iLÉ EROS

14 Kafayat Abdulrasaq Street, Lekki Phase I, Lagos

0909 646 0675

Ilé Eros is a polished casual dining restaurant which is a blend of fine dining and casual dining. I remember back in the days of the Dodo Special era by Chef Eros at La Saison Café so not surprised he has brought back this aspect of his culinary journey in addition to his cakes – Cookie Jar.

Ile simply means home so its House/Home of Eros or perhaps if you like Casa Eros. Ile Eros is located off one of the busy streets in Lekki Phase 1 and that in itself is not so bad as it’s not deep in the neck of the woods in terms of access.

The décor at Ile Eros has a traditional feel to it with Ankara curtains, local wall décor and some art paintings which are sparsely spread out in the space. There is a Patio outside with some fans which I think is ideal for evening rocks. The internal seating area at Ile Eros is quite limited and reservations are highly recommended.

At the moment, Ile Eros is in its soft launch phase and the menu is currently at a 50% discount which I think is a steal. A quick glance at the menu and I was beginning to understand why the concept at Ile Eros is classified as ‘Polished Dining’.

The items on the menu is a blend of your ideal fine dining restaurant feel and casual dining and the menu introduces some Nigerian local flavouring to it and are mostly noteworthy.

For instance, there were puff puff balls aka Puff Puff Party and instead of the usual filling being flour and sugar, some had shrimps and even meatballs – so yeah that sort of twist to your ideal recipes.

At first glance, the menu at Ile Eros if you are having a 3-course may seem like you won’t leave stuffed but two courses in and I could not go on and respected my stomach infrastructure.

Starters

1. Dambunama Rolls
2. Akara Coconut Prawns and Spicy Lemon Curd; and
3. Puff Puff Party of Chicken Balls, Meatballs and Shrimp Balls

Thoughts

The Dambunama rolls were crispy and nothing like I had ever had before. I mean, I have had and love Dambunama but to have them as fillings for like Spring Rolls never crossed my mind.

The Akara coconut prawns were essentially balls of Akara and prawns with coconut toppings crisp layer – that’s how it felt to me. Prawns are usually overwhelming in terms of its natural taste but the chef did a good job such that the coconut flavour came through in the prawns

The puff puff party was essentially a party and twist to having these puffs filled with shrimps and meatballs. These were a hit essentially.

Mains

1. Steak Jollof Rice
2. Smoked Chicken Pasta

Did not consider this a very creative dish in that typical Nigerian homes will have Sunday Jollof and chicken/beef so having steak as the protein option made this somewhat ‘exotic’. They say the best way to have a steak is either as Rare, Medium Rare, Medium and Medium Well but never well done.

Since I did not specify how I wanted my steak, the default way in which its best had was how it was done – Medium – a lot of pink with a side of Arugula salad and some carrot puree (yum) and garlic butter. As simple as this dish was, I loved it. The Jollof rice was not like the Buka firewood type rice that would have turned my head like mad but it was a good Jollof.

Now on to the Smoked Chicken Gnocchi Pasta – This I can also call a star dish at Ile Eros. It was so creamy, tasty, well spiced and adequate salt levels. The smoked chicken was not dry which is what you would typically have in most places and that easily gets one tired so it was none of that, the cheese was grated unlike these ones here who hand cut some cheese on pasta. The portion was also huge and definitely worth every penny – nothing to hate.

Unfortunately could not get a pic of the third option on the menu which is the Seared Fish Asaro.  This was essentially pureed sweet potatoes and pan-fried grouper fish with a Dun Dun (Fried/Roasted Yam) Rosti with some Tarragon Oil. This was the most creative thing on the menu at Ile Eros (should be on their IG page) followed by the Smoked Chicken Gnocchi Pasta.

Final Thoughts

I think Ile Eros by Chef Eros is here to stay – The menu is adequately priced and not ‘bank breaking’ prices which is absolutely commendable. I did not get to have dessert so going back really soon to try this and some other new additions to the menu during this soft launch phase.

Ile Eros Summary

	Ambience	African inspired decor. Cosy and intimate space with a well-aired patio
	Food Quality	The Smoked Pasta I’ll rank as the star dish at Ile Eros followed by the Pureed Asaro and then the Steak Jollof Rice. The portions are big enough and tasty.
	Location	Limited parking available. More of street parking
	Price	Choice of Two Starters  ₦3,750 Steak Jollof Rice ₦5,500 and Smoked Chicken Pasta ₦4,200 View Full Menu here
	Service Delivery	The staff were polite and attentive. The service was a little slow but we were a large party so that is understandable. Loved it.

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Have you been to Ile Eros and what did you think? Talk to me in the comments section