Review: SLoW (Victoria Island, Lagos)
FOLLY: It wasn’t a long time ago that all new Lagos restaurants were following the same design aesthetic with Eames chairs, pendant lights, neon lights, and the iconic photo backdrops. In fact, restaurants optimizing for Instagram isn’t a Nigerian thing, it’s increasingly being documented that restauranteurs are more often factoring being a social media magnet into their restaurant design.
NOSA: …which is not the worst idea. Look at Ms. Denike of Tearoom and both her spaces. People still go there.
FOLLY: The first thing you notice about SLoW is the bar, unlike most other restaurants where the bar is off to the side. The bar and the drinks are the best things about SLoW and it’s right front and centre.
NOSA: There’s a Gin & Tonic section of the drinks menu with about eight different G&Ts.
The Slow | Herby
FOLLY: I believe laying out the restaurant in that way and having the bar at the centre of the floor illustrates that it’s really the heart and soul of the restaurant. All other elements of the design, the tile patterns on the floor, deeper tones in the leather that are contrasted with white and cream, and the banana leaf plants are all very reminiscent of the new world.
Pedro & Zobo
NOSA: There’s also a “live band”, but not like the razz one at Eko Hotel. These ones are a real jazzy bunch so they actually positively contribute to the atmosphere in the place. Like a speakeasy in New York
FOLLY: It’s all very stunning, and before your food arrives, you just want to spend all your time taking pictures of everything.
NOSA: This is honestly my favourite space in Lagos right now. If there was no corona and we were all back in the office, this would be perfect to come chill after work. Maybe the first date with a girl you met at a wedding over the weekend. Both of you meet up after work and grab a couple of drinks. Nothing too deep.
FOLLY: About the bar, the first time we visited SLoW in 2020 before the lockdown when we arrived, the hostess asked us if we’d like to sit by the bar and have drinks before moving in for dinner. Over dinner, when the restaurant manager came over to our table he spoke about how that was a thing they intended to continue.
FOLLY: They didn’t make the same offer time, and we didn’t ask, however, I imagine that’s because the restaurant was busy and guests without reservations were allowed to have drinks at the bar instead.
NOSA: Corona almost took SLoW from us and deprived everyone of that experience. In our Unit Economics episode with Nahi, of RSVP, he talked about how Lagos shut them down before the lockdown was announced and how he had to let go of all SLoW staff. Before they reopened about a week ago, they had to rehire the entire staff…down to the chef.
FOLLY: We eased in with drinks from the G&T menu. I had the Herby and the Floral in quick succession. Nosa reordered an old fave - Citrus & Rosemary x 2.
Our friend had the Slow and it was the best, I have no idea how they get the smokiness of the pepper into the drink. I thought they’d apply heat to the pepper and then place it into the drink but the pepper looked almost untouched.
FOLLY: We ordered a lot of appetizers thinking that’s where the party was at, it’s not. From our experience, the real treat at SLoW is the mains. To start we ordered:
Guacamole, Smoked salmon flatbread, Spicy lamb flatbread, Rock shrimp tacos. Brisket tacos. Patatas bravas
FOLLY: The best things were the flatbreads, the brisket tacos and the chimichurri with the patatas bravas.
NOSA: The flatbreads didn’t do too much for me. I got the same one I ordered over lockdown and it just didn’t feel the same. The lockdown one felt more like pizza’s cousin than this one did.
Lockdown Flatbread
Restaurant Flatbread
The tacos aren’t plated like you’d expect tacos to be plated so prepare for that surprise. Oh, and don’t expect adult-sized tacos either. It’s an appetiser for a reason, but I’d order this if they ever super-sized it and made it a main. The brisket tacos, in particular, are heavenly. The shrimp, on the other hand, is a bit forgettable.
FOLLY: There must have been a thing with the bitterness of the limes in the kitchen because everything they encountered that was on our table was a bit too sour. So this affected the guacamole and the rock shrimp tacos.
NOSA: Yeah, the sour overwhelmed the guacamole. I really loved it when we ordered it before the lockdown. Same reason I ordered it on this occasion too. I’m chalking this up to a bad batch of limes.
FOLLY: The patatas bravas were just okay and were a simple side to accompany everything else we had.
NOSA: Don’t remember it lol.
FOLLY: We really should have gotten the SLoW chicken and we regret it in hindsight because we were told it’s that good. Don’t worry, we’ll go back in a week or two and report about it on Instagram.
For now, you’d have to settle on our thoughts for the Charred Seabream and the Lamb Chops which were both chef’s kiss.
NOSA: At first glance, the mains don’t look too exciting on the menu. Maybe that’s why some restaurants have pictures because they know it’ll catch your attention.
Another thing, most of the mains don’t come with sides so have that in mind when you’re ordering. You don’t want a whole fish to land on your table and there’s nothing to accompany it.
FOLLY: I’m that person I judge for not reading the menu, so I didn’t know the sea bream was whole so I when it first arrived at the table. At first, we were like ehhh but when we tasted it we were excited! It’s not really a hot take if it’s the truth but most “point and kill” we eat in Nigeria is over seasoned and then all you end up tasting is Maggi and Pepper. One exception though is at Atmosphere and maybe Cubana.
FOLLY: Most fish do not need a lot of seasoning to taste good because fish takes on flavour very well. Exceptions to this are the oiliest of fish which have a very rich and dominant flavour profile. However, most white fish don’t need that much seasoning especially when you’re cooking with aromatics.
That said, the dominant flavours in the Charred Seabream were lemon, parsley, and ginger. I also know we might get a lot of this on Twitter but yes the fish looks a bit like stew, ewedu and gbegiri. When you see it, you can’t unsee it. It didn’t taste like stew, ewedu, or gbegiri though. The green stuff is chimichurri, the red bit is what we believe is the Argentinian chimere, and the rest is olive oil.
NOSA: That chimichurri did things to me. Heavenly.
FOLLY: On the lamb chops, we ordered them medium rare and it was perfect.
NOSA: This is a pro tip. Make sure you tell the waiter how you want your lamb cooked. They might ask you, but I’ve seen complaints from people that they didn’t get asked.
FOLLY: It wasn’t missing a beat in seasoning. I couldn’t taste all the seasoning but I feel like I got some rosemary. The potatoes had a hint of curry and turmeric and were definitely cooked in some meat fat because they were so flavourful.
FOLLY: Like RSVP the desserts on their early menu didn’t wow me, I’m confident just like RSVP this will improve in the weeks and months to come.
NOSA: We got some coconut rum thing and I honestly can’t remember how it tastes.
POSTSCRIPT
FOLLY: I love this place
NOSA: Lagos needs multiple SLoWs
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Slow - N3,600
Herbal G&T - N5700
Floral G&T - N5,800
Pedro & Zobo - N5800
Light & Tight G&T - N4,500
Citrus Rosemary G&T - N4,100
Ginger & Lychee Martini - N3,400
Gaucamole - N5,800
Patatas Bravas - N3,200
Brisket Tacos - N6,400
Lamb Chops - N16,800
Lamb Flatbread - N5,800
Rock Shrimp Tacos - N4,800
Charred Seabream - N15,800
Smoked Salmon Flatbread - N7,200
Price Range
N15,000 - N30,000
Parking
Limited