Imagine a restaurant with bicycle memorabilia and decoration in every corner of the space in Lagos? Well, I am happy to let all the bicycle and health lovers in town that I may have just found your new hang out spot! On the preface, restaurants and bicycles seem to have nothing in common, but the creators of Pit Stop Lagos have creatively come up with a way to create a space of bicycle and heath lovers all over Lagos.
Pitstop Lagos is a new restaurant located on 17 Karimu Victoria Island, which was inspired by the need to create a place that promotes wellness culture in Lagos, Nigeria. Whilst also providing a place to refuel, re-energize, recharge, relax as well as a place to eat. It is a dining, fitness and lifestyle place with a sitting capacity of about 70 people and a standing cocktail for about 120 people. The cafe has both outdoor and indoor sitting areas on the ground floor. I must say I was impressed with the decor, the interior makes you feel as though you have been exported to a bike wonderland in the heart of Victoria Island. The design is tastefully thought through and it was a focal point for the creation of this restaurant.
As I sat down I asked for the menu and a friendly waiter brought over the menu, as the restaurant was new I didn’t expect the waiters to be fully knowledgeable on the menu, so when a lady approached to ask if I needed any help choosing my meal, it was welcome and it turns out she was the owner. It took me a while to decide what I wanted but eventually, I opted for the Chris Froome, which is tender roast chicken, jollof rice, potato herb puree, baby courgette, and carrots.
The dish was enjoyable but it wasn’t out of this world. Although the dish was enjoyable overall, I was expecting the chicken to be a little more flavourful because I believe that healthy food can be mouth-watering too. I must say that the presentation of the dish was impressive. The food came out slightly cold but they were happy to reheat it for me. I also ordered freshly squeezed orange juice but was disappointed when I tasted it only to find out it was boxed juice which tasted more like Chivita than freshly squeezed orange juice.
Again once I let them know about this they apologized and replaced it immediately. While the actual fresh orange juice was delicious, I found the mishap in my drink order a little odd, especially because if one goes out of their way to order freshly squeezed juice it is usually because they dislike artificial drinks. I think these are all part of the new restaurant kinks that I am sure will be ironed out in no time. The owner’s willingness to take constructive feedback was impressive and they absolutely have the right idea.
I was interested to see what kind of menu a restaurant like this would have. One thing I must commend is the creativity of the name of the dishes. You can find dishes named after Casper Semanye, Hulk Hogan, Micheal Phelps (which is a grilled fish named after the nautic olympian). The decoration is very deliberate with framed photographs of sportsmen and women on the walls and sports miniatures as decoration for every table. There’s also a bike shop on the top floor, where bicycles and bike gear is sold. I came to Pitstop Lagos with one of my very good friend, Suuad Faruq.
Suaad works in the travel industry and is also an inspiring speaker, writer, and poet. She is also the co-founder of Susultana, a luxurious fashion brand for the exquisite modern woman. This is what Suuad had to say about her experience. “The ambiance was different, everything had a cycling theme to it, which was unique and positive. For food, I went for pasta and Chapman. The Chapman was good! I mean Chapman is always good but this hit all the right chords. The pasta, well… was not very satisfying, as it was soggy and not very mouth-watering but I mentioned this to the owner and she was kind enough to apologize and offer me a remake which I passed on because we had to leave but I’m sure would have been better. Pitstoplagos has a hundred and one spots for pictures and being a picture person, this made me happy”.
An interesting thing about this restaurant is that you can make your own drink or smoothie yourself by stepping on a bike and peddling until your drink is ready. I find this innovation really cool. I look forward to coming back when they officially open in April and have been able to fix some of the new restaurant kinks mentioned above. I would recommend this place for the biking community in Lagos, people who enjoy healthy and wholesome food and also those who are looking to be part of the bicycle community in Lagos.
Rating
3.8 out of 5
Total
N24,000
