Noir Lagos is a restaurant that I thoroughly enjoy going to. It’s a European restaurant with a good portion of its menu dedicated to modern French cuisines located on 4a Akin Olugbade street in Victoria Island.
My first article covering Noir described it as the Quintessential French restaurant in Lagos and I am excited to let you all know that they recently introduced a new menu curated by the new in house Chef Malan. For most restaurants, a new menu creates an opportunity for higher pricing but in Noir’s case, the menu pricing has stayed the same for customers who are comfortable with a fine-dining budget of N15,000 – N25,000 for a 3-course meal. This time around I had dinner with Tosin Oyewole founder of Enjoy.ng and Sonia Irabor Editor of Genevieve Magazine and Ebosie Okoronkwo.
We were all too excited to try out the new menu.
Here is what Tosin had to say:
“Our evening dining experience started off with the Coconut Crispy Frog Legs and Creole Sour Cream – an adventurous start. It tasted like good crispy chicken which could use a bit more seasoning, maybe that’s the Nigerian in us speaking. Another memorable starter was the Foie Gras with the Orange Preserve and Herb Pita. Even though Foie Gras is a controversial dish in some countries, we loved the buttery smooth Duck Liver and the sweetness that orange preserve adds to the dish”.
Noir is popularly known for steaks cooked on hot stone “Black Rock”, however, we chose the Charcoal flamed grilled option for the main course. 500Gr T-Bone steak was cooked to perfection – juicy medium-rare, like the French, will say À Point. Another star meal was the Roasted Mint Crusted Lamb Chops with Sweet Potato Mash and Beetroot Red Wine Jus which was the prettiest dish of the night. For dessert, the berry cheesecake was creamy comforting goodness that ended our adventure for the night. Overall, Noir gives you a good bang for your buck, quality dining experience – courteous staff, good ambience, and tasty modern French dishes.”
I love Noir as a restaurant and I am impressed at the level and dedication to staying innovative. All businesses need to innovate and restaurants are no exception. For restaurants, while I find it is important to stay authentic to the cuisine that customers are used to however I think it’s a good strategy to switch up the menu a little bit. I tasted the fried frog legs and while they tasted okay, I think I would have preferred a non-fried option with a lemon garlic side sauce instead.
I wasn’t feeling overly adventurous that day, so I decided to stick to a traditional T bone steak and frites which is french for fries and I had my steak well done. The steak at noir is always delicious. I use to like my steak medium-well but these days I find myself ordering only well-done steak. Finally, for dessert, I had the berry cheesecake and it is safe to say it was the cherry on top of the rather delicious meal. In addition to the main restaurant, Noir also has a VIP Lounge, a Café, and an outdoor terrace. they also have a wine cellar for those interested, filled with a vast collection of international fine wines.
Rating
4.5 stars
Total
N 15 000- N 25 000 per person for a 3-course meal.
