The Lighthouse Bar & Grill: Visible But Not Memorable
It’s quite interesting the impact location and visibility has on the footfall of a restaurant. The Lighthouse Bar and Grill, for instance, you probably drive past it every day if you’re a Lekki resident. If you run on the Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, you probably park right beside The Lighthouse. Oh, then there’s instagram. You hear about their Paella Thursdays all the time.
Despite all of this, you never seem to consider them an option when eating out.
Crazy.
Anyway, we (Folarin and Christina) decided to visit Lighthouse for lunch on a faithful Tuesday afternoon, before rush hour. Can’t begin to explain how therapeutic it was, watching other Lagos drivers trundle behind one another on the bridge then speed off like freed captives right after they paid their toll. Love it!
Seafood Mix Fry-up at Lighthouse Lekki
Not knowing what to expect since all we ever hear about is their paella, I ordered the Mixed Seafood Skewer, Mixed Grilled Skewer and Seafood Mix Fry-up while Christina ordered a cheeky Fish & Chips.
The Seafood Mix Fry-up was a platter of shrimp, calamari and little pieces of fish all in batter. The batter was light and not too oily while the fish and shrimp weren’t dry or over-fried so they were easy to eat. The calamari wasn’t too chewy or rubbery, which is always a good thing.
I really wish the items in the platter weren’t so bland, however. The Lighthouse got the texture right, which is usually the hard part. Maybe it’s time to lower my expectations for seafood platters in Lagos because most of the restaurants we’ve visited have failed on either the texture or taste?
The platter also seemed to be different to what Folly and Nosa had when they were there, with ours in batter, I wonder why.
Like the Fry-up, the Mixed Seafood Skewer was of good texture and it tasted lovely! Grilled and basted with lemon, basil and olive oil, this was definitely the Lighthouse’s best hand.
Normally, I’m reluctant to order land animals at seafood restaurants but the waiter really convinced us that Lighthouse serves a good mixed grill skewer so I proceeded to order it. The mixed grill had pieces of chicken and beef on a stick, basted with what I believe was spicy stew. Overall, the meats were of good texture and not dry but lacked taste in the inner layers. Merely basting the mixed grill skewer with spicy stew before (or while) grilling is a lazy way to prepare a skewer.
Mixed Seafood Skewer at Lighthouse Lekki
Mixed Grill Skewer at Lighthouse Lekki
“While we can easily question our expectations of/for a skewer and let this slide, I think the skewer lacked sophistication and any deeper flavours. I mean, marinating the meat first then basting with a spicy sauce while grilling should do the trick.”
Fish and chips at Lighthouse Lekki
Lighthouse is by the water so they should handle seafood well
I still can’t understand this but I do agree that a seafood restaurant should offer, if anything, good seafood.
The fish, in the Fish & Chips, was cooked just right with the batter being crispy and the fish not being too dry, but I was put off by its blandness. Also, how do you serve fish and chips without a generous serving of salt, lemon or vinegar? To top it off, they served the fish and chips with their homemade chili-mayo, which was fresh ata rodo mixed with mayonnaise.
The ghetto.
At this point, I requested for vinegar to sprinkle on my chips like you’d do in a chip shop but when the waiter returned with apple cider vinegar, I had to concede. Doesn’t raw undiluted ACV irritate the stomach lining and erode your throat and enamels? Crazy.
POSTSCRIPT
FOLARIN: Few highs and many lows at Lighthouse but I’m happy I’ve cleared my curiosity. I really doubt I’ll be back.
CHRISTINA: I might visit again to try out their almighty paella but besides that, I’m good love. Thanks.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Mixed Seafood Fry Up - N4000
Grilled Seafood Skewer - N2500
Mixed Grilled Skewer - N2000
Fish and Chips - N4000
PARKING
8 to 10-car parking space but there’s lots of road outside really.
