Drink Lagos: The House
The House takes these alté vibes seriously.
Located in Victoria Island, on a quiet street that you’d definitely miss if you wanted a more cliché spot. My Uber driver kept going in circles until I decided to walk, it was just at the corner like a normal house, no fancy lights, no signs — thanks Google Maps.
Hospitality isn’t an easy business to venture into. So if you do, you might as well bring in your tribe. The House was an idea from semi-introverts who got bored of the predictable Lagos outing scene; club, house party, pool party. It was about bringing elements of their home to The House. There’s a corner for everyone; the garden; living room - bar and restaurant; the booth - music/DJ; the parlor - Netflix and Chill lol; the white room - lounge and shisha; study - cigar room.
I called ahead to make a reservation, which I hardly ever do, but Lagos on Friday nights will surprise your guts. Turns out this was a genius idea. If you’re headed to The House, book ahead especially if you’re a group.
I also went with a friend this time because I was not about to drink all my sorrows alone. After debating what to drink from the extensive menu we ordered - The Cosmopolitan, Faux Buzz with a Buzz and Whiskey Sour.
Ladi, was the ITK bartender who tried to convince us that Long Island Tea (which wasn’t written on the menu) was actually another name for Black Iced Tea (which they had on the menu). Of course, things would have been easier if he just said this was The House’s version of Long Island and moved on.
We ordered the Cosmopolitan because don’t we all miss Sex and the City or New York?
Cosmopolitan
At first, it tasted really sweet, which Ladi (the ITK mixologist) claimed he did intentionally cause ‘women like sweet’.
I believe a great Cosmo has a combination of sour - lime, sweet - Cointreau and bitter - cranberry notes. Unfortunately, this was too sweet and when we asked for more tart and liquor to balance the sweetness, it got too bitter and became more of a ‘cranberry vodka’ than a cosmo. What makes a cosmopolitan remarkable is its ability to balance all 3 flavors perfectly.
An extremely sweet cocktail is my pet peeve but to think I was also handed such cause of my womanhood is more annoying.
Faux Buzz with a Buzz
The next drink, which has become a fav on my cocktail list - the Faux Buzz with a Buzz. A customized drink with whiskey, ginger ale, raspberry syrup, lychee syrup and rosemary garnish. This won the best drink for the night! It came in a fairly sized cup and had enough to make you tipsy. It starts off sweet and the whiskey alongside rosemary flares up momentarily to give you a buzz. Lychee is a sweet fruit that pairs well with liquor; rum, vodka, whiskey. Its sweet, floral and cloudy texture, without being overpowering sits well when paired against the hardest spirit. I enjoyed the earthy flavor of the rosemary and ginger ale, it gave the faux impression I was having something organic which on an alcohol-ridden Friday night isn’t such a bad thing. Ladi tells me this is a house favorite!
Whiskey Sour
Our final drink was the Whiskey Sour. We ordered this because the whiskey from the Faux Buzz still lingered and the idea of egg whites in a drink seemed adventurous. It definitely was a gamble because I’m not sure eggs in cups are things Nigerian bartenders are familiar with. However, this tasted great. There were no egg shells, the egg whites were subtle and gave the drink a nice foamy balance for the whiskey and lemon juice. It tasted like Schweppes-infused-champagne lol and I love Schweppes. This is definitely my kind of sweet; citrus. A very simple drink that does its job impressively well.
Generally, we loved The House for various reasons especially the level of care it imbibes. The owners are always on-ground and no business has ever suffered for that. Although for a House you’d expect to see less staff standing around like bodyguards, you do not want the appearance that you have more employees than guests.
TL:DR
Good for: Pre-Drinks – Groups – Late Night Drinks
Food: Full Kitchen
Happy Hour: No | Bottle Service: Yes | Wine: Yes | Beer: Yes
DAMAGE
Cosmopolitan - N3000
Whiskey Sour - N3500
Faux Buzz with a Buzz - N4000
Christina is a TV and Film junkie who also spends an incredible amount of time reviewing skincare products she can barely afford.