Which Restaurant Won the Battle of the Caesar Salads? ⚔️
It was in the summer of 2021. I was on holiday in the U.S., on a mission to chop the life of my head, and the only way I knew to do that was by restaurant hopping. One afternoon, when I met up with a friend for brunch, I suddenly didn’t have much of an appetite, so I decided to order a Chicken Caesar Salad. I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest — I mean, it’s just a salad, right?
Folks, when I tell you that everything was a hit back-to-back, it’s not a joke. I couldn’t believe what was going on in my mouth. The chicken was the right amount of juicy, spices were on point and the croutons tasted like heaven. That was the beginning of my mission to find the best Caesar salad when I got back to Lagos.
Here’s the scoop on where to go and where to straight up avoiddd 🚫
1. Flowershop Cafe, Victoria Island
I’ll start by saying this is one of my favourite restaurants in Lagos and, in my opinion, the only one that comes closest to making the perfect Ceasar salad. It’s salad, I hear you say, how extraordinary can it get? Let the good guys at Flowershop Cafe show you.
They are also the reason I’ve not had the Caesar salad in more than 3 restaurants in Lagos, because I keep coming back here for more.
Flowershop Cafe
What do I like most?
For one, I like that the chicken portions in the salad are huge; it’s not all lettuce and no meat. They could appease my inner Yoruba babe and make the chicken spicier, though, but then again, it’s not a Nigerian dish and it's not supposed to be spicy.
I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about the taste (the spices in the dressing, especially the blend of garlic and lemon, just *slaps* for me) and I love the fact that the flavour is consistent every single time 🔥
PRICE: N7900
This comes close to being a fave… and guess what? The chicken here is spicy! On the downside, I could count the pieces of chicken in the entire salad — we had a more-lettuce-than-chicken situation here, which was a bit disappointing. I just had to eat slowly and savour every piece of chicken as much as I could.
Orchid Bistro
What do I like most?
I really liked the plating and how the parmesan slices are used to beautify the plate. It’s beautiful to look at in a way that you want to delay eating it for as long as possible. The croutons are also tasty and just the right amount of crunchy.
PRICE: N7000
This, by far, ranks the lowest on my list, for now. It just felt like no effort was put into it. Yes, the chicken chunks are a good size, but they tasted so bland and looked like the frozen kind you get at Shoprite.
PitStop
What do I like most?
Errr, not much. The Caesar salad here just didn’t spark any joy; instead, it felt like a sad dinner I would make at home. Also didn’t help that the croutons were stale, and I don’t know why the tomatoes even made an appearance.
This was a complete letdown, but hey, maybe that’s what I get for ordering Ceasar salad from a bike-themed restaurant 👀
PRICE: N7000
Olakunmi Oni runs ops and drives growth for tech companies by day, forever enjoying, restaurant hopping and living the soft life by night.