VISITING ‘THE HOUSE’ - A RESTAURANT JUST LIKE HOME.

Live, Love, Laugh has been my mantra since the beginning of this year and I’ve been making a conscious effort towards chasing and doing things that are instrumental to achieving these.

After taking a break from visiting restaurants, as I embarked on a journey of visiting a few other fun places in Lagos outside restaurants as seen in my previous post and on my feed too if you follow me on Instagram (@tijesu.o), I might just be back at eating out.

I was very enthusiastic about this day, not just because i‘m always happy going out but also because of my look for the day as I was channeling some gangster vibes init. (Keep reading to see..)

Met up with my friend and our journey began from boarding an Uber to the restaurant

But first, the precise address right? 

                                                                                                                              4, A.J. Marinho Dr, 

                                                                                                                                    Victoria Island, 

                                                                                                                                                  Lagos.

Moving on..

TIJESU: The driver was quiet through most of the journey and when I asked to charge my phone, he complained of his low battery too, I had to understand. On getting there, he passed the restaurant without even realizing. He was confused yet sure that it was on that street, as shown on his map. Not like we were not just as confused as he was because it didn’t seem like there was a restaurant on that street and I only had to be double sure we were on the right street with the help of ‘Google maps’. He turns around and we finally highlight at the entrance. It  looked like someone’s home as it had the usual gates you find at houses, it was not until we entered before I was now triple sure we were at the right address. I sigh in relief. 

AYO: I linked up with TJ at CMS. This time around I waited for him, since he's always getting to the meeting point before me😏, although he didn't take time, but I waited still. 

TIJESU: Sorry ohhh.

AYO: We then proceeded to our location; the ride was smooth and quiet, however I had motion sickness, so I just wanted to get down. 

TIJESU: I didn’t believe you at first lmao, because I’ve never witnessed someone experience motion sickness as I only hear of it, you looked hilarious. 

AYO: On getting there, we could not locate "the house" cause as the name implies, it was structured like an actual apartment/house. At the long run, we found the house.

TIJESU: As usual, i got into familiarizing myself with the surroundings and I quickly got so fascinated about the bunch of flowers around. I seemed to like the space already, probably, because it was also quiet and neat.

AYO: I was swayed away on entering the house, it had this homely vibe I liked. Plus I didn't have to bother about people staring at me while taking pictures.

TIJESU: We headed straight for a door that led inside, it was dim in there and I managed to notice two spaces were guests stay as I could now see a few people seated in one of them which looked very comfy with Tv just in case you wanted to catch up on your favorite show. 

AYO: We got inside and we were confused as to who to talk to. Apparently the waiters were busy attending to other customers. Finally one waiter came to attend to us, and TJ and I asked for their menu list, as we headed outside to sit in the open space. 

TIJESU: It’s always a vibe outside, so there was really no second thought considering if it’s better there.

AYO: The fresh air outside was definitely what I needed to get myself back from the motion sickness. We were chilling for the menu list, which the waiter brought within five minutes and gave us a time range to decide what we wanted to have, I think he said five minutes, I can't recall. After going back and forth, I ordered for Steamed Nigerian Jollof and Sprite, while TJ was still struggling with what he wanted and asked for more time.

TIJESU: Yes, yesssss! That was more like it lmao. I was really having a hard time deciding on what to have and it felt like the waiter came back after 30 seconds as I’ve barely stared at all the options on their menu. I ask for more time and I eventually decide on ‘Scotch Eggs’ from the starters section, something tells me Oreos & Ice cream from the desserts section would have been better but it didn’t matter anymore as I didn’t even want to be a bother by changing my order. 

BOOMERANG TIME !

TIJESU: We shot a few pictures and boomerang videos and then we were welcomed by potato chips that were quite crunchy supposedly to keep us busy before our meals came.

AYO: After placing orders, without wasting time, we decided to make use of the sun, cause the weather seemed tricky. We took some pictures and made a couple of boomerang videos. Then my food came, so I had to attend to that🤤

Shortly after, they brought Tj's snacks. Btw, I need to commend them; our food came early, they didn't waste time at all, unlike a couple of restaurants I've been too.

TIJESU: Our meal arrives and I figure we continue shooting after eating and I couldn’t help but notice my scotch eggs, which were accompanied by purple cabbage & a creamy sauce. I’m definitely one you’ll find taking photos of food before eating and Ayo wasn’t even having it as confirmed by his Instagram story that said ‘TJ, can I have my food already?’ 😂

AYO: Of course I had to wait because TJ had to take picturessssssss of everything on the table, I couldn't take it anymore, I had to vent on my insta story 😁Afterwards he gave me my food, and I was happy to eat my food 😂

TIJESU: Big sighhhhh! You’re officially cancelled! 😂

TIJESU: Although, I expected to see more than two scotch eggs for N2,600, I couldn’t wait to try it.

The scotch egg alone tasted as great as the ones you can find around but with the sauce it tasted world class! yes the sauce did the magic as they call it the creamy house sauce! (a sauce peculiar to the restaurant).Weirdly, it was really filling, could it be the drink I had with it? or maybe cause i already had a lot to eat earlier that day. lol, why didn’t I think of that first, that surely must be it! 

AYO: I enjoyed my food, just as the waiter promised. At first I was skeptical about having the steamed jollof rice, because I've been to restaurants where; what you order is not what you'll get, and I wasn't ready to waste my money. So I was really glad.

TIJESU: The weather suddenly changed in less than two minutes, and it started drizzling, it didn’t seem like a big deal cause it was just light and there was even a shed over our heads so we didn’t bother going inside. 

But then, the waiter quickly rushes out with an expression of great urgency, saying we should come inside as he helps with our food, one would think it was thunderstorm situation and that showed great customer concern, note that, this was coming after he came to check up on us if we were enjoying our meal earlier on

AYO: I told you guys that the weather was tricky right? 😒it started drizzling, so they had to take us inside, before I knew it, it started raining heavily. Tj and I were not just cut out for the rain because we still had to take pictures. Tbh at that point I was over it, and I just wanted to go home already, but TJ told me to calm down.

TIJESU: We were just getting comfortable inside when the manager also walks in to ask us if we needed anything, like turning the AC on, and that was definitely a no, no! We disapprove, and he just smiles and leave. We made a joke about rating the restaurant ten stars online as all the kind gestures since we got there simply added up to show they had great concern for their customers, and that is extremely important to me as it is very pertinent as to whether I’ll revisit a place or not.

AYO: Let me take a minute or two, to explain how perfect their hospitality at the house is. Yes I said "Perfect". Right from when we got the menu list from the waiter till the end, he was so nice. You're probably thinking "he's doing his job" trust me he did beyond his job and not like some robot that just frown and take orders, he kept asking us if we were comfortable and if we had any complaints. He assured us that we'd enjoy our meal and we did. OMG I can go on and on, at some point when we were inside the manager came in to see if we were okay. That's what I call a perfect customer relation.

TIJESU: The rain finally stops, and we now have a cloudy atmosphere. We go outside to resume taking pictures as they are very essential to me, apart from the memories from it, i find sharing content detailing my experience so fun to do! The production wasn’t as bad as I imagined it to be considering the weather thank God we even tried! I exhale deeply.

AYO: Back to us waiting for the rain to stop, so we could take pictures 😆it was still drizzling at this point, and TJ convinced me that it'll stop, fortunately it did. We went outside, took pictures and videos, continued our chitchat, ordered Uber, cause time was not on our side and the weather started changing again 😒So we went home.

TIJESU: My mind felt eased, I could tell I was happier than I came and I knew fully well I had a great time.

AYO: I had a swell time with my friend as usual, and thanks to "the house" they made it a memorable one. I'd definitely visit some other time.

MEAL PRICES: 

Scotch Eggs- N2,600

Nigerian Jollof- N1,800

Drink (Sprite) - N600

Service charge- N500

TOTAL - N5,500.

I hope you had a glimpse of our experiences at ‘The House’. Please leave me your genuine feedback in the comments and make sure to follow Ayo (@ayo_oje) on instagram. Thanks for stopping by! 

Love, Tijesu.