HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!!!

I hope everyone’s year is filled with alllll the food, all the love and anything else you desire!

I’ve been so excited about this post, so now that I’ve crossed 2 exams off my to do list, I can get to it.

Ikoyi is a Michelin starred restaurant that takes inspiration from West African ingredients. So many familiar ingredients have been transformed into something almost unnoticeable and DELICIOUS (not that the original dishes aren’t delicious- love me some tuwo, jollof rice and co).

As with every new opening, I always want to go as soon as they open, but finding a dining partner to go with to Ikoyi was a bit tricky. Last year, I really embraced dining alone. It’s something I now do probably 90% of the time and I love it  SO SO much #introvertandproud. So I just decided to go!

The way Ikoyi operates is basically by having a different set menu everyday depending on the produce available.

To drink I got the “Ikoyi Chapman”. This isn’t the traditional chapman we all know and love. It’s more like a fruit punch. It has passionfruit, hibiscus and guava juice.

Prettyyyyyyyyy.

First course – the famous Ikoyi plantain dish, served with a cauliflower and scotch bonnet emulsion (SPICY) and covered in raspberry salt.

I LOVED this, so much. Very familiar flavours elevated. After I took the first bite I was like errr? Second bite – WOW, I LOVE.

Second course – grilled cabbage with egusi and anchovy butter. This BANGED!

This dish, I was not expecting at all. Very “veg forward” which is great and not very Nigerian. If the greens aren’t simmered in a usually oily stew, they’re probably not anywhere else. I loved it so much. Would eat this everyday.

Third course was a garri crusted fried chicken, served with kale and the star of the show – smoked crab jollof rice.

This was probably my least favourite dish. The chicken wasn’t cooked as well as I would’ve liked. I like my chicken to be dead, DEAD. Like VERY COOKED. Not lightly cooked.

Naij jollof or Ghana jollof? None. Ikoyi Jollof, but I guess Ikoyi Jollof IS Naij jollof?

I don’t care tbh. This is what jollof rice dreams are made of. The smoked crab butter was INSANE. Who knew something creamy and jollof rice would bang?! Not me!

I didn’t know what to expect for dessert as in a West African household desert is usually fruit salad (wonder who started that trend).

Dessert was black eyed pea ice cream with caramelised white chocolate, 66% dark chocolate and sep oil. When the waiter said “black eyed pea ice cream”, I was like..

But this was nice, very creamy and very very different.

I can’t wait to go back and see what else the GREAT chefs at Ikoyi have to offer! I had THE BEST time. There were only two other diners, so I had the LUSH space pretty much all to myself. I was in introvert heaven tbh. I sat by the window and people watched as I listened to my fave podcast – Black Girl in Om.

At the end of this meal, i realised “ENJOYMENT FIT ME”. It really, really fits me. I can’t even lie. I mean, I’ve known this for timeee, but it just reminded me I guess.

100/10, I would TOTALLY recommend. Go treat YO SELF!

Thanks for reading. Here’s to more great food in 2020!

TMA.