Sushiholic, Lekki’s First “Japanese Restaurant”, is FINALLY Open
NOSA: After “months” of Instagram teasing, Sushiholic finally opened shop. They really made a lot of noise about being the first sushi bar in Lekki so we’ve had them on our to-do for a minute now. When the initial launch date got moved forward, I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect much from the place - blame that on my Lagos restaurant paranoia.
FOLLY: I was seriously convinced that maybe their chef didn't get visa so they had to postpone the opening.
NOSA: Sushiholic is a bit different from your typical sushi experience in Lagos. It’s no Izanagi, or even Fusion. It’s very… fast food. Think Tantalizers, but for sushi.
FOLLY: Haba! Tantalizer is a bit too far down now. It's not like Tantalizers AT ALL.
NOSA: I’m not referring to the food here, but the atmosphere. When you walk into a NOK or an RSVP, those spaces give off a significantly different vibe than when you walk into a Tantalizers. Industry people call them Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). Sushiholic is a “Sushi QSR”. Lagos’ very own YO! Sushi.
FOLLY: That I can co-sign definitely, a sushi QSR, but definitely not Tantalizers but for sushi.
NOSA: The first person you see when you walk into Sushiholic is the Asian chef. Authenticity, I guess. He might even comfort you a bit. You would be forgiven for thinking the chef is Japanese, but he’s actually Filipino. If you do go to Sushiholic, you should definitely sit by the sushi bar with Chef Jun. Watching him make your roll is definitely something you want get on your snapchat. The guy is masterful at it.
FOLLY: He did everything so casually and was also quite anal about cleanliness. Or was it eye-service but he made a concerted effort to clean and wipe everything as he went along.
Royal Set
NOSA: I may be speaking from limited “sitting by sushi bar” experience, but I’ve made sushi before. Tried making a couple of rolls during an International student thing in college and it was hard as hell. Watching this guy knock out our large order in 5 minutes absolutely blew my mind.
FOLLY: I wouldn't normally order any of these platters at a sushi restaurant, I prefer to be a bit more involved in the selection process but I was pretty exhausted and hungry so I managed to convince Nosa into ordering a platter. He kept asking if I was sure and I could tell he wasn't that into the idea.
NOSA: We ordered The Royal Set. 6 different rolls of 4 pieces each:
- Sesame California Roll
- Tobiko California Roll
- Tobiko Naked Salmon Roll
- Tobiko Crazy
- Crazy Crispy
- Crispy Crazy Salmon
FOLLY: I wasn't even very detail oriented in the selection of the platter, I just wanted one that had at least one tobiko roll and salmon roll.
NOSA: Sushi might be a Japanese thing, but “crazy rolls” are of American origin. Only one country is capable of producing such gratuitous mayo laden rolls of deliciousness. Ordering a crazy roll is probably ultimate faux pas to sushi purists, but Eat.Drink.Lagos has never been about purists or the establishment.
FOLLY: Nosa doesn't even like real sushi, maki rolls all the way.
NOSA: Crazy rolls are delicious and I’ll be damned if anyone takes them away from me. The crazy rolls at Sushiholic are no different. Utterly delicious. What didn’t whelm me enough was the California rolls. I normally wouldn’t order a California roll because even I think I’m better than that but it came with set and you can’t switch it out.
FOLLY: Neither would I, but the sesame california roll was oddly enough my favourite. The entire exterior was totally covered with sesame seeds and I loved the texture it added to the roll.
NOSA: I’d complain about the lack of structural integrity, but I dunked it in soy sauce so it’s my fault it completely disintegrated.
FOLLY: I think what actually happened was that you accidentally dropped it splattered.
NOSA: On the bright side, the rice didn’t taste like soap, which is something I’ve experience with sushi in Lagos.
Salmon Dragon
Next up, we ordered the Salmon Dragon. For the price we paid, it wasn’t worth it. Dragon rolls are the sushi bar version of the upsell, they’ll almost always disappoint you.
FOLLY: Like it did me. I was most disappointed because the tempura shrimp on the inside tasted like imitation shrimp which is unusual for tempura as imitation crab/shrimp is more common in plain maki rolls and not tempura.
NOSA: They look shiny on the menu to reel you in. Don’t fall for it.
Moving on, my favorite maki roll on the day was our final one - the Lekki Peninsula.
Lekki Peninsula Roll
Smoked Salmon. Cream Cheese. Avocado. Lemon.
FOLLY: I googled it and found out that this roll exists in quite a few variations. I was so surpised with how generous the chef was with the smoked salmon. He first put a big chunk and I was like wow, and then he cut off another piece of comparable size and added to it. Then he wrapped it in smoked salmon (at least the top half)
NOSA: If you love smoked salmon, you should definitely order this. It generally doesn’t sound like much, but it was so so delicious. I also didn’t expect to like a roll with lemon in it, but here I am singing its praises.
FOLLY: The rolls itself tastes very different dependent on whether you dip it in soy sauce or not. You totally lose the tartness of the lemon if you do, and the cream cheese also "disappears" tastewise. I preferred it plain, if you do go, you should try it both ways.
POSTSCRIPT
NOSA: By virtue of having no competition, Sushiholic is the best sushi spot in Lagos lol. Jokes aside, I’d definitely go again. It’s no Izanagi but it’s firmly on the same level as Fusion
FOLLY: I live in Lekki, it's totally convenient to pick up on my home.
NOSA: Oh, they deliver too!
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Royal Set - N15000
Salmon Dragon - N8000
Lekki Peninsula - N3500
PARKING
Decent. Can take 5/6 cars.