RSVP For Brunch
RSVP
9 Eletu Ogabi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
NOSA: Before I start anything, go vote on our Twitter Poll
Done? Ok, let's begin.
Ever since we came here for brunch during Whole30, I've been itching to come back. So many things on the menu were off the table and I knew we'd have to come back at some point to sort that.
FOLLY: We still have to go back though because I still haven't been to the poolside.
NOSA: RSVP has switched up their menu by the way. We might have to revisit our original review. One of the new items on the menu is the Shrimp Tempura Roll.
Ok, it isn't really new but they rejigged it a bit. It used to come wrapped in cabbage, but that wasn't working out too well and it has been switched out for sweet potato leaves.
FOLLY: I didn't know we could eat sweet potato leaves. I feel like I once heard that it was just Pumpkin leaves i.e. Ugwu that could be eaten like this. Of course, in addition to lettuce and all its varieties, cabbage, kale etc.
NOSA: I really liked the shrimp tempura roll. Think hosomaki, but swap out the nori for sweet potato leaves.
FOLLY: I also really liked it too, and I thought the portion size (6 pcs) was decent. It's a cold roll btw, in case you were wondering.
NOSA: I wonder why no Nigerian chef has given sushi a Nigerian twist. Like, a maki roll with jollof or fried rice in it. Or one with snails in it. Imoteda, I know you'll read this, you better get on this. The streets need it.
FOLLY: A Nigerian chef has, a picture of a maki roll with chicken suya popped up on Instagram the other day.
NOSA: We both ordered off the brunch menu. I got the Blueberry Short Stack, with hash browns and bacon on the side
while Folly got the Breakfast Burger.
FOLLY: Which is essentially The Burger which I had here with a fried egg and lettuce.
NOSA: For a pancake that isn't as "insta friendly" as the one at Casper & Gambini's, these pancakes were excellent. Don't judge a pancake by its cover...or something like that.
These were arguably the best I've had in Lagos. A little caveat here, I haven't had a lot of pancake in Lagos. Maybe like 5 or so, but of that lot, these are the best. Definitely better than the ones at Casper & Gambini's.
FOLLY: I really liked the pancakes I got that one time at Olivia's Cafe.
NOSA: I was too busy trying to get Instagram pictures of the pancakes that I completely forgot to take ones of the hash browns and the bacon. The hash browns were soooooo good. Last time we got crispy looking hash browns (at Churchill's), they turned out to be burnt as hell. Thankfully, the hash browns at RSVP weren't. Praise Jesus.
Oh, shout out to RSVP for not having struggle bacon. Keep doing the Lord's work.
FOLLY: My burger was great, I really don't have any complaints. I don't know why I asked for my patty to be medium well as opposed to just medium, because the result was a grey patty all the way through. No pink = no juice. That's on me though and not RSVP as I made a pedestrian decision.
Oh, the bacon I stole from Nosa was the perfect accompaniment to the burger. I think RSVP should offer this as an 'add-on' option.
NOSA: You know, this girl didn't let me taste her burger. I was about to write something about it and I realized the stingy girl didn't say "come and eat" like every Nigerian coworker I've ever had.
FOLLY: Very rich coming from you considering I didn't taste your pancakes either. I fapped the bacon I added to my burger because it was strategically placed in front of me and I tasted the hash browns for comparative analysis.
NOSA: Folly's fries were mad soggy, fam. WYD, RSVP?
FOLLY: Funny thing this is the FIRST time I'm eating all my fries at RSVP because they are usually mad crunchy and scratch the roof of my mouth (i.e. hard palate). I completely inhaled these fries because they were soft and non-scratch. I understand this isn't the ideal but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like them like that.
NOSA: Not sure if you noticed it, but the pictures on this post look a lot better than usual. Well, we went and got ourselves a real camera. I'd rather stick with the iPhone because it means it's harder for anyone to suspect who we are. But hey, let's give this a shot and see how it goes.
FOLLY: Shout out to every one that bought ads on the blog, that's where your money went.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: From our Twitter interactions, RSVP is very hit or miss with a lot of people. Some people don't like the price point, while others don't like the way reservations work.
Personally, I RSVP is one of my 3 favorite restaurants in Lagos. I've been here a bunch and I can only think of one time I didn't have the best experience. And yes, I've been told there are no tables available while staring at an empty restaurant.
FOLLY: In fact on Sunday we couldn't sit at the table we originally wanted because it had been reserved. Sure, it was empty for like 10 minutes after we were seated but the group that had reserved it arrived in about 20 minutes tops.
NOSA: Think about it for a second, imagine you made a reservation and your table got given out because the customer insisted. I'd lose my shit. What's the point of making a reservation if they're just going to go out and give out my table anyway?
So yeah, I can understand it when they tell me a table is reserved despite it being unoccupied. And I appreciate it when I show up at at 1:10 pm for a 1 pm reservation (because I'm Nigerian) and my table wasn't given out because I was late.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Hash Browns - N800
Tempura Rolls - N4200
Streaky Bacon - N1000
Brunch Burger - N5800
Blueberry Short Stack - N2500
PARKING
Exists. Not a lot, but on a normal day it suffices.