Room Cafe

190b Prince Ade Odedina Street, Victoria Island | Instagram | 0908 285 1609

This review is going to start off a bit weird because I initially went out to eat at Smalliez Diner. Luckily, I was able to get a seat, which is a big deal because the restaurant was full to the brim. Unfortunately though, when I asked for the menu, the server told me the food would take about 90 minutes to get to me, and I wasn’t down for that. I immediately got up to find somewhere else close by and saw The Room Cafe was just a few buildings away. So, that’s the story of how I ended up there and how this post was born.

There’s something about this space that reminds me of a typical restaurant in Dubai — airy, small and clean. The decor is very simple, it has nice greenery and a nice display of candles (which I believe were for sale). They also have a space for events upstairs with a 25-guest capacity — perfect for baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, etc. On their Instagram, it also says they sell flowers, but I didn’t see any of that; would have been lovely to get a peek at those.

The laminated paper menu the server offered me was about to start souring the experience (when we’re not in Spur), but fortunately, the restaurant had a range of meals and drinks to help compensate for the slight lack of finesse.

I ordered the Grilled Prawns and Mashed Potatoes and a Chicken Burger to start. It’s as if these people knew I wasn’t in the mood for games, because both meals took about 15 minutes to get to the table and that was really impressive for Lagos. The prawns and mashed potatoes came first and it immediately smelt quite yum, just right off the bat. The mashed potatoes were really creamy, buttery and lump-free — a solid 10/10. The portion of prawns was also decent — I felt like I got my money’s worth — and it was very satisfying. Have to say I really enjoyed eating this.

Things started to go downhill from here though. When the chicken burger came, the patty was a piece of battered chicken, which would have been fine if it was stated on the menu. Unfortunately, the batter was so thick that I had to send it back to the kitchen. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with any moody staff; the servers were really helpful and the manager was very hands-on. They even offered us the chance to order an entirely different meal on the house.

For dessert, I went for a piece of Lotus Cheesecake. Where I really began to worry was when I saw pancakes coming towards me, with crushed Lotus biscuits sprinkled around the short stack and a biscuit on top, instead of the cheesecake I ordered. To be honest, I was starving, so I humoured them and gobbled the whole thing down. It was really good — the pancakes were fluffy, and the syrup and Lotus crumble combo is a real match made in heaven.

I did let the manager know, though, and they figured out it was an error and apologised deeply — which is cool, but, you know… do better, kitchen crew.

Let’s talk about the drinks! I think The Room Cafe does a good job of making their cocktails look fun. The choice of glasses was quirky and I loved it.

I ordered the Cinderella and Passion Pearl cocktails, and both drinks were as delicious as they were fun to look at. It’s worth noting that I think their prices are fair for both meals and drinks.

This restaurant would be a lovely spot for a first date; it’s nice and cosy and there’s a good background music situation going on. If you’re in the mood for a lengthy tea-drinking sesh with a friend, they also have a cute sunroom.

postscript

I’m keen to go back and do Taco Tuesday with a friend or two.

verdict

damage

Grilled Prawns & Mashed Potatoes — N10000

Chicken burger — N8000

Passion Pearl — N6000

Cinderella — N5000

Lotus Cheesecake — N4500

parking

The car park will take 5 cars but there’s ample street parking