Umutu Has Finally Figured it Out
Umutu Italian Restaurant
27A Oju Olobun Close, Victoria Island, Lagos.
NOSA: The first Umutu review might be the harshest thing we've ever posted on this site. That pizza was such a disaster. But everyone deserves a shot at redemption, right? So a little over a year after our original review, we revisited Umutu to find out if anything has changed.
FOLLY: For starters, pizza is gone from their menu. So one can then believe that they are focusing on things they actually know how to make.
NOSA: In the '00s, Umutu was actually a very good Italian restaurant according to a chef friend of ours.
FOLLY: To start, I ordered the bruschetta. For some reason, still unknown to me, the waiter kept asking whether I wanted mushroom or tomatoes.
NOSA: A lot might have changed, but the waiters are still frustrating as hell.
FOLLY: I was incredibly confused cause the menu stated olive oil, mushrooms and tomatoes so I didn't understand why it was a choice.
Eventually, Nosa told him to do whatever he saw fit and he arrived a little while later with this.
FOLLY: Tomato > Mushrooms > Olive Oil. The tomato was my favorite because of the garlicky flavour.
NOSA: The bruschetta weren't particularly memorable because, as you can see, I can't remember what they tasted like to write about.
FOLLY: My main was the pesto prawns. I was trying to decided between the spaghetti pesto or this. Somehow, this won and it shouldn't have, in retrospect. I absolutely love pesto even though it's not compliant with my dietary restrictions but sometimes I take risks.
I thought the presentation on this was ugly, they could have and SHOULD have done more to make the dish look more, for lack or a better word, inviting.
NOSA: This might have been really ugly, but the pesto was really really good. I kept nibbling out of Folly's plate.
Don't judge a pesto by its plating.
NOSA: I got the Penne Terra Mare, aka seafood penne. Umutu was pretty generous with the salmon in pasta. Pretty surprising because salmon is lowkey expensive in Lagos. Also surprising was how good the pasta was. It wasn't, like, mind blowing or earth shattering, but this is the Umutu that I hated so much. How did they get it so right this time?
NOSA: I'll probably go back to Umutu to get this again if I'm ever in the area. Maybe we were a bit too harsh the first time.
FOLLY: We rushed out so I forgot I wanted to order dessert.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: Umutu is a long way from the disaster it was when we first reviewed it. It could be better, for sure, but I'd revisit. I actually liked it this time, you know?
FOLLY: A decent place but I think I much prefer Veranda which is also an Italian restaurant that's up the street from Umutu.
NOSA: Umutu is solid mid tier restaurant. Think Crust & Cream, but for Italian
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Patate Saltate - N1200
Bruschetta Mista - N2000
Penne Terra-Mare - N4500
Gamberoni Alla Porto - N5000
PARKING
Yes, off street parking is available inside the premises.