Papa's Grill is a Needed Addition to Lekki's Evolving Restaurant Landscape

April 10, 2017 Folly

FOLLY: I understand that Nigeria is a very religious society but why don't more businesses open on Sundays?

NOSA: My boss usually talks about how businesses shape customer behavior. GTBank, for instance, tries to push their customers to online channels by offering limited service in branches. In the same way, Nigerian businesses probably want you to go to church by not opening early on Sundays or not opening at all.

FOLLY: I get that everybody needs days of rest but that's exactly the point why restaurants tend to take Monday off.

NOSA: Or maybe the owners are churchgoers.

FOLLY: I have no data to back this up but for N250,000 on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, I'd definitely answer that restaurants make highest sales on weekend days as opposed to weekdays. If that is true, it would then make little to no sense not to open on a Sunday. Except, of course, you're a deeply religious business owner like Chick Fil-A.

The purpose of this mini rant was to obviously let you know that the first time we tried to visit Papa's Grill on a Sunday we discovered that they were not open.

NOSA: Predicatably, this was deeply upsetting.

FOLLY: I did the ordering and I was pretty disappointed by the lack of options. On the day, Papa's Grill was more a chicken wing shop than a grill place because almost all beef options were unavailable.

NOSA: A nice looking wing shop, to be fair. I really really loved the set up at Papa's Grill. It's like food truck, but in a building. It doesn't look like a truck, don't get me wrong, but it has this food truck vibe. You'll understand when you pay a visit.

FOLLY: I ordered Chicken Bites, Sweet and Tangy Wings, Orijin BBQ Wings, Fried Plantain, and Papa's Gizdo. For the most part I was largely underwhelmed by Papa’s Grill and nothing really stood out on my taste buds.

NOSA: Folly didn't get a picture of it, but the Crispy Bites are the closest thing you'll find to chicken nuggets in Lagos.

FOLLY: The plantain in the Gizdo was pretty firm and the gizzard was tender. It tasted okay but not memorable, and so in one word: basic.

NOSA: I'm not the biggest gizdo fan in the world so my opinion shouldn't count for much. I'll go as far as saying plantain is a bit overrated.

Fried Yam > Fried Plantain.

What we really need is YamDo, but we'll get into that on another day.

FOLLY: YamDo sounds awful.

FOLLY: Of the two wing styles, I preferred the sweet and tangy. The chicken wings weren't hard chicken but it could have been a little bit more tender. I didn’t notice it on the flats, but the drumettes were exhausting to eat and often times I gave up.

NOSA: I preferred the Orijin BBQ wings. They had a more interesting flavor, if you ask me, and the whole idea of it is pretty genius. At a party some time ago, the guy working the grill made beer can chicken, but with Orijin. It's probably one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten in my life.

FOLLY: Yeah, that chicken was absolutely amazing. The Orijin BBQ at Papa's Grill, unfortunately, tasted nothing like that instance.

NOSA: The Orijin BBQ wings brought back those fond memories. You might argue that they truly didn't have a more interesting flavor and I'm judging based on nostalgia. You might be right too, but either way, order these when you swing by Papa's Grill.

FOLLY: The other times I’ve ordered plantain as a side they were cut in strips similar to yam fries and weren't oily.

NOSA: Error.

FOLLY: These were like plantains that you’d eat with jollof rice and two meat, and so a bit out of place if you’d ask me.

NOSA: On the whole, Papa's Grill is the grill version of Denzel Washington. Denzel s not going to give you any performances out of the ordinary, but within his range, he gets the job done.

POSTSCRIPT

FOLLY: Overall, Papa’s Grill was good enough but it didn’t leave me with any strong feelings for or against it.

NOSA: Given the context of Lagos, this is a "LIKE". Sure, you might not leave with any strong feelings towards it, but you have to commend how "solid" it is. They don't get too adventurous with it, but they are adventurous enough. Folly is trippin'

FOLLY: FYI, it's a shack so it's a grab and go place for the most part.

VERDICT

DAMAGE

Crispy Bites - N1000

Papa's Gizdo - N1500

Orijin BBQ Chicken Wings - N1500

Papa's 90 Sweet & Tangy - N2000

PARKING

Street Parking