With the influx of new restaurants in Lagos, it can be quite a task to search for the right restaurant to dine in and most importantly get good value for money!
Well, that’s my job! And I’m always happy to take it on and bring you the juice on the new and of course existing restaurants in Lagos Nigeria. Today’s spotlight is on Oceans5 by Rivera.
When it comes to an aesthetically pleasing space, most restaurants in Lagos put their best foot forward and so did Oceans 5 by Rivera.
Located at Victoria Island Lagos, Oceans 5 serves international cuisine; they have a broad menu with continental dishes, oriental dishes, Indian mains, vegetarian options, a wide range of cocktails and mocktails with a special section for champagne cocktails, custom made pasta, wines, cognac and spirits.
I like to think of Oceans 5 by Rivera restaurant as one between fine dining and casual dining based on my dining experience. We will do a full dive into the food review but first off let’s give the space the credit it deserves; with contemporary aesthetics the space at Oceans 5 gives an aqua feel with the right colours to accentuate this. It’s elegant and is a great location for dates or a group hangout with the squad. If you are visiting this restaurant then be rest assured you want to have your sophisticated look on and make reservations ahead if possible.
Now to the food and drinks;
I had smoked butter chicken and jollof rice (served with chicken) during my visits. I am not an Indian but best believe me when I say the butter chicken was delicious, well seasoned and the chicken bits were juicy! One of the best I’ve had in Lagos, I had it with basmati rice as a side but all I kept thinking of was how well it would have paired with naan…. Garlic naan!
The jollof rice, on the other hand, was an average meal, I was honestly expecting more; it tasted ok and it wasn’t smoky but the chicken was quite flavourful. If I were to rate both meals out of 10 then the smoked butter chicken gets a 9/10 and the jollof rice a 7/10.
For drinks I tried out the daiquiri and Blue Me Away, both drinks were solid and I have no complaints whatsoever.
The Strawberry Daiquiri is a classic and they made it just right and frozen! The Blue Me Away looked beautiful thanks to the blue curacao addition and it did try to blow me away.
The service was nice during both my visits and the staff seemed friendly and professional.
I think they are doing a good job with the Indian menu and I definitely will visit again to try out other meals as their menu is quite a broad one.
For me, they hit the bar and although they have Nigerian menu items, I prefer to recommend the Indian and continental items on the menu.
Have you been to the Oceans5 by Rivera? If yes, what was your experience like?
By Bella Explores , @bellaexplores