There’s Another Wine Bar In Ikoyi
Liquid Hub by Spronks
NOSA: I “discovered” wine bars a couple of years ago in grad school. If I remember it correctly, that’s exactly the point I started becoming washed and began my slow transition to “get off my lawn” mode. Wine bars were the perfect spot to get hammered and hang out with my fellow olds.
FOLLY: He's not that old.
NOSA: From my little research, there are 4 wine bars in Lagos - Wine House, the one on Awolowo that no one wants to share with me, the one in Yaba, and Liquid Hub.
FOLLY: Yeah I didn't know there was one in Yaba, and I'm pretty sure the one on Awolowo road is an urban legend.
NOSA: What I really liked about Liquid Hub was that they have actual food on their menu. It’s not the most extensive menu, but it’s infinitely more than what Wine House has to offer.
FOLLY: The wine list is disorganized. There's absolutely no method to the madness. It's not arranged by colour, type, grape, year, nada. It's all listed in the order the person pulled them out of the carton or something equally as random.
NOSA: The food took forever, but the waiter appeased us with cheese and crackers so I’ll let it slide.
FOLLY: It's funny because they just out of the blue offered us complimentary cheese and crackers, promptiing us to ask for the food, and then they told us it'll be some time. I had the grilled tiger prawns with mashed potatoes, which according to the menu is the owner's special.
NOSA: The mash looks like eba. Tasted better, thankfully.
FOLLY: Eba with yellow garri.
NOSA: It had some lumps in it, but on the whole, it was pretty serviceable mash.
FOLLY: This consistency of the mash was very thick. It could have been smoother as Nosa highlighted, but the lumps were few and far between so I'd give it a 6.5/10. Yeah, I don't know why it looks so yellow either.
A better Yoruba Nigerian than me would have loved the tiger prawns because they were very hot and peppery. The menu said the prawns were marinated in a green pepper sauce and served with a green chili sauce. So, the lay(wo)man that I am imagined that the green pepper sauce was made with green bell peppers, and not the same green chilis that were going into the sauce that was served on the side which, because I fear God, I didn't touch.
NOSA: For my main, I got the Nigerian Platter, which consists of Ojojo, Akara, Dodo, Dundun, and gizzard. Basically, it’s everything you can buy on the roadside in Lagos. It’s a street food platter more or less.
FOLLY: I only tasted two things from this platter: Akara and Dundun (which I honestly thought was sweet potato).
NOSA: Awks...it's not sweet potato?
FOLLY: No, Dundun is fried yam and fried sweet potato, is well, fried sweet potato.
Anyway, growing up, I never ate Akara that much. I know in most homes Akara and Ogi was reserved for Saturday mornings but in my house, we had yam & corned beef. The Akara in this platter stood out for me. It had crayfish in it, and I've never seen that done before.
NOSA: I hate akara, but I loved the Nigerian platter. This platter is everything I wish Wine House had.
FOLLY: I feel like we should also have reviewed Liquid Hub on the quality of its wine list considering it's a wine bar. However, I'm not going to pretend that I know whether they're packing or not. They do have wines for every budget, however, so if you do visit I'm sure you'll find something that works for your taste and also pocket as well.
NOSA: You know what’s hilarious? Considering how often I went to wine bars, I could never become a wine snob. But then again, I drank boxed wine…so yeah.
FOLLY: I've never drank boxed wine.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: There’s a little to be desired but I think Liquid Hub is our little diamond in the dirt. There’re some things that I wish were a lot better aesthetically like the mash and the menu, but there is something to this place.
FOLLY: Liquid Hub has pretty good service. Our waiter was attentive and when he wasn't knowledgeable on certain things, he went to find out instead of BS-ing.
NOSA: This spot would be perfect for post work drinks. Get a bottle of wine and a couple of platters, and your group is all set.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Nigerian Platter - N3500
Pineapple Daiquiri - N2500
Grilled Tiger Prawns - N4000
PARKING
Liquid Hub is in a complex with a large parking lot.