Dedah Eats Archives
3 reviewsReviews
I discovered Basilico back in 2014, and while I never reviewed it on the blog, I hyped and recommended it to anyone who wanted to experience affordable fine dining and cheap wine. This year, I returned to my old stomping grounds for a taste of what was once hailed as the best Italian food in Lagos, and my, how the place has changed.
- Location
Basilico, like many of its cohorts on the island is hidden away in a residential looking building with little or no signage. This is either a clever ploy to avoid that pesky Lagos State advert and signage fee or just a way to keep the business as exclusive as possible. My money’s on the former. So be sure to slow down while on Musa Yar’adua Street, or you would most definitely miss it. The ambiance was actually a bit of a step-up from the last time I visited. While the new decor is a bit of mix-match of ideas, it makes for a warm and inviting atmosphere.- The Menu
More changes were to come as the waiter presented me with the menu. The menu was headed ” N-15 Coffee Shop.” I thought, “Surely this must be some sort of faux-pas by the waiter who brought the menu from his side hustle coffee shop!”I promptly called for the waiter to bring the “BA-SI-LI-CO” menu, as though to remind him of what restaurant he was at. He sheepishly informed me that I had the correct menu. Basilico, like Caitlyn Jenner was transitioning. I guess the Italian Cuisine wasn’t a big hit with the regulars, and management decided a coffee shop (like we don’t have enough in Lagos), would be the way to go.
Just like Caitlyn mid-transition, the menu held on to its roots with Italian dishes as the mains, but as a nod to the coffee shop it was about to become, the menu held a decent listing of coffees and sandwiches.
The starters were a bit too in-cohesive for the Italian experience that I was trying to force, so I headed straight for the mains. My tasting buddy was verrrry excited for the Lasagna. However when it arrived, it was a telling sign of the recent tomato crisis. One of the key components of lasagna is that tomato goodness, however, the overpowering taste of the tomato puree seared through every bite, making it a task to finish. The absence of any real sign of beef embedded in-between the layers of pasta made this meal all the more unbearable.
Steak in Lagos is quite pricey and N-15 is no different. I was advised that the ‘bian costato’ steak at N 6,900.00 would take about an hour and thirty minutes to prepare and ain’t nobody got that time for that. When I saw the barracuda steak for half the price and prep time, I hopped on it. It is no secret that I am not a fan of fish so to say that my choice of a barracuda steak was an accident is putting it lightly. I naively assumed that the barracuda steak would be steak shaped like a barracuda!
My heart sank when I saw two pieces of pan-seared fish on my plate, instead of the fish shaped steak I had naively pictured in my head. The presentation was however divine, and I am a sucker for vegetables, so I trudged on. The sauteed vegetables were tender and flavorful, and the barracuda steak was actually pretty good. With a tasty pesto and fried onions as toppings, the tender fish is actually worth recommending. (sorry anti-fish fam). With no defined desserts, you might want to bring along a sweet or two for your own post meal pleasure.
Control: Value for your money is very important in this full blown recession that we are in (thank you Nigeria). The portions at Basi…sorry, N-15 are pretty decent, so you should be glutted up after one main meal.
Delivery Time: Both meals took about twenty minutes, which is a pretty long time when there is no complimentary bread basket or knick knacks to snack on while you wait.
Wallet Control: With your average meal costing about N 3,500.00, and a bottle of wine at N 7,000.00, I would say that Basilico is very fair for a budget.
N-15 is a spacious coffee shop which is still finding its niche, and while it finds its identity, I will give it two stars for the effort.
Retro decor, vintage signs and black & white chequered floors; with Johnny Rockets, you can get that nostalgic 50’s diner scene, right here in Lagos. The signature juke box and the pictures of baseball greats and legendary American musicians hanging on the walls, add to the authenticity of the all-American theme.
The Ambiance: With the “blast from the past” setting, you can tell that the intention is for Johnny Rockets to look like a scene from an old American movie, and it works. You get to travel back in time and forget that you are in the heart of Lagos.
The Menu: With a humongous two paged menu, deciding what to order can be deliciously overwhelming, but the pictures and exact description of what each meal entails are pretty helpful.
The Entree: With a list of entrées that boast of traditional American chili to the signature Rocket wings, you are definitely spoiled for choice.
The Chili cheese fries: This is a clever twist on your plain old fries. The chili fries is a decadent combo of piping hot fries topped with beef chili, cheese and chopped white onions. Fries with cheese is simply brilliant, but the meaty chili and the crunchy onions make this simply delightful.
The Rocket wings: Six scrumptious bread coated, tender chicken wings topped with either spicy buffalo sauce or “ketchupy” barbecue sauce. It is served with creamy ranch dressing on the side which introduces a subtle flavour to the wings. If you can’t decide which you want, try getting two of each so you can decide on your favourite wing.
The hamburger!!!: Johnny Rockets is world famous for their hamburgers, please do not visit Johnny Rockets without trying one of their burgers. I ordered the Bacon Cheddar Double. A word to the wise, “Do not eat this alone, you will self -implode!!!!”With a warm bun encasing layers of cheese, lettuce and bacon overlapping a juicy and lightly seasoned beef patty, I was in burger heaven. I will never eat another burger if it’s not from J.R. It is also interesting to note that the beef is locally sourced.
Hands down the best burger in Lagos (trust me, I have been around!!) Burgers in general get a bad rap for being unhealthy; however I don’t think it gets healthier than this. If you follow my warped logic, it is actually a nutritious meal; the bread buns provide the carbs, the juicy and well seasoned Pattie for protein, the cheese also protein, and the lettuce and tomatoes are the much needed vegetables. And sure you might worry about calories, but you only live once, wolf it down and go for a jog later.
After the burger, I was definitely in a good place, a little exhausted in a good way, but not being one to be defeated, I powered through to desserts.
The Oreo Milkshake: If you love Oreo cookies, this is the milkshake for you. The yummy shake has oreos ground in it, so with each sip you get a crunch of the yummy cookie. It comes with a refill tin, just in case you can actually finish the first serving.
Delivery Time: All the food was delivered under a record nine minutes after the order was placed, which is super fast in the restaurant world!!
Portion Control: The pictures of the gigantic burger speaks for itself, though being the grub that I am, I wish those amazing wings were just a bit bigger. The entrées or “shareables” as they call it are honestly enough for a party of two to share, and I dare anyone to finish the double burger alone.
The Staff: If I worked here, I would find it very distracting to have to break into dance every hour on the hour, but hey, that is all part of the J.R experience and they manage to do it with grace and a smile on their faces. Customers are free to join in the brief boogie session.
I would love to say that J.R is super cheap, but honestly it is not as expensive as I thought either. A three course meal will set you back just a little over N 5000, but I say that is money well spent. Johnny Rockets is a really chilled out, family friendly spot for all ages with the most indulgent food. For a few hours, forget that you are in Nigeria and bop your head to the oldies music that permeates the atmosphere.
They get a five star rating from me *****
