The House Lagos: A Conspiracy in Coziness
After my article “Date Night in Lagos: The Most Romantic Restaurants in the City” was published, we got more than a few mentions on Twitter wondering why a notably romantic restaurant was absent from the list; The House Lagos. After careful consideration — which is ‘Denise Code’ for looking up the restaurant on Instagram and making sure it’s Instagrammable enough for her vain agenda — I decided The House was ripe for the reviewing.
What can I say? Food excites me.
Given the lack of concrete romance in my life, I opted to visit The House with a few close friends. On getting to The House, I realised — a no brainer, honestly — that the restaurant was actually a house. I mean, it’s literally called The House. What did I expect?
The House is extremely cosy and I think that’s where it gets its rep as the ‘Most Romantic Restaurant in Lagos’ from. Restaurateurs in Lagos are notorious for turning old residences to restaurants. In some cases, it’s a massive fail — and we trying not to name names — but with The House, it’s different. The House isn’t trying to convince you that it’s not a house. You know it’s a house but it’s also a restaurant. It can be a bit difficult balancing both sides of this equation but I think they’re doing a pretty good job so far. Let’s get to the food.
The House’s menu sports fusion foods, traditional Nigerian classics and so much more. I settled in with a the Faux Buzz With a Buzz and Akara Shrimp Tempura. The cocktail was mix of ginger ale with a shot of whiskey mixed with lychee and raspberry syrup. It was a pretty refreshing cocktail; if you have a sweet tooth for alcohol like I do, this is definitely a top recommendation from me. I finished my drink looooooong before my salad bowl or main course was here.
The Faux Buzz with a Buzz and Akara Shrimp Tempura
I’m totally in love with the Akara Shrimp Tempura. Man, it was BEYOND amazing. Beans and shrimps are never something I’d combine on my own but honestly, The House is on to something with this. The texture, the flavour and pretty much everything in between works pretty well. It’s so good! The akara batter didn’t feel soggy or weird, instead, it kept a nice crunch against the soft shrimp. If I didn’t have other stuff to try, I’d have had another serving of this and honestly gone home a happy baby.
Next, I had the Salad Bowl. It was a Build-Your-Own bowl and creating the ‘perfect’ salad had to be one of the highlights of my evening. The House lets you pick six (6) items off the salad menu but I went with seven (7) because why not? Adding extra items will cost you extra but honestly, it’s worth it. For my salad, I had;
Kale;
Tomatoes;
Cucumbers;
Parmesan Cheese;
Parsley;
Chicken;
Prawns and;
Honey Mustard (for dressing).
The Salad Bowl
Grilled Lamb Chops, Rosemary Potatoes and a Side of Gravy
The salad was very fresh. All the veggies were fresh, firm and evenly coloured and the Kale was not bitter. I’ve had more than a few salads with nasty Kale in recent times so honestly, I was beyond grateful this was better. I did have issues with the chicken and the dressing, though. The chicken was a bit bland and quite dry. The dressing on the other hand just wasn’t enough for the bowl. Asides that, I rate this salad pretty highly. Moving on!
Next, for my main, I had Grilled Lamb Chops. The lamb chops were served with rosemary potatoes and a side of gravy. Anytime I have Lamb, I feel like I understand why the Hebrew God demanded this as sacrifice in the Old Testament. Lamb is such a premium meat.
The lamb was soft, intensely flavourful and came right of the bone with no extra hassle; as it should be. Frankly speaking, I wasn’t feeling the potatoes. I thought they were a bit too oily and really, it that overshadowed any bit of flavour they could’ve had. Overall, I think it was pretty good but just good.
Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait
Finally, I had the Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait for dessert. I’ve made it pretty clear about my love for combining sweets and alcohol. Sadly, this parfait didn’t make my good books. Why? It was almost all cream and no cookie! I wish there was a bit more cookie in the parfait, that way, it wouldn’t have felt like I was simply swallowing whipped cream while having it.
This does make me really sad because I’d been having such a good time so far. Sigh.
POSTSCRIPT
DENISE: How much do I have to pay y’all to move in here? It IS a house, right?
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Akara Shrimp Tempura — N4,500
Salad Bowl (Build Your Own Bowl) — N4,000
Grilled Lamb Chops — N14,000
Baileys Cookies and Cream Parfait — N4,200
Faux Buzz with a Buzz — N4,000
PARKING
Street parking is available. No off street parking.