La Taverna Lagos

48 Balarabe Musa Crescent, Off Samuel Manuwa, Victoria Island, Lagos.

0909 631 2927

La Taverna is one of the restaurants in Lagos that I have gone to over and over again but somehow forget to take pictures or just get lazy and post some pictures on Instagram instead but we tried out the new menu tasting at some point and you can read that here. Since the Visa Restaurant Week 2018 is ongoing, decided to use the opportunity to check out the set lunch menu at La Taverna Restaurant which is in Victoria Island.

I visited the space on a Monday not realizing the dessert section of the menu was going to be from XO Bakery who shares a ‘compound’ with La Taverna and so a number of the items on the menu were not available because XO Bakery is closed on Mondays so take note please.

The selection by La Taverna for Visa Restaurant Week could have been better compared to what it was and this is because when you take a look at the full La Taverna menu which you can see here, you would realise that this was not the best representation of the meals available.

Starters: Three starter options were available and had to be Mushroom Soup or Tuna Salad or Octopus Tacos. I went with the most interesting being the Octopus Tacos and on the main menu at La Taverna, it is called ‘Tacos de Pulpo’. To my surprise, it was a bowl of Octopus Salad and then some bread and accompaniments to go with it. Where were the tacos? No idea so I renamed it Octopus Salad instead and shared this on the Instagram page.

Octopus tastes more like chicken but more chewy and does not have that ‘fishy’ flavor you would ideally identify with seafood. It was so tasty and yummy and the other closest thing I can compare the taste to is giant clams.

Mains: the menu for the mains was underwhelming. Options available were Alfredo Pasta with Chicken or Smoke Lamb Ravioli or a Pizza Option or Vegetarian option of the day. I did like the fact that a vegetarian option was included considering there is a growing vegetarian and vegan community in Lagos.

Since I had the Alfredo Pasta a few days before, I went with the Smoke Lamb Ravioli option as that seemed more interesting.

The tomato sauce it came in was perfect and rightly spiced. The Ravioli was not soggy, the lamb was quite soft as it should be and the lamb filling was just fair and could have been more. The tomato sauce also had olives and some mushroom as well and altogether was a perfect blend. The overall portion of the Ravioli was small and not as much as I thought it could have been.

Dessert: This was the most disappointing experience after the absence of Tacos but I was satisfied with it being just a salad tbh. There are 4 options to choose from – Dulce De Leche and Coffee Sauce, Donuts (with different fillings from vanilla to coffee cream, salted caramel etc, Ice Cream or Cheese Cake – the Speculoos Cheesecake in a Jar. However, Lunch was on a Monday and for some reason the desserts are from the bakery which is usually closed on Mondays. The only option available was the ice cream which would have been meh and the Dulce.

I went with the Dulce and it was a soft sponge sweet cake with cream topping and drizzled around in coffee sauce which was quite sweet as well. Though this was not the preferable choice, it was just alright. So, if you are looking to try this menu and you want an interesting dessert from the bakery, you should not go on a Monday.

For drinks, had the Chapman which was just regular and the VRW menu does not cover drinks, taxes etc. In terms of taste, it is not the best Chapman I have had in Lagos even though Chapman is essentially a very Nigerian drink of sugar lol.

Thoughts: The set prices for Lunch ₦7,000 and Dinner ₦9,000 and Fine Dining for ₦12,000 for Visa Restaurant Week is great if the restaurants cooperate and put the better things on the menu and that definitely would be an affordable way to have set courses for 36 participating restaurants in Lagos. However, I did not appreciate the menu selection for Lunch especially at La Taverna and this is just because of the experience prior to VRW. The staff were courteous and responsive as the restaurant was in no way busy. Will score La Taverna a 7/10 mainly because the Ravioli is the best thing on the set lunch menu. Visa Restaurant Week 2018 in Lagos runs till the 27^th of November, 2018 so get eating and eat your way through Lagos if you can

	Ambience	Loads of wine on display, not so spacious and not that pretty in terms of decor but very realistic and rugged. Outdoor seating also available.
	Food Quality	Chapman – 4/10, Lamb  Ravioli – 7/10 & Dulce de Leche – 5/10
	Location	Parking is adequate and the road won’t spoil your car as it has been fixed. Turn left when you get into Musa Balarabe and look for the red wall with #48
	Price	Set 3-Course Lunch Menu: ₦7,000 Regular Menu Prices: Octopus Tacos  – ₦2,500 • Smoke Lamb Ravioli  – ₦4,500 not sure how much the Dessert on its own would have been but lets assume this could have been in the range of ₦2,000 – ₦2,500 therefore VRW ₦7,000 < ₦9,000 – ₦9,500 Drinks: Chapman – ₦1,200 View Menu here
	Service Delivery	The restaurant was not busy on this particular hot afternoon and my waiter was nice and worked smart and available

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