Power dining in Lagos: an insider guide

This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s new guide to Lagos

If Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, Victoria Island is the place that perhaps best encapsulates the city’s grand sense of self. Here, gleaming skyscrapers house the biggest Nigerian banks, law firms and consultancies, alongside many of the multinational corporations looking to tap into Africa’s most populous nation.

Victoria Island is also where business meets pleasure, home to the best restaurants in the city, from international cuisine to local delights. Upscale dining remains relatively new in Lagos — almost no high-end restaurants have existed for more than a decade; many fail early and with little time to build a legacy or leave an imprint on the city.

Spend enough time at the city’s top restaurants and something becomes clear: many of them are run by people of Lebanese origin, a phenomenon that extends to other hospitality venues, including nightclubs. There is a long history of Lebanese migration to Nigeria and other parts of west Africa, starting in the late 19th century. Many arrived seeing opportunities and safety from the political and economic crises that have dogged their home country, and settled in port cities like Lagos. Many of the proprietors of the places on this list attribute the Lebanese joie de vivre as the main draw to the hospitality industry — the idea that life is for the living and enjoyment is a priority.

Times are currently tough for the restaurant industry in Nigeria, a reflection of the wider state of the country, which is experiencing its worst economic downturn in three decades. Restaurants face ever-higher running costs. Venues are emptier as consumer incomes struggle to keep pace with sky-high inflation, rendering eating out an unattainable luxury for those beyond the moneyed elite.

But the food scene is not all gloom. New restaurants are springing up across the city as an ever-wider array of cuisines becomes available, and established venues are continually reinventing themselves to meet the demands of their often well-travelled clientele.

NOK by Alára

12A Akin Olugbade Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 106104

• Good for: A diverse range of local and African cuisine

• Not so good for: Frequent return visits — the menu doesn’t change that often

• FYI: There’s an outdoor garden that hosts some of the best parties in the city

• Prices: Mains from N15,000 ($10/£8)

• Opening times: Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday noon–4pm and 6–10pm; Friday–Saturday, noon–4pm and 6pm–10:30pm

• Website; Directions

With its distinct red-brick cuboid exterior, NOK is unmissable. This venture, founded by mother-and-daughter team Reni and Faridah Folawiyo, promises to take diners on a “culinary journey” across Africa. NOK, which features a dining area with high-ceilings and raffia-themed lights, is part restaurant and part homage to African art. The indoor walls are lined with work by contemporary African artists, and the garden’s bar was painted by the Nigerian-American multidisciplinary visual artist Victor Ehikhamenor. The garden is “bright, colourful and African”, in the words of its proprietors, and serves excellent grilled food best enjoyed with a cold drink.

NOK’s menu delivers on its promise of a grand tour of Africa and beyond. From Ethiopian red-lentil stew to grilled treats such as Senegalese dibi and Nigerian suya via Jamaican curry, there’s something for everyone. Although the FT’s man in Lagos doesn’t indulge, he is reliably informed by many people that the àmàlà (a staple “swallow” food originating from south-west Nigeria and made from yam, cassava or unripe plantain flour that pairs well with various stews) is to die for.

There’s also a store at the front of the restaurant called Alára, where you can buy mementoes ranging from luxury African fashion to Christian Louboutin shoes. NOK by Alára has been around for nearly a decade and has certainly earned its legendary reputation — it’s one of the few spots everyone agrees is a must-visit.

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SLoW

2 Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 106104

• Good for: Latin American-inspired food and great cocktails

• Not so good for: A cheap meal. SLoW is high-end and its prices reflect it

• FYI: It’s on the same grounds as Temple Muse, a store selling everything from expensive crockery to luxury fashion by Nigerian designers

• Prices: Mains from N32,200 ($21/£17)

• Opening times: Monday–Friday, 8am–midnight; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-midnight

• Website; Directions

Located in one of the choicer parts of Victoria Island, SLoW is a Latin American-inspired brasserie from restaurateur Nahi Halabi (who, with his wife Maya, is also behind the below-mentioned RSVP). The space, which has an industrial design and an expansive light-filled dining area with a prominent cocktail bar in the middle, hosted a garden in a previous incarnation, and SLoW pays homage to its roots with plentiful indoor plants and a hydroponic set-up on the roof and elsewhere in the restaurant, where vegetables such as basil, tomatoes, lettuce and parsley are cultivated.

The hummus is exceptional, a reflection of its Lebanese owner’s roots. The menu boasts a variety of tacos, from black bean to rock shrimp and vegetarian avocado options. SLoW serves some of the best seafood in Lagos: Brazilian moqueca (seafood stew) and a selection of fine ceviches made from salmon, tuna and white fish. I especially recommend the salmon filet, cooked medium rare, which pairs well with Peruvian rice. Glazed with miso, it is juicy and bursting with flavour. It is my go-to meal at SLoW. The cocktails here are excellent too, with classics available on request.

Would-be diners should expect a relaxed atmosphere and a relatively eye-popping bill — by Lagos standards — at the end of the evening. But international travellers need not fret: it’s excellent value when converted to US dollars or sterling.

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Kaly

Seventh floor, Number One Building, 1 Akin Adesola, Victoria Island, Lagos 106104

• Good for: A Mediterranean experience and great wine and cocktails

• Not so good for: A discreet meal – Kaly sits up to 300 at full capacity

• FYI: Kaly is good for celebrity spotting, if that’s your thing

• Prices: Mains from N34,000 ($23/£18)

• Opening times: Daily, noon–midnight (restaurant); rooftop bar lounge, Tuesday–Sunday, 7pm–late

• Website; Directions

Located on the top floor of a seven-storey building in the heart of Victoria Island, Kaly, with its high ceilings and expansive interior, offers an upscale dining experience fit for a business lunch or dinner. Its terrace offers a view of Eko Atlantic, the controversial (depending on who you ask) new city outpost being built on land reclaimed from the ocean. It’s a brilliant spot to catch the sunset and, on nights when the sky is clear and the stars are out, it can be dreamy. Little wonder it plays host to many wedding-proposal dinners.

Kaly comprises a restaurant with a well-stocked bar, a terrace and a lounge in partnership with a whisky brand where business elites hold meetings in relative privacy. Big business groups have accounts here. 

The menu here is chock-full of Mediterranean options, reflecting the Lebanese origins of its proprietors. Lou Fakhri-Baker, who runs the place with her husband Tarek Baker, is a veteran of the hospitality industry. As a Lebanese woman who grew up in Senegal and now lives in Lagos, she told me the food at her restaurant is a reflection of her myriad cultural experiences. The hummus, which I tried at her urging, is genuinely the best I’ve had in Lagos.

The seafood, particularly the salmon and sea bass, is of the highest quality, and steak makes an appearance. (My personal favourite is the South African T-bone steak, cooked medium rare.)

When colleagues from London paid a visit to the city, I took them to Kaly for dinner, which testifies to the sky-high quality that can be found here. It also offers a business lunch deal until 4pm on weekdays at N59,000 ($40/£31) for two people: an incredible deal for such a first-rate experience.

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Z Kitchen

19 Saka Tinubu Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 106104

• Good for: A varied and consistently high-quality menu

• Not so good for: Like SLoW, Z Kitchen can be expensive in naira terms (but nothing to worry about for business travellers spending in US dollars or sterling)

• FYI: The restaurant takes it name from the owners, whose first names start with the 26th letter of the alphabet 

• Prices: Mains from N27,000 ($18/£14)

• Opening times: Daily, noon–11pm

• Website; Directions

Run by a husband-and-wife duo — Ziad and Zeina Beydoun, an engineer and a graduate of the Institut Paul Bocuse culinary school in Lyon respectively — Z Kitchen offers a sprawling dining area dotted with white walls and blue columns that give it a pleasing aesthetic, the result of a renovation in 2023. A lush courtyard greets you on arrival.

The menu here is wide-ranging and international in scope, which according to the Beydouns is because of their global upbringing and life experiences, offering fare as varied as tacos, bao buns and seafood dishes. The meat is a triumph, featuring a magnificent array of cuts from Australian tomahawk and ribeye to Botswanan filet mignon and cuts from South Africa. Z Kitchen is also possibly the only restaurant in Lagos with ostrich on offer.

The wine list is just as impressive. Bottles from South African vineyards feature, such as the well-regarded Hamilton Russell Chardonnay, as well as select varieties from Italy and France.

Since it launched in 2018, Z Kitchen has established itself as a destination for consistent high-quality dining, a rarity in a city with relatively limited options and an even more limited record of delivering top-notch standards. Many restaurants are a hit and miss in Lagos but Z Kitchen is not — a testament to the work of the Beydouns and their friendly staff.

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RSVP

9 Eletu Ogabi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos 101001

• Good for: A multi-purpose dining experience

• Not so good for: The quality of the food can be uneven

• FYI: This is the laidback sibling restaurant to SLoW

• Prices: Mains from N28,800 ($20/$15)

• Opening times: Daily, 11am–late

• Website; Directions

Think of RSVP as your friendly neighbourhood restaurant, says its founder Nahi Halabi, who also runs the above-mentioned SLoW with his wife Maya.

The couple have a fondness for New York and designed RSVP to evoke memories of the city’s speakeasies of yesteryear. Diners are welcomed at the entrance to a conventional dining area typical of fancy restaurants anywhere else. It is the outdoor area, well hidden by the dining space out-front, that fulfils the promise of a New York-style secret. It is spacious and organised around a pool and a bar. There’s a stage for DJs too — usually on the weekends.

And so visitors get two for the price of one here. Or three, according to Halabi, who conceived of it as a lounge, café and restaurant: a relatively buttoned-up dining space perfect for a business meeting indoors and a more carefree arena behind it, ideal for sipping on a cocktail and letting your hair down. RSVP is also a great first spot on a long night out if you’re so inclined.

The menu is slightly more laidback than at SLoW, perhaps exemplified by its most popular item: chicken pops. RSVP has best-in-class sushi offerings, from nigiri to maki made from salmon, tuna and plentiful vegetarian rolls. The mains menu also a rich variety of fish and steak options — the slow-cooked lamb shank is a personal favourite.

Aanu Adeoye is the FT’s west and central Africa correspondent

Do you have any recommendations for business dining in Lagos? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter