The Jamaican Restaurant Run by Actual Jamaicans
Jamski
8A Ologun Agbaje Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
0809 458 0930. catering@jamskinigeria.com
NOSA: We’ve been trying to put off this Jamski review for another week, but due to Food Shack ruining our plans, we were left with no choice.
FOLLY: Food Shack stays stressing us out.
NOSA: As expected, Jamski is still a work in progress.
FOLLY: So we're not going to judge them based on that because they've not really opened yet and we were just being keen.
NOSA: There’s still some construction work being done, there’s no POS, and there’s also no menu. So please note these things if you do decide to visit.
FOLLY: There's also no printed bill so you'll have to take their word for it.
NOSA: This is the third Jamaican restaurant we’ve reviewed on the blog and this probably the first one with actual Jamaican staff.
FOLLY: Mango Room and Jamo Afrique are the other two in case you were wondering.
NOSA: The others might have a Jamaican in the kitchen, but Jamski has Jamaicans everywhere. From the floor to the kitchen. Everywhere. For that alone, I’m going to safely assume this is actually authentic Jamaican food.
Fair, no?
FOLLY: Sounds fair to me.
NOSA: So we got the Curry Goat, Oxtail in Brown Stew, and Jerk Chicken. Rice & Peas too. Before I get into anything, I want to let you guys know how cool the Jamaican accent is.
FOLLY: I'm an idiot so I made him repeat everything not cause I didn't hear, but because I wanted to hear him talk again.
NOSA: The oxtail was tender, but not as tender as the one at Mango Room. After trying oxtail at two other places, I really appreciate the one at Mango Room. You could literally slide the bone out of theirs. The Jamski one, not so much. But if you love Cow Leg, you’ll absolutely love this. Trust me, when you try it, you’ll get it.
FOLLY: My dad would love this, mans can gnaw on a cow leg like nothing you've ever seen. The meat on the curry goat, however, was incredibly tender, maybe they used our delicious baby goats that are bred specially for asun.
NOSA: The rice and peas were very different from what we’ve had previously. The color was a lot brighter. I tried googling, but the color thing is really all over the place so I guess everyone is right.
FOLLY: I definitely enjoyed the rice and peas here, but of the three iterations of rice and peas I've had in Lagos, Mango Room's has been my favorite. It was sweet but the taste of coconut milk wasn't as strong as it was in Jamski's.
NOSA: The jerk chicken was pretty delicious and if you aren’t the most adventurous, this is what you should settle on.
FOLLY: I've decided that jerk chicken is overrated. It tastes just like the chicken suya from Glover Court.
NOSA: It’s really interesting how Jamaican food is a lot like Nigerian. They love spicy food too. They might as well be Yoruba.
FOLLY: Yeah the curry goat was a little bit too spicy for me that I had to allow it after a while. I even had to change my ratio of rice to stew from my normal ratio cause I needed a lot more rice to diffuse the steam from the curry.
NOSA: The curry goat was really tender now that I think I about it. I tend to avoid goat at every juncture in life, but the tenderness was surprising. Shouts to them.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: This Jamaican spot seems the most authentic of the lot so if you’re in the mood for some adventure, this is the one.
FOLLY: Surely, there has to be more to Jamaican food than oxtail and jerk chicken cause I'm currently maxed out on that. I'd go back when they open properly, if I can order something other than oxtail and jerk chicken.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Total bill cost N7700 for all the food mentioned above and two bottles of water and a can of Heineken.
A bit cheap, no?
PARKING
Street parking.
Update: Jamski now has a POS machine.