La Brioche Serves an Underrated Brunch
La Brioche
22 Musa Yaradua St,. Victoria Island, Lagos
FOLLY: We've been to La Brioche before. May last year soon after they opened. Here's that review. Nosa snuck there recently without telling me and discovered they had a new brunch special menu. He then had to confess to me about his sneaky nature because he wanted us to review the brunch special. Anything hidden under the sun shall surely come to light, amirite?
NOSA: Smh false.
FOLLY: Their mimosas are pretty affordable. You can order two and get a main and just be a little bit over N6000 pp. I think that's awesome for brunch in Lagos. You may disagree that's your problem.
NOSA: No, it's a surprisingly "affordable" brunch. I don't want to use the word "cheap" because you Nigerians think that means it's rubbish and it isn't. As far as value goes, you're getting the same quality of product you'd get at a Craft Gourmet at a fraction of the price.
FOLLY: I ordered the Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Waffles, while Nosa had the Open Faced Omelette.
I didn't try Nosa's omelette but they sure do know how to make and bake bread at La Brioche. I only had a tiny piece of Nosa's slice could have eaten the whole loaf if given the opportunity.
NOSA: The brioche toast is to die for
NOSA: It's not the most photogenic meal I've ever had, but it certainly did a job. Ok, maybe I'm understating it, it was actually pretty delicious.
FOLLY: In one word, my chicken & waffles were overwhelming. If you read this blog a lot you'd know describing my meal in one word is something I often do.
On one hand, it was overwhelming because the food was like a mountain, it was a lot of food for me to consume on my own.
NOSA: The chicken was YUUUUUGE, word to Trumpito.
FOLLY: Secondly, it was overwhelming because the waffles were thick and dense and I had to be so intentional in cutting it that the whole exercise of it wore me out and I ate just one of the two pieces.
NOSA: I have a little theory on it.
Without syrup, the waffle is a bit bland and it might be on purpose because the Chicken has a strong savory flavor. It misses a trick because the true appeal of chicken & waffles is the strange mish mash of sweet and savory. The conflicting flavor profile is where its strength lies.
FOLLY: What I did like about my meal was that the chicken was well flavored, the skin was crispy and it was a boneless piece. I'm not a chef but fixing the doughy nature waffles can be improved is actually quite simple
- using lighter flour - I hope for the love of God, the chef didn't accidentally use bread flour in this
- separating the egg whites from the yolk.
Also a dash of sugar in these waffles would have gone a long way. Nosa seems to think that ommission was intentional though.
NOSA: I understand their vision, but I completely disagree. It's great if you're a tyro to chicken & waffles because you don't get the conflict and it sorta eases you into the concept gently. You almost feel like it's a bread and chicken sandwich, but that's not the point of chicken & waffles.
There needs to be a fine balance between the two flavor profiles. At Craft Gourmet, they forfeit flavor in the chicken while La Brioche does away with the sweetness of the waffle. It's a bit of a shame because both can coexist.
POSTSCRIPT
FOLLY: The brunch special menu is streamlined with just four items on it. I hear the smoked salmon eggs benedict is the Bizness. They just need to improve their waffle and that'll also be a hit.
NOSA: Despite everything, I think this is better than our review suggests. There are some hiccups, but it's a quality brunch.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Americano - N700
Mimosa - N1500
Puff Pastry - N550
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Waffle - N3400
Open Faced Omelette - N3300
PARKING
Yes, Off Street