Tribe Lagos

288b Ajose Adeogun St, Victoria Island, Lagos

0916 986 4838

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I drive past the Tribe sign on Ajose Adeogun frequently and I’ve always wondered what it was so I decided to stop by. It’s where Foundry was and Rehab as well. (P.s. if you’re old enough to know Rehab, you should have born twins by now.)

I got there early before it got busy. My first impression was that the staff could have been significantly warmer. There was one security guy around but he didn’t seem to have any intentions of doing his job. Thankfully, the entrance is very obvious so I figured out where to go and struggled with the door as he stared at me.

The reception from the hostess wasn’t any warmer. I felt like no one sent me as I walked in. Could be because I was a single woman…. Who knows? It took about 5 minutes to actually go into the main restaurant. The hostess asked if I had a reservation and when I said no, she spent a while trying to put my details into their system. I assumed there was a problem with their reservation system because she asked for my details twice. Technical issues are fine but there was barely any communication in that 5-minute period, just silence while I stood and watched her on her computer. No apologies for the delay or even an explanation for the delay.

At least the entrance was nice. The whole space has nice and clean aesthetics. The walls at the reception area were a warm shade of brown that was reminiscent of clay walls. The restaurant itself was divided into two sections: a large open space and then a smaller private section. There was a large Benin mask on one side of the wall and an equally large pharaoh head on the other side. I’m guessing there is some relevance to the name “Tribe” but I was missing it. I’m not 100% sure what the vibe was supposed to be but I did think it was a nice space.

When I finally got it, I sat in the open space and finally got some warmth from my server. Unfortunately, my friends wanted to sit in the more private room so we moved tables and got stuck with a server that seemed very unsure about everything. I’m guessing he was new (but it’s a new place so everyone is, no?)

The menu came in the form of a QR code etched into a wooden block. That was cute. The menu itself was a little basic to me. I felt like they tried to consider the standard Nigeria palate but they just ended up with a very boring menu. The usual appetizers, the usual burgers, the usual soups. Nothing stood out, this could have been a menu in any generic Lagos restaurant. Very few dishes actually gave “Afro-fusion” like they had described the menu. I thought some of the prices were decent for today’s version of Lagos though.

For my drink, I got the third mainland cocktail. It was a little sweet but I liked it. It was a whiskey based cocktail with ginger and cinnamon, my favorite things.  I would have preferred the ginger to have been more prominent but it was a good cocktail, nevertheless. Unfortunately, there was a short hair in my first drink, maybe an eyelash, so I sent it back. They apologized and replaced it. The second one wasn’t as good as the first one but it was still enjoyable. I assume they shook it a little too long cause it was quite watered down.

My friend got the Negroni. It was stroooong but it was also sweet, too much vermouth perhaps? Or maybe they Nigerianed it up and added simple syrup. I don’t love Negronis but I actually didn’t mind this. I imagine the purists wouldn’t have liked it but it really worked for me.

We got the Prawn Spring Rolls and the Buffalo Mint Wings as starters. The spring rolls were quite good. A nice flakey pastry filled with a very flavorful filling. It was also perfectly fried - crispy and golden brown. It was a small portion though. Four short spring rolls for 11k seemed wild to me. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize the price before ordering a second portion 🫠.

The Buffalo Mint Wings were mid at best. I’m not sure why the word “mint” was in the name seeing as there was no mint in them and that might have been weird anyway. We could eat the wings but we were not wowed. They also definitely weren’t made with Buffalo sauce and they were a little on the sweet side.

I got the Asun “rosie” pasta for my main. It was extremely Nigerian in taste. The dish definitely needed more complexity. It was literally just stew in cream and it was a bit spicy. The asun in it was actually quite delicious, it had tough skin but it was the best thing about the dish. It’s a shame the flavor of the asun didn’t get into the pasta.

My friend got the lamb chops with the herb rice as a side. I enjoyed the rice. The herbs were definitely present - a lot of cilantro and parsley. The lamb chops looked a little struggle-y. Definitely Nigerian lamb. They were dry and slightly tough because they had been overcooked. They also needed a bit more flavor, it seemed like they were just seasoned with a little salt and black pepper and then sprinkled with suya spice afterwards. The mushroom sauce it came with wasn’t made from scratch, it almost tasted like it started out as a powder. They then put one solitary mushroom (from a can) on it to confuse us about its origins.

Honestly, other than the spring rolls (which can only be so mind-blowing), the food was just mid and didn’t seem worth the trip or the money spent. In hindsight, I should have tried more of their cocktails, that might be where they shine.

We asked for the lamb to go and the server informed us that they charged N1,500 for takeaway packs. That’s just too too razz. When it’s not the Place or Mama Cass. Also, restaurants that charge a service charge have zero business collecting money for takeout bowls.

When we got our bill, some of the prices we had seen on the menu were different on the bill. The manager apologized for that but the damage was already done.

POST SCRIPT

I don’t understand why Nigerians keep opening new restaurants if they’re not going to do amazing things.

VERDICT

PARKING

Enough for about 8 cars. There are other businesses in the same compound so they might take up those spots but there’s valet parking later in the evening

DAMAGE

Third Mainland - 10,000

Negroni - 10,000

Prawn Spring Rolls - 11,000

Buffalo Mint Wings - 9,500

Asun Rosie Pasta - 12,000

Lamb Chops - 18,000

Takeaway Pack - 1,500