Restaurant By Day, Clubhouse By Night

March 25, 2015 Nosa O

NOSA: So on Sundays, Spice Route has a N4000 lunch buffet with a mish mash of their Asian fare. They do it on weekdays, as well, for N3500. We didn't try it because I, for sure, was not about to partake in any risky activity. Wasn't about to spend my life on the toilet. No, sir. Not me.

NOSA: The onion rings weren't what I expected, I was expecting something along the lines of this. What we got was an Indian take on onion rings, which The Google calls Bhaji. Obvs I prefer American-style onion rings, but these were pretty interesting. Good job, good effort.

FOLLY: Indian onion rings weren't bad, but just as Nosa said they weren't what we were expecting. These were less crispy than American-style onion rings and had a distinct Indian flair - like they put a tablespoon of tikka masala in the batter.

NOSA: Also, it should be noted that Bhaji predates onion rings so it's a bit weird that an Indian restaurant lists it as "onion rings"

NOSA: A little PROTIP, while cheese naan and tikka masala aren't officially on the menu, you can get them. Just politely ask your waiter and he'll sort you out.

The cheese naan at Spice Route didn't top Churrasco's. I don't think we'll find cheese naan that'll top Churrasco's and that's really testing the limits of my personal Churrasco's boycott.

FOLLY: The cheese naan wasn't spectacular. It had more cheese in it than the one at Viceroy's but still didn't click. It wasn't puffy enough.

That's probably why it isn't on the menu. They'll make it for you if you insist but they obvs don't want to put it on the menu for everyone to see 'cause they aren't confident like that.

NOSA: I gave Viceroy a ton of shit for having sub par Tikka Masala and not being up to Spice Route's standards. I guess I should issue a retraction and/or apology because Spice Route's Tikka Masala was pretty underwhelming on the day. Now, it should never be full-on sweet but Tikka Masala should have a hint of sweetness. There's a real fine line and Spice Route's didn't have that hint.

FOLLY: I didn't really like the chicken tikka masala. It was a bit more chunky than the other ones I've had and it didn't taste fresh - nor did the vindaloo tbh

NOSA: We got the half portion of the of the tikka masala and it might as well have been a full one. Spice Route does half-portions on their chicken entrees for N1500 btw. Chicken only.

FOLLY: Their half portions are a very good deal cause it's still enough to feed two, while the full portions can feed a small family of four (if you do a couple of sharing plates).

NOSA: I didn't like the Mutton Vindaloo too much. It tasted like old stew to me. Fried old stew. The mutton had no flavor also. It might just be me and you might like it, but I can't see myself ever getting it again.

FOLLY: Me neither. Old stew fried with old oil from a plastic container with settled sediments.

NOSA: Speaking of old oil, is it a Nigerian thing to preserve oil after use? Like, you fry yam or plantain or whatever, and what's leftover is kept in a frying pan in the oven. Must be like how we keep stew in ice cream containers.

POSTSCRIPT

NOSA: I think the hilarious thing about this meal is that for someone who hates rice & stew with a passion, I found myself eating it. The vindaloo and masala are just stew abeg.

FOLLY: This is by far my most underwhelming Spice Route experience. I've dined here a couple of times before and it's always been excellent.

NOSA: Overall, Spice Route wasn't bad. It wasn't excellent either, but it was very solid. Like 7s across the board solid. It'll never blow you away but it'll never disappoint. I you want fantastic Indian food, you can go up the road to Sherlaton, but I don't think the jump in quality is significant enough to justify Sherlaton's shit parking and overall dinginess.

FOLLY: Like I said earlier, nothing about this meal really tasted fresh and when I think about it, I suspect it's because of the buffet that was going on upstairs. I feel as though they served our mains from what was mass cooked, and if that's actually what happened it's pretty fucked up.

DAMAGE

Onion Rings - N1500

Cheese Naan - N1000

Plain Rice - N800

Chicken Tikka Masala (Half Portion) - N1500

Mutton Vindaloo - N2600