Traveling to Lagos Advice

Appendix

Eat and Drink

Nigerian food is very tasty, but can be quite spicy. The basic format of most dishes is a stew accompanied by a starch (called swallow) made from pounded yam, cassava, wheat, plantain, or rice.

Lagos has many great restaurants with both local and foreign food. Here are a few recommendations:

Personal Favorites

• Nok - high end African food and great architecture.

• Danfo Bistro - inventive takes on classic Nigerian snacks + dishes. Surprisingly vegetarian friendly.

• Salma's incredible Lebanese food and niece ambiance on the water. This is our favorite restaurant in Lagos

• Thai Thai - amazing Thai food in a cool space. Great for vegetarians and carnivores alike

• Chapter - very creative “new” Indian. Also a favorite.

• Bature Brewery - the first craft brewery in West Africa

• El Padrino - amazing Nigerian Mexican (a true fusion).

• Terra Kulture – traditional Nigerian food, art space, and event venue. They often have good shows. Check out their instagram to see what’s playing

• Yellow Chilli - well known spot for Nigerian favorites
• Sherlaton or Spice Route - good traditional Indian
• Pitstop - bike themed cafe with a bike shop upstairs
• Shiro - pan Asian in the Landmark beach complex. Exceptional service
• Korean Wife’s Table - fantastic Korean food. Delivery only

Fast Food and Delivery

• Foodcourt – popular and fast delivery of Nigerian favorites. Highly recommended if you live within their service area. They produce and deliver the food themselves so delivery times are often pretty quick.
• Chowdeck – popular and fast delivery that partners with other restaurants for food production. Do Bowls is a favorite.
• Glovo - delivery from multiple restaurants and some supermarkets
• Blackbell – popular Nigerian fast-casual chain
• Chicken Republic – Nigerian fast food
• Habib Yogurt - order Fura da Nono, a fantastic smoothie with spiced bits of millet. It’s incredible.
• Dominos Pizza - unbeatable in Lagos when it comes to speed + consistency
• Clay Food - a great place to order Northern Nigerian food which is very good and worth trying. Get the Masa and Miyan Taushe.

Coffee Shops

• Eric Kayser in VI or Ikoyi. Wide selection and good to work or take meetings from. Freshly baked bread.
• Godaïf Village - in Ikoyi. A secluded spot for coffee chats or computer work
• Mai Shayi - coffee roaster in VI with the best coffee you’ll find in Lagos. Note: they don’t allow laptops.
• Ziya Cafe - in VI. Very nice salads and all around good food.
• Pause Cafe - in the Palms shopping mall so it’s convenient if you want to go to the grocery store as well
• Flowershop Cafe - in VI. Popular brunch spot that can get really busy / crowded
• Top Beans - on the water in VI
• Kaldi - Large scale coffee roaster with a cafe. On the mainland in a very industrial area. Cool complex with a recycled glass blower, art gallery, and chocolate maker next door. You might also encounter a friendly monkey

Splurge

Some of the nicest / more expensive restaurants here include:

• SLoW
• Z Kitchen
• Kaly
• RSVP
• Koi
• Ile Eros
• The Ona
• Vici

Nightlife

Lagos nightlife gets started very late which isn’t really our thing so we don’t have many recommendations here:

• Tiger Bar - chill local spot
• Vertigo - if you’re looking to sample Lagos nightlife and drop some $$
• Zorya - gets started very late

Workout

• There are lots of gyms across the city but a few favorites on the Island include:
• Beyond Fitness in VI - incredible facility, staff, and great spin / lift classes.
• Lo Studios - pilates in VI
• Fit Nigeria - don’t miss Tuesday night trampoline fitness at Upbeat (warehouse sized trampoline facility in the same complex). Starts at 6pm just show up no need to register beforehand.
• Crossfit Jagun
• If you’re looking for a place to run, I’d recommend Sunday mornings on the smaller streets of ikoyi (e.g. Glover road, making loops on the smaller streets or across the Lekki - Ikoyi Link Bridge). Most other days of the week the streets are just too busy unless you’re quite adventurous. Another option is to run up and down the seawall in the deserted and Blade Runner-esque Eko Atlantic complex. If the guards stop you on your way in just say you’re headed to the restaurant at the Eko Pearl towers.

Sleep

• If you’re looking to maximize convenience + affordability, consider an AirBnB in the 1004 apartment complex. It’s pretty rough around the edges but very centrally located and everyone knows it. If you want to stay in an area that has more history, there’s also this Airbnb in Onikan (Lagos Island) which I’ve stayed in and highly recommend.

• If your budget is mid-range, I’d suggest booking a room at 16 by 16 a boutique AirBnb. It’s run by great people and is in the same building as Thai Thai - a fantastic Thai restaurant.

• If your budget is higher end and you want to stay in a hotel, you can’t go wrong with the Radisson Blu (pictured below), Nordic Hotel, or Lagos Continental.