Review: Ziya Delicacy Boutique (VI)
Even with the millions of options we have, trying to decide where to eat out in Lagos has become an Olympic sport. After like a week of trying to figure it out, we settled on Ziya.
Toni: A seemingly small location on Oju Olobun in VI but when you walk in, you realize it goes a little deeper. They’ve been around for a bit, almost 2 years now. I was there when they first opened. It was a cafe and the menu was very focused on breakfast items and a lot of sandwiches. The person I went with couldn’t figure out what to order on the menu; it definitely didn’t appeal to the standard Nigerian palate. That’s not the case now, they’ve expanded the menu significantly. Not sure if that was always the plan or if they had to adapt to increase their patronage. Whatever the reason, I was pleased… and curious.
Imoteda: I really like the space. It’s got a lot of light and is very open. I got the strawberry bramble which was pretty good. Now I saw the bartender pour the drink into the glass from the shaker and then top it with a shot of gin and was confused as to why he had shaken my drink without the gin. Little did I know, he was out for my liver! The gin he added after was extra. Anyways, I like my drinks strong so I wasn’t mad at the jara. The drink was just sweet enough and strong. Really liked it.
Strawberry Bramble
Toni: I got the Hugo because I didn’t want to go for my usual Aperol spritz. It tasted like sparkling wine that someone had accidentally dropped a pepper in. I was deeply confused. I asked for more elderflower syrup and when they brought it, it was a straight up jalapeño syrup. The spice level of the cocktail made sense then. The bartender came up and tried to convince us that it was elderflower. Sir, how??? Later on, the server came back and mentioned they didn’t have elderflower so I went back to my old faithful, an Aperol spritz.
Hugo
It was perfect. Quite hard to mess one up though. The bitterness of Aperol is always so pleasant unlike that of her big brother, Campari. Campari is for Nigerian men with pot bellies and strong wicked babes.
Aperol Spritz
Toni: We got a croissant and a pain au chocolat to share while we waited for our food. The croissant was so good. Maybe the best I’ve had in Lagos. The butter was very present and it was extremely flakey. The pain au chocolat was equally buttery and flaky but the chocolate was a little too dry. It tasted good too though.
Croissant & Pain Au Chocolat
For our mains, Imoteda ordered the Thai-style marinated shrimps and rice
Toni: It was straight up rice and stew. The sauce was too loose for rice. The whole meal was uninspired. I feel like they put it on the menu cause Nigerians were asking for rice and they said “take and leave us abeg”. It was giving boarding school rice and fish stew. The prawns were well cooked though. I expected a lot more for something I was paying real money for. Perhaps they should have stuck to the shorter menu?
Imoteda: It really gave “here’s rice, you peasants!” The sauce was so loose it couldn’t coat the rice and there’s nothing I hate more than seeing a pool of water under my rice. It’s so gross. I didn’t get what part was thai inspired but if they say, so I guess. Also I know people do it but I do not understand boiling any long grain rice without salt. O wrong nau! I wouldn’t order it again. Thank God for the sandwiches.
Thai-style marinated shrimps and rice
Toni: I’ve been looking for a Cubano in Lagos for forever. When I travel, it’s always on my list. Ziya did not disappoint. The Cubano was so good. The kale side salad had a little too much mustard for Nosa and Imoteda but I loved every bit of it. The sweet potato chips were nice and crispy. Again, the sandwich was delish. You got to choose between ham or turkey. I went with ham cause it’s not a Cubano otherwise, no? It also came with roast beef instead of roast pork but I get that; keep it halal. The meats were great quality. The pickles did what they needed to do - added a good amount of acidity and salt to the sandwich. The cheese was delicious and introduced a delightful creaminess. The bread was nice and again, they didn’t skimp on the butter. 10/10
Cubano
Nosa’s prosciutto mozzarella sandwich was pretty good. It came together for a nice mouthful and it was made with a really good pesto. The only downside was that some of the bread had gotten soggy on the bottom so that wasn’t pleasant. Even though the sandwich was good, it was definitely not worth the money. For a 20k sandwich, we expected to be blown away.
Prosciutto Mozzarella Sandwich
POSTSCRIPT
Toni: Would definitely go back for the sandwiches and to try other brunch items.
Imoteda: I’m definitely here for the sandwiches and that Strawberry Bramble will be seeing me again soon.
PARKING
Limited. About 6 spots but they have valet so you don’t have to worry too much about it.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Thai-style Shrimps - 18,000
Strawberry Bramble - 10,000
Cubano Sandwich - 13,500
Hugo Spritz - 9,000
Prosciutto Mozzarella Sandwich - 20,000
Smoothie - 7,500
Water (2) - 2,000
