THE OBSERVATORY

15A Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase One, Lagos. | Instagram | Phone

FOLLY: I’m starting with the bottom line upfront. I’ve struggled personally to write this review because I didn’t like Observatory and the last time we reviewed a project Chef Obehi was involved in, it was taken as a personal attack. 

NOSA: You know what? I can understand the beef.

We visited Pitstop a week before she took over the kitchen and our review went out the week she started so perhaps it looked like a personal attack on her food and person, which it wasn’t. It’s just a bit weird that maybe she unintentionally turned her attack dogs on us. I mean, Chef Benedict took time off of owing everyone in Lagos to chime in. That hurt my feels, personally.

FOLLY: The Observatory wasn’t terrible. It’s likely more me than them but there are some things that could be better like the table layout situation.

NOSA: I don’t feel so strongly tbh. The only thing I proper hate about Observatory is the way the tables are laid out. If you get in here, make sure you get one of the normal looking tables or you’ll find yourself staring deeply into the eyes of a stranger as you take a bite of your main. Not the worst thing if you’re into that creepy kind of thing. As much as I hate the seating, I love the space. It’s so beautiful at night once you ignore the visible A/Cs. That’s my Lagos pro-tip by the way. If a restaurant can’t be bothered to hide the A/C, then you can forget about the food.

FOLLY: Just to state the obvious, the Observatory Smokehouse isn’t just a name, it’s the cooking style that’s used in almost everything on the menu except maybe the dessert. 

NOSA: Everything is smoky, breh. This is Chef Khudu’s dream restaurant. It’s nice at first but after a couple plates, you kinda want them to chill out a bit.

FOLLY: We started with Smoked Tozo Pie, Smoked Snail, and Tozo Reuben Pastrami. 

NOSA: Heads up, there’s tozo all over the menu. Come prepared.

FOLLY: You’d be wrong to think the description of the small plates on the menu is literal because the burger below is not small at all. 

NOSA: The burger is a full on main. Don’t let that “small plate” thing get you carried away. It is no appetiser at all, which is a sharp contrast to the small plates at SloW. The burger is messy as it gets. It’s very Southern (like, America) style and the brisket combined with the slaw is a delight.

Of the small plates, the smoked snail was my favourite.

FOLLY: The snails were tasty. The snails themselves were so tender, the saucy was smokey and spicy and honestly unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. 

NOSA: Make sure you order this when you come here and ask for extra bread rolls as well because you’re going to need it. It sneakily packs a lot of heat so come prepared for that as well.

FOLLY: The smoked tozo pie surprised me because I imagined something much more similar to the tozo pie on the Ile Eros menu which is served as a pot pie. However, these were mini pies similar to a meat pie.

NOSA: The vinaigrette with the tozo pie is a sleeper hit. Like Folly, I wasn’t expecting something empanada adjacent.

FOLLY: It was good but I would be lying if I didn’t feel a bit let down by this. I was keen on a buttery and flaky crust with a saucy filling. I loved the vinaigrette that dressed the side salad. 

NOSA: I get that it’s a smokehouse, but by the time you hit the mains, the “smokiness” of every single plate becomes tedious. Like, bring some other trick to the table.

FOLLY: On the mains, it was smoked turkey lasagne for me, mac & cheese for Nosa. 

FOLLY: I had expected that the smoked turkey lasagne was going to be ground turkey instead of ground beef in a regular lasagne. It was actually pulled turkey which was a nice break from the normal way of things. That was about the things I liked because taste-wise, it was way too stewy and peppery for me to enjoy as a lasagne. 

NOSA: I had to eat the lasagne the next day because I was over the “smoke” by this point, which made me appreciate the Mac n Cheese even more. It’s a side but you should definitely get it with one of your mains.

FOLLY: If there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate after visiting so many restaurants, I don’t like when small things come in big plates or rectangular items are served in circular plates. Let’s say shawarma in a round plate. 

NOSA: Don’t think they paid too much attention to that part.

FOLLY: I would like to see the Observatory could play around with the dishes that items are served in. It could be that they inherited the serving ware from BLD but I don’t know if that’s the case. 

As someone that takes A LOT of pictures of food, I don’t feel the plates being used at the restaurant lend the food to being presented, styled and photographed in the best light. 

NOSA: As harsh as Folly sounds, I can’t bring myself to hate Observatory. There’s a lot that could’ve been improved, but I genuinely liked it and I’ll visit again. Maybe I’ll force Folly, but it was alright with me. A couple of friends understandably didn’t like it but that tozo pastrami burger cast a spell over me. I’m sorry, friends.

FOLLY: It’s really not personal but I am concerned that it is going to appear as though it is. I’ll definitely try it again though.

NOSA: And yeah, Folly is right. They need to change the plates.

POSTSCRIPT

FOLLY: It may be that Observatory isn’t for me, but I didn’t really enjoy it as an experience or find it memorable, all the food was okay. 

NOSA: I can see why people won’t like it, but I liked it. They need to bin the shisha panhandlers, however.

VERDICT

DAMAGE

Tozo Pie - N6500

Smoked Snail - N4500

Tozo Reuben Pastrami - N8500

Smoked Turkey Lasgna - N8500

Mac & Cheese - N4000

Toffee Brownie - N4500

PRICE RANGE

N10,000 - N15,000

PARKING

Very limited