The Rebirth of La Provence
La Provence
FOLLY: We've reviewed Casa Lydia and The Foundry, but not their sister restaurant - La Provence
NOSA: That has a lot to do with the fact that La Provence wasn't really different from Casa Lydia. Not anymore, though Casa Lydia and La Provence are now very distinct in their offerings. The former is still more of the same while the latter has got a completely new menu.
NOSA: Long day at work so I got a Strawberry Mango Daiquiri, which sounded like it would taste delicious but didn’t.
FOLLY: My Lychee Caipirinha was a solid 8/10 but it might have had a little too much lime in it. To start we got the Ikoyi River Prawns. I wonder if these prawns actually came from the Ikoyi side of the lagoon, or the name is just interesting.
NOSA: It’s pretty much two large-ish prawns on a potato “biscuit” and in a pool of some sauce I didn’t care much for.
FOLLY: Mr.Waiter told us it was two portions though so I was expecting two potato biscuits each topped with a prawn, and not one biscuit topped with two prawns. Nosa didn't care much for the sauce that they ladled generously into the plate, but I loved it. When the prawns and potato biscuit were done, I was scooping it up with my fork like soup.
NOSA: The “biscuit” had a very meaty texture, which I found particularly interesting.
FOLLY: The prawns were also large and still moist - not cooked till they were chewy and dry. The potato biscuit was more cake then biscuit, because it was soft and not crunchy.
NOSA: For my main, I got the Pepper Pesto Seafood Penne. Yeah, it’s a bit of a mouthful. The only thing pesto about it was the colour because the pepper completely overwhelmed it.
FOLLY: It wasn't spicy in the Nigerian hot pepper way though.
NOSA: For some reason. this didn’t bother me however. In fact, I thought this was completely fantastic. It worked in a really weird way. Folly got the Chimichurri Ribeye as her main
FOLLY: Nosa didn't care much for my steak, comparing it to Lagos cow, but I liked it. It was marbled with fat as one would expect of a rib-eye.
NOSA: To be honest, this is the type of steak you get well done. I remember having a conversation with a friend in college who studied Meat Science (yes, a real thing). According to her, the better the quality of meat, the rarer you want it.
FOLLY: For example, Kobe and Wagyu steaks shouldn't be cooked more than medium rare so that you can achieve that "melt in your mouth" feeling. At least, according to Google and food blogs as I've never been privileged to try either
NOSA: Folly’s steak wasn’t great quality meat. It was made as well as they could so it’s not really a slight on La Provence. In this economy, I’m not judging anyone who chooses not to import their meat. I mean, I hope this wasn’t imported because it would be a waste.
FOLLY: Irrespective of all of that, I did enjoy the steak. On the plating, I expected the steak to come sliced with the chimichurri sauced spooned in between the slices and not on the side- blame Instagram. I think that would have made for a more interesting plating than this.
NOSA: At N1000 less, this might be the best value for money steak in Lagos.
FOLLY: The creme brûlée made me sad. The sugar topping arrived cracked and the inside was more syrup than custard
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: On the whole, La Provence isn’t bad. I’d go back again. I wasn’t blown away, but it’s good enough. Compared to what Lagos has to offer, “good enough” already puts you on the restaurant honor roll.
FOLLY: The only thing that really disappointed me was the creme brûlée.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Ikoyi River Prawns - N4500
Pepper Pesto Seafood Penne - N6000
Chimichurri Ribeye - N7500
Amarula Creme Brûlée - N2500
PARKING
Sufficient on most days