Places in Lagos| SLoW

SLoW is a tropical brassiere with influences from Africa, America, the Mediterranean, Western Europe and North America. It’s an exclusive and exquisite restaurant located on Musa Yaradua Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The restaurant began operations in the first quarter of last year, but then covid struck and restaurants were closed. When things got back to normal, it quickly became the talk of the town. SLoW is widely known as a restaurant that you can’t just walk in and get seats. You have to call to book, and in advance too.

I stopped by SLoW last weekend for a late lunch with my friend, A. Guess what? We walked in and got seats. We decided to just give it a try, and we got lucky! We were asked if we had reservations and when we said no, the hostess’s face changed LOL. Then she asked how long we intended to stay and sat us. I couldn’t believe I was finally going to experience what all the hype was about.

AMBIENCE
The restaurant is cozy and inviting with a greenery setting. There are life plants around the entire space and it gives you the vibe that you’re abroad even though you’re in Lagos, Nigeria. There’s something pleasing about the furniture, sitting arrangement, lighting and overall aesthetics of the restaurant. There are five sitting areas in the restaurant; the left side with low seats, the right side with high chairs, the beautiful bar, the booth seats behind, and the outdoor sitting area. See the photos below.

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MENU
After we were seated, we were given the menus together with complimentary non-alcoholic aperitifs to stimulate our appetite. I wasn’t expecting the menu to be filled with many options, but it is. The food menu is organised into eight categories, so there’s something for everyone. Their drink menu, on the other hand, is also unique. The cocktails seemed exciting, and I just had to try one.

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WHAT WE ORDERED
For drinks, I chose Bittersweet while A asked for a classic Gin & Tonic. For starters, we chose the Rock Shrimp Tacos to share, and for our main meal, we chose the Chicken, which had a wait time of 45 minutes. We were both hungry and hoped it wouldn’t really take that long, but we were wrong. For dessert, we chose the Coconut Rum Cake.

The shrimp tacos were really juicy and yummy. We both loved it. The Chicken was served exactly forty something minutes after we ordered it. We were already salivating and even contemplating ordering more tacos before it came. We dug in straight away. It was good, but not great. I felt like it was missing something like a mix of pepper and salt. There’s a possibility that that’s how it’s supposed to taste, but it was almost bland to me. I’m glad A thought the same too. We couldn’t eat it all because it was a lot of food and originally meant to feed 2-3 people, so we asked for the rest to be packed. Our dessert was the highlight of the evening. It was moist, sweet and perfect. I ate more of the cake than A did. It was deeply satisfying.

SERVICE & CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
We left the restaurant feeling satisfied with no complaints. Our waitress was warm, polite, helpful and always available. We never had to look for her. She was always within eye view, and all I had to do was raise my hand. She also eased the wait time for the Chicken. The restaurant observed covid-19 safety protocols and also didn’t sit their customers close to each other.

DAMAGE
Rum Cake ~ 5,800
Tonic & Gin ~ 5,000
Whole Chicken ~ 34,000
Bittersweet & Gin ~ 6,200
Rock Shrimp Tacos ~ 5,400
VAT and service charge was not added to the bill. Our total damage was N56,400.

Out of 10, I rate SLoW an 8.5

SLoW is a great place for brunch, lunch, dinner, meetings and family meals. It’s also perfect for date night. You have to be prepared financially, though, because the prices are on the high side.

P.S. this is not a sponsored post. All opinions expressed were not influenced.

Mariam Shittu