A VISIT TO BROWN'S CAFE

Brown’s café

16B, Akin Olugbade street.

Victoria island,

Lagos.

Ft the loml (Olamide) et my brother (Enioluwa)

Brown's cafe was one of the places outlined on my bucket list to visit, and i finally got to go there. I've not really heard anything about it or seen its reviews online as i only got to notice it during one of my visits to Nok by Alara, there's just a building in between separating it from Nok by Alara. Also, just in case you were wondering where art cafe is, its also just down the same street.

TIJESU: The first thing I noticed actually was the serenity, it was very peaceful as the security guard even reached out to say hello.

OLAMIDE: Yeah, he seemed nice.

ENIOLUWA: I didn't really notice him.

TIJESU: The waiter who attended to us kept smiling a little too much (which is probably the etiquettes expected of him), he also tried speaking in foreign accent which wasn’t exactly working. The indoor space was too dull and I preferred an outdoor space with great scenery and fresh air.

OLAMIDE: TJ kept saying he doesn’t like it in here and told the waiter we would prefer an outdoor space.

ENIOLUWA: I was actually indifferent about whether to stay inside or outside, in so far as it’s comfortable.

TIJESU: The menu was scanty as it took so long for me to decide on which item I was going to have. I’ve heard so much about steaks so I was delighted to find it on their menu, I decided to try it.

OLAMIDE: It was actually difficult going through the menu, but for the long time of preparation just as the waiter said I was going to have the triple chocolate meltdown for desserts. I finally decided to have cake & ice cream for desserts and the ofada after desserts.

ENIOLUWA: Although it was not my decision to make, I wasn’t so sure about the steaks TJ was having. Everyone made a fun of my vegan choice, as I was having the chicken salad.

TIJESU: The bell on our table wasn’t even working, it appeared old, as a paper tape was visible round it to hold it firm lol.

OLAMIDE: I remember making fun of the bell with Eni, when we realized it wasn’t working.

ENIOLUWA: We kept buzzing it over and over, at least we needed to have fun as we were really bored waiting for our menu.

TIJESU: Gosh! it took so long for my steak to get ready, 45 minutes gone, I was already losing it, I had to go inside to know what was going on as their bell was apparently not working.

OLAMIDE: We’ve already taken so many pictures as it took really long, until the waiter came to tell us it was TJ’s menu that was delaying as the remaining were ready.

ENIOLUWA: We told him we’ll hang on a bit, so we could all be served
together.

(We decide to go inside as house flies were overwhelming outside plus it was really recking of smoke from ciggaretes).

Meal arrives........

TIJESU: Finally, my steak arrives in style with fries and ketchup accompanied, so long I’ve waited for this moment. Unfortunately, the steak looked a bit disgusting at a much closer sight, probably its preparation was rushed or probably that was its normal form.

I didn’t mind that anyway as I reached to have a bite, a bite into the meal however changed my notion as it was juicy, I had more bites and it was really yummy on the inside.

If you guessed that the peppercorn sauce accompanied with the steak was horrible then you were right, it made the steak taste spoilt, I’m wondering what type of sauce is that, bleh! It was a turnoff!!

It was also a bit tiring I must say which is similar to my experiences with grilled chicken, I’m actually just even noticing the similarities in taste & looks maybe.

OLAMIDE: I really have nothing to say about your steak, cause it tasted bad to me.

ENIOLUWA: I was right!! I was right when I told you not to have the steak!! Apart from its horrible look, it tasted like ‘spoilt meat’, I’m still wondering how you finished it.

TIJESU: Because I was having a nice time, and it tasted that way cause you tried it with the sauce, you should have tried it without!

ENIOLUWA: I chose to have the Chicken salad because it sounded interesting, I really wanted to see what it would look like, it was my first time having it, so you can imagine such excitement.

It finally arrived, it looked good and tasted good too. It had cabbage, tomato, croutons. They all complimented each other with the creamy house dressing.

However, what didn’t work was the olives – it looked like nuts, it tried spoiling the nice time I was having but I didn’t let that happen as I picked every single one, it wasn’t much, so it was easy to pick lol; it tasted like Yoruba ‘Agbo’. Asides the olives it was a really great meal.

TIJESU: Nice time you call it, more like leaves for brunch!! I wonder why it’s called chicken salad when it’s clearly overwhelmed with leaves. It looked like you were a vegetarian observing ‘cheat day’ yet still with a veggie twist, must be hard!!

OLAMIDE: TJ & I kept calling it a vegan choice, cause it really looked like one but for the chicken.

OLAMIDE: My ofada arrives alongside my cake & ice cream. The cake looked and tasted boring, funny how I ordered for a vanilla cake and I got a completely different plain piece, the ice cream was also lovely, although, the conventional; it was just what I needed on a hot afternoon.

The Ofada was definitely worth the wait, as it tasted very nice. The stew was well garnished and it had just about enough oil, cause I’m not a fan of too much oil, it also came with plantain as sides!!! It was really delicious.

TIJESU: I totally agree, the ofada tasted nice except that the stew was a little to oily. For the cake, I was expecting a really large piece for that amount lol.

ENIOLUWA: I don’t see what was really nice about the ofada, it tasted normal to me, just like the regular homemade ofada, it was just there.

MEAL PRICES:

Steak - 5,500

Ofada sauce - 3,000

Cake & Ice cream - 2,200

Chicken Salad- 3,000

RATING:

FOOD

TIJESU: Steak - 7/10

OLAMIDE: Ofada - 9/10

Cake & Icecream - 5/10

ENIOLUWA: Chicken salad - 8/10

SERVICES

TIJESU: Fair, hopefully they work on their bell and speeden up their food preparation processes.

OLAMIDE: Terrible waiter service.

ENIOLUWA: Just there, should be worked on!

ENVIRONMENT:

TIJESU: A little boring, aesthetics can definitely be improved on, although, I loved the white feel. Also, the lighting inside can be fixed as it was poorly illuminated.

OLAMIDE: Wasn’t all about it.

ENIOLUWA: White is definitely their theme! I couldn’t help but notice the white details everywhere.