A New Look Menu, but Same Old RSVP
FOLLY: Nosa is to RSVP as Lagos is to traffic.
NOSA: RSVP is my favorite restaurant in Lagos. Like, Backyard and these new ones are cool, but RSVP has a place in my heart.
FOLLY: Yeah, Nosa can die for RSVP.
NOSA: It’s not as bad as when they first opened, but that’s more to do with my bank account and not the food. I really love how committed the owners are committed to keeping things fresh.
FOLLY: His RSVP bat signals have been going off since earlier this year when they started reworking their menu.
NOSA: Garra.
FOLLY: You might not notice it immediately as you look though the menu because nothing about the design has changed to highlight these new items - I think they should put a “NEW” beside the items. At the same time, the pages actually don’t look at all like they were recently printed.
There are so many things I want to try and if I didn’t spend a mini fortune on a hammam scrub over the weekend, I definitely would have been back there within a week to try some more new items.
NOSA: We might have to dedicate like a week or something to reviewing it, but we aren’t done with the Bungalow menu so it might take a while.
FOLLY: We started with Pork Sliders and Lobster Rolls. One of my university friends was really into lobster rolls, and that was my first introduction into them as a concept. This was my first time ever trying it and to be completely honest I don’t get the hype.
NOSA: Lobster rolls are better in theory and on instagram than they are in practice.
FOLLY: It’s like potato salad (but lobster instead) on a roll. A bit boring if you ask me. Is there such a thing as cajun lobster roll cause that might be up my alley. The crips it came with, however, were crispy and delish. A dipping sauce would have been nice.
FOLLY: I enjoyed the pork sliders. Everything in it was soft - bread, pickled vegetables, pork - and so they all melded into each other as you ate it.
NOSA: Oh God, the bun was soooooo soft. Elite bun. Very elite bun. And pork is the most tender thing.
FOLLY: For some people this may be a bad thing because there’s zero crunch in this sandwich and it could be confused for soggy. I liked it, you may not, this is just a warning if you don’t.
NOSA: Only philistines won’t like this and I care not for the opinions of philistines. You’re clearly not the target markets, razzos.
For our main, Folly and I split the Seafood Parpadelle. Parpadelle is a tricky thing from personal experience because it’s so easy to mess up. So so easy.
FOLLY: Pasta was really good. The different in fresh pasta and boxed pasta is night and day.
FOLLY: The sauce was a little flat but nothing black pepper couldn't fix.
NOSA: Ours was perfectly al dente and they were very generous with the seafood. And yeah, it needs a little salt/black pepper for the typical Nigerian palate, if I’m being honest.
FOLLY: Dessert has never been RSVP’s strong point. It's not just them, this is where most Lagos restaurants in the "expensive price point" fall short in terms of delivering an overall experience. It appears that's now a thing of the past and RSVP has introduced a few new desserts and we tried one of them - The Smores
NOSA: RSVP dessert has always been a no-go, even I know that.
FOLLY: Smores have always fascinated me. Since being a pre-teen and watching American cartoons or tv shows about camping and grilling smores with sticks over an open fire. I was determined to try them once I broke free of these shores - I did :)
NOSA: I used to make smores on a gas cooker with my college roommates. Fun times.
FOLLY: This is so simple that I'm surprised Hans & Rene didn't already do something like this. All you need is good quality milk chocolate and you're set.
NOSA: You can probably make this at home, but that’s not the point. RSVP finally nailed dessert this time.
FOLLY: We didn't get any cocktails on this visit because we were kind of on a budget and we've had most of them already. I recommend the Pornstar Martini or Copa Del Lebanon
POSTSCRIPT
FOLLY: I just need more monies so I can try all the new starters.
NOSA: Maybe I’m biased because I like RSVP, but I don’t think RSVP ever lost a step. RSVP is still a top 5 restaurant in Lagos.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Smores - N3800
Pork Sliders - N6800
Lobster Roll - N5000
Seafood Parpadelle - N6800
PARKING
Exists. Not a lot, but on a normal day it suffices.