Jamaican Food in Lagos Mango Room 

Shop 9, Aaron’s Mall, Olubunmi Owa Street, Lekki 1

0818 614 4444 | 0809 411 5107

Hey there! Been a while and I’m sorry. MIA because of site issues but back now :-).  So did you know you can now have Jamaican Food in Lagos? My friend – D. and I recently went to Mango Room – A Jamaican/Carribean Cuisine which recently opened up in Lagos. We got tired of carrying last and finally checked out this Jamaican Food spot. Anyways, a google search on Mango Room brought up a Mango Room that serves Caribbean Cuisine in London. Sister/Affiliate company perhaps?

Mango Room occupies a cute space in Aaron Mall with Bubble Tii in Lekki Phase 1 – Lekki is low key popping oh! Anyways, the space was really clean which is a plus.

Whenever I hear Jamaican food, the next thing I want is Jerk Chicken but sadly there was no Jerk Chicken due to timing (we got there quite late) and the Jerk seems to sell pretty fast earlier in the day (stops at 5pm). Almost everything on the menu was unavailable and we almost left especially because when the waiter came to take our order, she tried to save her head by straight up starting with ‘We don’t always have everything on the menu’ – Lol

While we were trying to understand the pricing since it was almost like the kitchen was empty because we were there late, the waiter was like eating in is more expensive than take away – Pause! 😯  So we asked how and she really couldn’t explain properly but she gave an example – eg for a ₦4,000 meal, it will be ₦3,700 to take away due to service charge. The whole service charge scam thing that Lagos establishments wash us with has to stop though.

Well since no Jerk Chicken, I wanted to have Fried Chicken and again Waiter is like no Chicken but just Curry Goat or Oxtail and at this point, I wanted to leave LOL coz’ I really just wanted some Chicken! Luckily she comes back and gives me the go ahead to order as the Chef let her know the Chicken was available. Now lets get into the food. I had the Rice & Peas with Fried Chicken and Plantain while D. had the Oxtail with Mac n Cheese and Plantain.

Honestly, the food was really really good. The Chicken was fried to perfection – may not look so good on the eye but it did taste awesome. Normally I wouldn’t eat the normal naija Rice and Beans but I quite liked the Rice & Peas especially with some of the Goat Curry Sauce which was really nice. D. on the hand practically licked her plate. The Oxtail was so soft and fell off the bone easily and her Mac was really nice (although not a huge fan of Mac n Cheese but this one seemed right).

For drinks, ordered the Pineapple Carrot Ginger juice but there was no Carrot and that was substituted with Watermelon – awesomeness! By the way, I’m a sucker for anything with Ginger in it. LOL

This is what D. has to say about her food/experience:

Let me preface this by saying I love authentic Jamaican food. I was skeptical of going to Mango Room because I HATE the way Nigerians modify foods to become a Nigerian fusion. For example, putting in too much pepper, or having Jollof Rice on the menu. We got there at around 9.30PM, which was pretty late. The fit fam in me was panicking seriously. Before we entered I warned FIL that I would most likely eat just a little bit and save the rest for the next day (I was already counting the number of calories I would need to burn).

I ordered the Mac and Cheese with the Oxtail Sauce. Unlike her, I had no issues with availability of my order. It also came with a salad and three plantains (yes I counted it).

We asked the waiter how much it would cost since the menu did not have prices included for the food. She told me that my food was ₦4,000 to eat in and ₦3,700 if I wanted to take it away.

First of all, the price had me doing a little prayer for my pocket but, I also did not understand why I would pay ₦300 extra to sit in their booths. Shouldn’t it be more expensive to take it out (pack etc). She mentioned that the ₦300 was a “service” charge. Being in sales I did not let it go, I asked her to break down what service meant (I’m not a mean person I swear); she mentioned AC, service to the table and free Wi-Fi (wasn’t working by the way).

When the food came, all my plans to nibble on it went out of the window. The food actually looked delicious and it did not disappoint when it came to taste. It was so glorious tasting, the oxtail was tender and juicy. The meat fell off the bone easily. The Mac and Cheese was divine. I am not ashamed to say that not only did I finish the food, I licked my plate. Yes I did!

The place has a chilled vibe and they also serve alcohol which makes it a good chill out zone. If it did not have an early morning gym session I would have indulged in a glass of wine for sure.

We also had a chat with the owner and was impressed with his plans for the place. I would loooooooove to go back as often as I can but be aware of the following.

Food Availability: apparently the oxtail sauce is always available during business hours but with other items you might have to play a game of Pokémon-Go to get it. The owner suggested perhaps calling in advance.

Price: ₦4,000 for a meal!!!! I can’t justify eating there every day for that price. And trust me you won’t be able to take any leftovers with you.

Free Wifi: bleh. Did not get reception. So do not rely on it.

Overall, I had a good experience and would for sure be going back.

Matrix	Meaning	Comment
	Ambience	Really clean, neat and cute
	Food Quality	Chicken was well seasoned and the rice was just right. The curry on the rice was the winner and had the right mix of spicy which was perfect.
	Location	Good parking space thanks to the Mall but on a busy day, parking may be difficult but there is good roadside parking since the Mall is not on a busy road.
	Price	Mac n Cheese with Oxtail – ₦3,500 Rice & Peas with Fried Chicken – ₦2,500 Juice (Pineapple, Watermelon & Ginger) – ₦600 Ended up not seeing any service charge on my receipt at the end of the day
	Service Delivery	The waiter was alright. Liked that the owner came around to ask if everything was going ok and took some feedback

🙂