Places in Lagos| Dinner At Nok By Alara

Nok by Alara is a modern African restaurant in Victoria Island that serves traditional dishes from different African countries. You can call it a West African fine dining restaurant. It opened in 2015 but has been revamped since then. The building houses a bar, restaurant and store. I had been to Nok twice before my most recent visit for dinner with a friend after work but I had never written about my experience until now.

AMBIENCE
Nok has two sitting areas; indoor and outdoor. The indoor restaurant has a fine dining setting while the outdoor area called the Nok garden is more of a relaxed and fun space. I especially love the African print furniture, the decor and the games available for guests. It’s definitely more beautiful outside. The sun was setting as I parked my car so my dream to get good photos of the space were not fulfilled.

MENU
Nok has two menus for day and night and a separate menu for food from the grill outside. The menu is rich in options and there’s something for everyone on it. I’ve heard good things about the cocktails at Nok but I wasn’t feeling adventurous so I ordered my go-to drink; soda water, lime juice and lemon slices. 

WHAT WE ATE
Every time I have been to Nok, I have eaten something different because everything on the menu looks interesting as you can see. We ordered Hommous with Chicken Suya from the second menu for starter. I didn’t enjoy the hommous because I’ve definitely had way better ones. The Chicken Suya had a regular taste but the Naan was awesome, close to perfect and I wasn’t happy I ate only one. 

For our main meals, we both ordered Jerk Chicken with Ghanian Rice & Beans, Waakye and one Avocado & Grapefruit Salad to share.  The food was tasty and the portions were generous that I had to pack the rest of my food in a to-go bag. The Waakye tasted even better three hours later when I heated it up. 

The service was good. Our waiter was polite, friendly, and always available when needed.

DAMAGE
Waakye – N5,500 x 2
Salad – N2,000

I plan to go back to Nok soon but during the day this time in a killer outfit to take photos of the space, have photos of myself taken and also to try at least two cocktails.

Do you love trying something new when you visit a restaurant you have been to before?

Mariam Shittu