Taj Restaurant | Bar

1064 Alagbon Close, Victoria Island, Lagos | Instagram | 0704 744 9000

NOSA: Well, it's been a minute since we've had a night out to review some new place. We had our sights set on Mako, but alas, we weren't popping enough to get in, so we settled for Taj Restaurant on Alagbon Close in Victoria Island. We thought it was an Indian restaurant from the name and branding, but boy were we wrong. This place had sushi, pasta, tacos, and steak on one menu, but no trace of India was found. 

Our first red flag should have been the small bottled water. Restaurants that serve only small bottles of water are always up to something.

FOLLY: We hadn’t done this in a minute, so I decided to get on a cocktail, even though they were pricier than I'm willing to pay for drinks in Lagos. (This new cocktail pricing regime in Lagos does not bode well with me).

I went with the lavender gin and tonic, but unfortunately, it was nothing special. Just gin, tonic, and lavender syrup. In retrospect, I should have listened to Nosa and saved my 8,500.

NOSA: Also, I know the economy is tough, but 8,500 Naira for a gin and tonic that I could've whipped up at home? Criminal.

To start, we ordered the Pulled Hoisin Beef Brisket Bao, Crispy Fish Tacos, and Chicken Pops.

The Brisket Bao sounded promising on paper, with 24-hour slow-braised hoisin beef, fresh veggies, and sesame seeds. But in reality, it was a mess. The bao was structurally sound, which is already a win in Lagos, but it had a sour taste that left a bad taste in my mouth.

And don't even get me started on the Crispy Fish Tacos. I opted for the hard-shell variety, big mistake.

FOLLY: As soon as Nosa ordered them, I made a face, prompting him to ask the waiter to switch to soft shells. But Nosa being Nosa, he decided to stick with the hard shells, even after I warned him about their potential cardboard-like taste.

NOSA: I swear these guys used stale old El Paso brand shells that tasted like plastic. The fresh fish inside sharply contrasted and made me long for my local taco joint, El Padrino. On the other hand, the fish was incredibly fresh, making the taco's staleness even more disappointing.

FOLLY: I ended up scooping out the filling and eating it alone, leaving the shell in the taco tray thing.

NOSA: El Padrino has nothing to worry about. 

The Chicken Pops were an attempt to recreate the dish at another Lagos restaurant, RSVP. But Taj's version was a far cry from the original. 

FOLLY: I was really looking forward to trying this, but the sweet and sour sauce tasted like cheap ketchup with too much vinegar. The management contacted me via Instagram DM to say that the sauces are house made and fresh, but I'm still sceptical.

NOSA: The "signature sweet and sour sauce" tasted like straight-up ketchup, and the chicken tempura had all the excitement of a bland festival snack. Nahi and Maya at RSVP, too, have nothing to worry about.

For the main, we got the Puree Bell Pepper Surf And Turf - penne pasta in a red bell pepper puree sauce with shrimp, calamari, beef chunks, and boneless chicken fillet. But, surprise, surprise, ours came with linguine instead, with no explanation. And it was broken, to boot! 

FOLLY: I chose the pasta, not imagining that Puree Bell Pepper Pasta was code for Jollof pasta. It was definitely spicy but pretty tasty, but not what I expected. Despite all that, it was the best thing we had all night.

NOSA: All in all, we probably made the wrong call on everything we ordered. The space looked too nice for the food to taste, so second-rate.

FOLLY: Not what I wanted for my triumphant return to blogging.

NOSA: We had to go to Jay's Diner to cleanse our palates. But, shoutout to Taj for using Patronize and letting us pay with bank transfer, at least.

FOLLY: I wanted to go to RSVP oh, but no parking.

POSTSCRIPT

Yeah, probably won’t be back.

VERDICT

DAMAGE

Lavender Gin & Tonic — N8500

Chicken Pops — N8000

Pulled Hoisin Beef Brisket Bao — N7500

Crispy Fish Tacos — N8000

Puree Bell Pepper Surf & Turf — N16000

PARKING

It’s a roadside parking situation