#VRW2018 @ LA TAVERNA LAGOS.
11.12.18
I always wanted to eat at La Taverna in Abuja before moving to Lagos. I don't know if the Lagos branch has got the same menu as the Abuja one but when I saw La Taverna on the list of restaurants participating in Visa Restaurant Week, it was a no-brainer for me. Keep scrolling to read my thoughts on the food and service.
COMPLIMENTARY
I left work for lunch. I hadn't eaten all day because the plan was to get here and stuff my face. The complimentary bread was a nice touch. I didn't expect it but it came at the right time because the staff were being slow with service. In my starving state, this bread tasted like manna from the heavens. I forgot to ask what the sauce that accompanied the bread was but it went so well with it. Wow. I'm not even a fan of bread like that, it was probably the hunger.
STARTER
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| TACOS DE PULPO (OCTOPUS TACOS) |
The name of this was definitely misleading for me. I expected the octopus to come in taco shells. Don't get me wrong, I love that the shells were substituted for sweet potato chunks, made it come across as more salad-like. This was very fresh and filling. I could eat it as a meal on its own.
MAIN
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| SMOKED LAMB RAVIOLI |
The ravioli was my favourite thing. If you ever want to eat at La Taverna, I highly recommend this! Black olives are not my preference but they work well in this dish. I couldn't finish this so I had the rest packed up. I ate the leftover sauce with rice because food and money must not waste.
DESSERT
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| FRESHLY SQUEEZED PINEAPPLE JUICE |
I bet you were expecting to see cake or some other sweet treat that would make you drool. Me too. I almost lost it when I was told that dessert wasn't available. They only had ice-cream. My initial plan was to get a doughnut but it turns out that they don't make their desserts. They get them from the bakery they share a yard with, XO Boutique bakery. Now, XO doesn't open on Mondays which unfortunately for me was the day I went. Usually I tend to ignore my lactose intolerance but on this particular day, I did not want to eat ice-cream. Can you believe that the waitress still wanted me to pay the full price for an incomplete three-course meal? I kindly informed her that there was no way that was going to happen and I ended up getting a glass of freshly squeezed pineapple juice as a replacement. Honestly, I was full after the complimentary bread and starter. I don't know how I would've eaten dessert.
SERVICE & THOUGHTS
The first person that attended to me was lost. When I asked for the restaurant week menu, he said they didn't have one... Guys, I had to stand up to look for the menu because he was obviously about to stress me out. Like I mentioned before, the service was slow. When I was ready to order, I called out for a waiter but no one came to me although I could hear them talking around the corner. I want to cut them some slack and say that they'd just opened and I was their first customer of the day but it's still unacceptable. Clearing plates and bringing out the next course took forever.
Octopus Tacos = ₦2,000. Smoke Lamb Ravioli = ₦4,500. Donut = ₦1,000. Total = ₦7,500. I thought the whole point of restaurant week was to get three-course meals at a discounted price but from my calculations, I ended up saving only ₦500, which isn't a lot to be honest. With the restaurant week lunch offer, I paid ₦7,000. This of course, excluded the service and consumption charges which were an extra 5% each.
Overall, great food but questionable service.
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