.Waste of money. This picture must have been magnified like a gazillion times.

The Butterscotch crepes was nicely presented. Yet again, I did not think it was good value for the money. It was 1 slice of  crepe and a scoop of ice cream filled with overripe banana and drizzled with butterscotch syrup. Did it hit the mark? No. it was regular …a little dry. The ice cream was  grainy and the over ripe banana it was filled with was not exactly appealing.  We all felt we should have stopped at the entrees. We scored it a 4.( based on taste and portion).

 Deyemi: Ordering dessert was a waste of money and a downer for me. The crepe did not taste fresh and there was something about the butterscotch … that didn’t work for me – It was TINY for the price.

After the meals,  the supervisor  came round to ask how we enjoyed the meal, we commended the nice meals  and  also mentioned the portions and the quality of the desserts we were unhappy with, he apologized. there was no offer of a replacement .

Dami:  Bistro 7 needs to increase the size of their plates, reduce the prices of their desserts (or increase the portions) and also put a sign outside that makes the place stand out on the road.

We paid  about N 24,000 for one appetizer, three entrees, two desserts, and three glasses of wine. What saith thou? Expensive or OK?

As promised , I reviewed the restroom. It was well maintained and things were kept tidy in there.

Would we go back there? Yes

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience/ Aesthetics – 8

Quality of food- 7

Customer Service-6

Value for money- 6

Thank you for always  reading.

Bistro 7

273B, Kofo Abayomi street,

Victoria Island, Lagos.

0807-668-7777

ON A QUEST FOR A PERFECT MEAL- RHAPSODY’S VICTORIA ISLAND

Sunday, 12.39p.m

Hello  food lovers,

How have you all been? Of recent I have been a bit of a couch potato , it got too boring, so on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, the hub and I  decided to hangout, we did not know where we going when we left the house, but  we decided to go with the flow. After perambulating for a bit, we decided on Rhapsody’s  Victoria Island.

My first impression  when I got into the restaurant was that who ever did the interior works did a good job, I loved the layout and the colours, It was a  breath of fresh air, there was just something about it that made me feel I would get good food and service here. We were approached by one sisi eko waitress who gave us options of 2 seats. We chose the second. I had a chance to look around once seated, its very nicely done. Sisi eko came with  the food and drinks menu and we settled down to our ordering. The menu did not have  such a wide array of meals like that but  what they had was good enough. As always, we ordered 2 meals which we’ll both split. We settled for the Lemon and Herb Grilled Chicken with mashed potatoes and the King Prawns with french fries. .

The waitress came back for the drinks order, as I am still chilling out on the alcoholic indulgence, We decided on a mocktail ,We both ordered the strawberry daiquiri and asked for some nuts.The nuts came quickly and the waitress  apologized that they did not have the daiquiri, hmmnn, already? We are not getting off on a good note here oh, she came back after some minutes to say they will give us the daiquiri after all, she brought the drinks  and for me…. It was toooo sweet. I know what a daiquiri should taste like but this was not to my liking per se. Come to think of it, am I the one that has issues with cocktails or mocktails  in restaurants ? Or is it that these guys just do not have the right mixologist? Unlike my good old Saffron & Cinnamon cocktails….drools at the thought of “that pina colada”

Our meals came and I had instant an high just looking at them. Oh my goodness! it looked …( fill this space with all the nice words you like) Can my food always look this good? We decided to start with the mash and grilled chicken. I habitually add black pepper to my mashed potatoes and I took a taste, it  was light and fluffy and there’s just something about adding black pepper to it. It was unbelievably delicious. I’d give this mash 10 points out of ten……..the snag was that the portion was quite small. The chicken looked nice too but on tasting it did not taste as nice as it looked….till I added to some salt & black pepper to it, that changed the taste, it was tender and nicely grilled just the way I liked it. This dish was served with some sort of salad, I could not quite place it, perhaps it was not a salad, it was just some sort of garnish, it was a bed of thinly shaved spring onions served on a thin slice of beetroot.I did not like it but it added some nice colour to the dish. The first meal was alright but the taste especially the chicken was not as wow as it looked.

The second meal was close to perfect, save for the “salad”. It was grilled king prawns with “the garnish” and French fries. The King Prawns was beautifully grilled and served with  lemon butter and  peri -peri sauce, it tasted really nice, It was not overpowered by any seasoning or spice , it was just perfect and the French fries was PERFECT. For me, this meal was an ace! I would definitely be ordering it again. The portion of this was quite stingy as well, be sure to order some extra sides when ordering….These were the King Prawns of life,chaiii. For the first time ever in my dining experience in Lagos , I ordered a bottle of water and the waiter asked if I  wanted it at room temperature or cold…..in this las gidis? Sisi eko weddone oh.

Its been a while I had desserts with my meal, this dessert menu changed my mind,it was quite interesting,the name got me reeling.They had from crepes to puddings to brownies, yummmy, We settled for Death by chocolate, if na curse I dodge am, olohun ma je.  hahahaha ( if u dont know what  that means, google is your best buddie). The menu described it so well that if it looked and tasted as it was described, i would be in desserts lovers heaven. So I waited, when it came, it was almost just as described save for the flaked almonds that the menu stated that it had but it was absent on the plate…… it  was moist chocolate brownies drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce served with vanilla ice cream…. dang!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED IT! The brownies were gooey in the middle and that caramel sauce…(where’s a good emoticon when I need one). It was amazing. It would be well worth the extra “hours” of work out at the gym.

After our meal, the manager came round to ask how we enjoyed the meal this was  another  first  for me in this restaurant, It is quite rare in Lagos. I hope all these is not because it is relatively new,time will tell. I had to send some my compliment to the chef.

To the part I do not like to discuss- the price, the price bracket for 2 meals, 2 mocktails, a large bottle of water and desserts was between 14,000 and 18000( 90-120 USD) Expensive or cheap? You tell me….!

Would I go back there? An emphatic yes

MY SCORE CARD

Layout / Ambience/ Aesthetics – 10

Quality of food-8

Customer Service-8

Value for money-7

So have you been there? Do you have contrary opinions to this? please share.

Thank you for always reading….

Kisses

ON A QUEST FOR A PERFECT MEAL-TALINDO STEAK HOUSE, VICTORIA ISLAND

Tuesday, 1.30p.m

Hey Lovely people.

I am rather looking forward to rounding  up on this quest for a perfect meal . I have something exciting brewing…..I’m buzzing. Recently I reconnected with my beautiful  friend  whom  I had not seen in such a longggggg time. We decided to have lunch in a serene place  where we could catch up on our lives and we  wont have waiters almost  shooing us off. We decided on Talindo Steak House on Karimu Kotun on Victoria Island.

Talindo is probably Victoria Island’s best kept secret, there is no sign post outside and  no form of advert to denote that it is a restaurant. It simply had No 7B gate tag on it.It did not have the fuss of the regular Lagos fancy restaurant, It was very neat and spacious . They also had a bar at the extreme. The first thing I noticed here was the number of expatriate  diners.. I had to wait a couple  minutes for Miss beautiful to make her grand  entrance( a much awaited one) I was close to tears when  she strutted in, oh how I have missed my Fola:).. I digress.

At this point, the chic in me was disappearing and  Miss  grubbido was rearing her somewhat  horrid head, we were handed our menu and I was impressed! Something tells me the person that came up with this menu was European, the menu was a fusion of  French and Italian dishes. It sounded nice….the taste of the pudding is in the eating yeah? And as if on cue, we both realized we did not have cash, we were both hoping to pay with our cards……we asked the waiter who was assigned to us and he was not sure if it was working, it took all of twenty minutes to realize it was not working…20 minutes because they took the POS machine to different spots to try to get it to work but it did not,(cashless Lagos my fat behind). We had to leave to find the nearest ATM to draw cash.

We returned to the restaurant and placed our order for our meals, I  did not order any drink because I realized that  of late  I’d been indulging a bit too much and considering my recent  encounter with restaurant cocktails I decided to steer clear and have water . Its never a good idea in my opinion to do pasta and water. have some red wine.( the indulgent ones here will definitely agree with me) Whilst we waited ,we were served a piece of bread roll each, and to my “wonderment” the menu stated that they would charge N100 extra for extra bread roll!!( You don’t believe me?  See affixed photo) this was by no means a fast food place, it was a proper restaurant! Kai, dem fall my hand. I  was going to ask the manager about paying for extra bread  policy but I decided to hold my peace. It is just bread fa!

I am not sure it took that long but probably because I was sooo hungry, it felt like forever. Our food finally came, I ordered   the  chicken alla parmigiana served with mashed potatoes and my friend ordered spaghetti alla  cabonara,we decided to split both meals and we started with the spaghetti alla cabonara  it was almost perfect.  It was cooked al dente with lots of bacon and  it was quite creamy. I had a problem with the presentation though , it was served  plain on the plate no garnishing of any sort. I would have liked some fresh finely cut parsley ….you know just to add some color to it.I ended up with adding freshly ground black pepper.

We cleaned out the first plate and moved on to the chicken alla parmigiana, I must say that this was quite a generous portion. It was  2 large chunks of chicken breast fillet, breaded and baked in cheese and tomato sauce , it was garnished with fried seaweed and slices of bell peppers. It was nice , the chicken was well seasoned. The mashed potatoes on the other hand was such a disappointment. It was rather lumpy and bland…..it lacked that rich smoothness that I knew it to be, perhaps I was expecting  too much from there but hey its supposed to be a top notch restaurant. We could not have desserts because my friend had to rush off to meet up with someone. I am not sure I would have been able to eat much of it anyway

I must commend the waiters, they were courteous and the manager actually came round to ask how we liked our meal. I was quite impressed with their customer service. We called for the bill and it was promptly delivered, well Mr waiter that brought the bill did NOT return my change ….generally assuming that it was a tip( I would never understand why they do that)

To the pricing, I do not like to talk about prices of meals at restaurants simply because I am of the opinion that  expensive or cheap is relative. However several people have requested for at least a price bracket. We spent less than N15,000($95) but more than N10,000            ( about $65)between us but remember we drank only water . would you say that is expensive or cheap? Over to you ….

Would I go back there? Most likely.

P.S: Be sure to visit the grill bar upstairs, I hear it is quite nice but I did not get to there because we had to rush off.

MY SCORE CARD

Layout/Ambiance/Aesthetics- 8

Quality of Food-7

Customer Service-9

Value for Money- 8

Have you dined there? I would like to hear you view…