Chophaus (GRA, Ikeja)

46B Isaac John Street, GRA, Ikeja | Number | Instagram

Chophaus is a small kiosk-like restaurant that serves street food with a little twist. You’ll find this in their Instagram bio. I think their logo is particularly interesting.

I visited Chophaus with T, but I arrived before she did.

It was a somewhat rainy day on the mainland and also was NOT EASY to find. I was already mumbling to myself in the car that the food had better be worth it, if not, they’re gonna see crazy. After finally finding it, I realized I had passed it earlier.

T experienced the same issue; she passed it and then had to turn back to find it. There is no parking lot because it’s literally on the side of the road.

It’s a very small space, that shares an adjoining door with Softs, the soft-serve ice cream spot. There’s not much of décor and ambience due to how tiny the place is, but they did make an effort, so I’ll give them that. There’s a wall on the left side of the restaurant that has wooden chopping boards of different shapes attached to it.

Some of them have ‘Chophaus’ carved into their edges, as their menus do. They were really fine pieces of carved wood and I’m almost certain they got a master wood craftsman to make them because they were good. They also had clever quotes on the wall, like “Chop life before life chops you.” and “Choppin Life Bro.” Lol, we liked those.

The number of chairs in the place is equal to about six, on opposites sides of the wall, on the right and left of the door. They also aren’t comfortable with long-term sitting. There’s a grill outside, where they make the grills like suya offered on the menu. There’s a cow created with texts on the wall and Christmas lights on the ceiling.

The air conditioner was barely cooling the space and the heat got worse when the preparation of our orders began. The lighting; artificial and natural are really poor. Apart from the grilling, every other meal was prepared indoors.

There was no one at the door to welcome me at arrival and entry. Nobody approached me, till about 15 minutes after I arrived when the waitress walked up to me with the menu. I told her I was expecting someone and will order when we’re ready.

They were just two staff in the restaurant.

T arrived; we placed our order and were informed that the food will be ready in 30 minutes, but that the Lemon Chicken Strips will take longer. They all took a little longer.

I ordered the Lemon Pepper Chicken Strips, Chipotle Mayo With Jamaican Jerk Beef, which came with a side option of fried plantain or fried sweet potatoes. I chose sweet potatoes, while T went with plantain fries.

Chipotle Mayo With Jamaican Jerk Beef

This was made with two buttery bread rolls stuffed with pulled beef. This was a case of ‘love at first bite’! It was spicy and bursting with flavours. I was impressed by the fact that they were able to avoid making it too spicy because it might have upset the perfect balance of flavours. I’m a lover of pepper, but it certainly isn’t needed in every meal. I will totally go back just for this one thing. If you don’t enjoy spicy meals, I suggest you don’t try this. This cost ₦5,000.

Potato Fries

This was nothing beyond the ordinary but I was pleased that it was fried properly without the potatoes turning brown. A skill I appreciate. It was served with a sauce and this elevated the general taste of the fries.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Strips

I really looked forward to tasting this but was disappointed by the taste. If ‘lemony’ was a word, these chicken strips would be the perfect description. The texture was unpleasant too – it was dry. Simply unenjoyable. It tasted a little better with the sauce, but it was a 2/10. This cost ₦5,500. It also came with a side of potato fries.

T ordered the Smokey Sweet BBQ Chicken Sandwich, which also came with a side option. She chose the plantain fries.

Plantain Fries

There was a mixup with the order. She asked for plantain fries, and they brought sweet potato fries instead. The waitress apologised and took it back. When she finally brought the plantain fries, it was too soft, I don’t think plantain fries should be soft, sha.

Smokey Sweet BBQ Chicken Sandwich

The sandwich was so so good. The filling was butter soft, and the bread was lightly toasted but still soft. It was sweet, but also spicy. It definitely lived up to its name. This cost ₦5,000.

We both didn’t finish our meals, so we asked the waitress to pack them up. I liked their packs; simple and gets the job done. All in all, it was worth our coins and getting a little wet in the rain. Chophaus sells street food wey study abroad!!

Chophaus Summary

	Ambience	It’s a really small space, so there’s no ambience per se.
	Food Quality	Mostly tasty
	Location	It is NOT easy to find. There’s no parking space either.
	Price	Pricing is $$ Total damage came to ₦16,000 Chipotle Mayo With Jamaican Jerk Beef: ₦5,000  Lemon Pepper Chicken Strips: ₦5,500 Smokey Sweet BBQ Chicken Sandwich: ₦5,000 Bottle of Water: ₦500 View Restaurant Menus here
	Service Delivery	The staff didn’t welcome us when we arrived. The waitress was mostly pleasant.

Have you tried Chophaus in Ikeja, GRA yet? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments.

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