I had been looking forward to this lunch date for a while. The plans had been on the burner for almost 3 weeks but we finally made the time for it.
We were initially going to get some brunch but that felt a bit out of place for a late afternoon meal and so we decided to check out Cilantro instead. It's a fine dining restaurant that specialises in Indian cuisine and their Lagos branch is at 7 Musa Yar' Adua St, Victoria Island.
The parking is pretty decent. Between the in-compound and outside spaces, they could easily accommodate lots of cars on a fully booked day. The atmosphere was clean, the greenery was well tended and the sound of rushing water from the fountain made it all feel very fresh.
The outdoor seating area is lovely. It is bright and spacious and has a bar dedicated to it. There is lots of sitting space and I'd imagine one could host a fun event here. Unfortunately, it was still too hot so we opted to sit inside instead.
The inside did not really stand out to me but the air conditioning blowing on my face quickly made me forget that. The waiters were very attentive and tended to us gracefully. The ambience was good too, music was soft and low but they kept playing covers which were a miss for us. Why play covers when you can just play the original songs?
The menu has a lot going on. Apart from the expected Indian choices, it features continental dishes as well. I had looked online for their menu prior to this visit but I couldn't find it even on their Instagram, so I decided to fill that gap by pasting it above (also it's great for my SEO hehe).
We placed our orders and before long our starter had come - garlic naan. It was freshly made, so it was hot and the aroma of fresh garlic wafted in the air. The naan is not complimentary and it does not come with a dipping sauce which was new to me.
We weren’t sure what the portion sizes were like but it was soon apparent that we had gotten a bit too much food. We ordered Butter Chicken, Lamb Briyani, Kadal Lamb and some steamed rice, so it was quite a lot for two.
The butter chicken tasted heavenly, and it was interesting to know that it also came in a red colour. The kadal was tasty and quite spicy from the dried chillies in it, but it was not malicious. The lamb in the briyana and kadal was tender enough to shred with a spoon and it tasted magnificent. The dishes were very aromatic, the freshness of the herbs and spices really came through, so we had to suspend our gist to focus on the food!
Our total bill came to ₦24,000 ($63.03) which is a bit pricey, but you can't really put a value on good experiences and great company. Here is a link to their instagram if you want to visit. Don't forget to like and share!