Great News, Cilantro’s Made Its Way to the Mainland
Cilantro
26 Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA | Instagram | 0908 100 0100
For the past couple of years, Cilantro has stolen the hearts of Indian cuisine lovers citywide. The restaurant franchise, having established itself as a household name in Abuja and Kano prior, opened its doors in Victoria Island back in March 2021 (read our 2021 review here). Since then, we’d say they’ve been able to achieve similar success in Lagos. When you think of Indian cuisine here, one of the first places that comes to mind is Cilantro and that says a lot, considering more and more Indian restaurants are springing up these days.
Unfortunately, however, the Mainland hasn’t benefitted much from this growth spurt. Save for much-appreciated establishments like Zaika and Pondicheri, a craving for Indian cuisine usually forces Mainlanders to make the long drive to the other half of the city.
Cilantro’s owners must have heard our cries, because they finally made the move to launch a branch in Ikeja a couple of weeks ago. Befittingly, their Ikeja branch is located in the heart of Ikeja’s dining scene, Isaac John Street (Ikeja GRA). That’s taking the restaurant count on that street up to 23 — yes, we really did the count last year — but there are no complaints over here.
Indian cuisine isn’t all Cilantro has to offer; they also serve “globally inspired meals”, so you’ll find options like pasta, pizza and burgers on their menu. The Ikeja restaurant is free from what I like to call “Island tax”, so the food and drinks on their menu are generally about N500-N2000 cheaper than the Island counterpart’s. However, the additional taxes and 5% service charge remain the same.
The menus are also nearly identical, so you won't be missing much if you choose to dine here. There are even a few new additions, like their signature The Brown Craft cocktail and the Mainland Special Mixed Grill, plus a couple of other fresh add-ons.
Image: instagram.com/cilantrolagos
As for the space, the new spot doesn’t have the lush green outdoor seating area like the V.I. branch — for now, at least — but the indoor space definitely shares the same energy as its predecessor.
Cilantro (Ikeja) is open for both walk-ins and reservations from 11am to 11pm throughout the week.
