Brunch at Samantha's
UPDATE: Since this review, we've had our Brunch Party at Samantha's, which was a bit disappointing. We feel we should give you a heads up to keep things fair
NOSA: Samantha’s Bistro is another new spot we’ve found via Instagram. We wanted to check out their brunch last week, but Accra happened. So when we got tagged in a picture about their brunch, it just had to happen.
NOSA: I really love the space here, but I hate the “compound” it’s in.
FOLLY: Lol, but isn't that more for personal reasons.
NOSA: The interior is just adorable. It’s still pretty new so there isn’t a menu yet. The owner is really nice though and she put us through what they had to offer.
FOLLY: I love mason jars, so when my friend's iced tea came in one of these beauties. I just had to have one for myself.
NOSA: The owner suggested we get a shared brunch. When she said it, I’ll be honest, I had no clue what she meant. Just nodded my head like it was all good.
What we got was a bit of a brunch tasting menu.
Our first plate was the platter. It had chicken sausages, ham stuffed crepes, and some potato thing that I didn’t quite catch the name.
FOLLY: The bartender/waiter had no clue what the potato thing was called, but from their Instagram I gathered it was called a potato cake.
NOSA: The sausages were nice. Tasted a bit off and not like your regular chicken sausage, but there’s just something about it I liked.
FOLLY: It tasted like the meat has been marinated in spices or aged, essentially something fancy was certainly done to it. I don't think that I could eat too many of these cause the taste was actually quite overwhelming.
NOSA: The potato thing was interesting. My friend, who had brunch with us, said it was like “scotch potatoes”. Like, the scotch egg crust on baked potato. Have no clue what it was but that shit was delicious.
FOLLY: The outside was crispy like scotch egg and the inside was like a mashed potato.
NOSA: The best part of the platter were the crepes. I wish we got more of these because they were so damn good. Something about the sweetness of the crepe and the saltiness of the ham that just worked. Didn’t hurt that there was some cheese in there as well.
NOSA: After the first plate, we were like, “Is that all?” Didn’t help that there was a long pause and the waiter came around to tell us all that was left was dessert. I mean, the first plate was nice but N13,500 for that would have been a bit of a madness.
FOLLY: While I and my friend were debating what we'd do if that was all, Nosa was calm and said I'm just going to assume homeboy is clueless.
NOSA: The second plate, if you can call it that, was some brioche baked with ham. I could’ve probably eaten a whole loaf of this. Huge fan, I was.
FOLLY: Absolutely delicious. I wanted to ask for extra.
NOSA: The third plate was a bit out of left field - some corn on the coband steak strips. Well, the waiter said steak but this thing was really suya marinated in something I couldn’t quite put a finger on. This was pretty good, as well. I’m a bit curious about what she did with the corn. It tasted like a the roasted corn you get on the street AND the boiled corn you get on the street.
FOLLY: Now this was my favourite, the pesto on the corn was so delicious. The suya was sweet and spicy. There's something on their Instagram about beef in plum sauce, I think this was it.
It's so funny how we kept trying to guess what each thing was - now I see why restaurants hand out menus, we kinda need the education.
NOSA: For our final plate, we got some scrambled eggs with bacon and a “waffle”. Waffle in quotes because it was really a waffle like that. Folly said it was fritter put in a waffle maker while I think it was some cornbread put in a waffle maker.
FOLLY: Yup, I think corn fritters made in a waffle maker. Also, our last plate was pretty much a bonus and the only one for which we got individual plates. The owner came out to ask if we had enjoyed our meal. I responded yes, and then she asked if we wanted more and I again replied yes - LOL. The scrambled eggs were creamy, soft and not over-cooked. Wiper for Jesus.
NOSA: Oh, no struggle bacon. Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: My friend found an ant in her drink, the waiter was a bit clueless, and there’s no POS. Despite all of this, I really liked it. I know it doesn’t add up, but the food was that good and it more or less cancelled out the bad parts.
I wonder if this tasting menu is something she can keep up when the customer volume increases. From what we saw, it was just her and a sous chef manning the kitchen.
FOLLY: I'd go back again. For N4500 it's not a bad price but a drink should be included, at least juice.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Brunch - 4500
Iced Tea - 1500