Lagos Unflitered: Coral Blue

Lagos Unfiltered

Say it as it is.

CORAL BLUE REVIEW

Calamari, ribs & fries N3250

Ribs, chicken and fries N2750.

Pina Colada N1100

Chapman– N850

Address: 1 Adeyemo Alakija Street, by Sanusi Fafunwa, Victoria Island.

Tomi: It was the day I returned to school and  after church we asked ourselves where we could get good lunch and try something we had not done before. We thought about Sheraton and Protea in Ikeja, Churrascos and Southern Sun and then decided against those because we’d been there countless times.

Mayowa: I’d visited Coral Blue a couple of weeks ago and thought we could try it out. The person who’d recommended it said it was largely inexpensive and tended not to be crowded.

Tomi: Which was proved true as there were only about two or three tables occupied on our arrival. We were swiftly engaged by our waiter. This guy was one of a kind, you rarely find waiters so enthusiastic to serve their customers. The downside; he barely gave us any time to think about the menu and it seemed like he wanted us to give our orders ASAP. The menu was looong and they were just calling some seafood p’s that I’d never heard of before. Before food, we were told that ordering a basket of bread as a starter wasn’t advisable because they gave complimentary bread so instead we went for Fiery Fish skewers (Barracuda, ball pepper, red onion, zucchini served on a skewer with fiery dip.) and Breaded Butterfly prawns. The fish skewers tasted really great but it was the breaded butterfly prawns I most enjoyed.

Mayowa: For me, the bread rolls were the highlight. They are perfect. So soft, warm and fresh.

Breaded Butterfly Prawns

Fiery Fish Skewers

Tomi: I expected a long day so I really just wanted food that would fill me, as such I ordered Ribs and Calamari which came with either French Fries, Yam Chips, Fried or Jollof Rice or Mashed potatoes. I wanted mine with Yam chips but they told me that was unavailable so I went for fries instead. I also ordered a Pina Colada with my food.

Ribs, Calamari and Fries

Mayowa: As a simpleton, I went for Chicken and Ribs with fries. Who else goes out for sea food and gets that? King Mayo, that’s who. I went for a Chapman to go with it. It took between 15-20 minutes for the food to arrive.

Ribs, Chicken and Fries

Tomi: When I saw the Calamari, all the excitement I felt  from the starter left my soul, this was not what I knew calamari to be o.  I then tried to get rational with it: ‘cos it doesn’t look like normal calamari doesn’t mean it won’t taste good. The ribs on the other hand were spot on. Normally, I have problems with ribs being too hard but today that wasn’t the case, it was tender and just right. The pina colada was crap. It cost N1100 but it tasted like it cost N400 to make. It seemed like they just indiscriminately added Peak milk and put minute portions of Pineapple and Coconut.

Mayowa: Chicken, ribs and fries would be pretty difficult to mess up.  The chapman tasted like undiluted Ribena concentrate. Too sweet. Concerning the vegetables, it felt like they had been warmed from a frozen bag which defeats the point of veggies being fresh.

Chapman and Pina Colada

Verdict

Tomi: In terms of service, Coral Blue was flawless, their waiters were quick to assist and as enthusiastic and informed as ever, food was alright however their drinks were heavily flawed and can obviously be worked on. If you are ever looking for somewhere to grab a bite without breaking the bank I recommend Coral Blue.

Overall I give Coral Blue, 2 and a half fire flame emojis.

Mayowa: You’ve said it all. I’ll go with three flame emojis. The bread was the real MVP. So much that we ate it all before remembering we had to take pictures. Blame Tomi.