Izanagi: Where Dreams Come True.

I'm meant to be trying to get abs, yet in the lead up to the deadly holiday season I find myself eating out more and more for a whole host of reasons. This particular day though, was totally worth it. My fellow Pan-Asian, Thai, Japanese food lover, Efe and I, decided to finally give Izanagi a shot. This place has been on my mind for a looong while because they do sushi, but I wasn't too sure about being served sushi in Nigeria. Then I thought about it logically, if I would eat sushi almost anywhere else in the world why would I not try it here? Anyway, on the recommendation of a good friend of ours, Efe and I trooped along to Izanagi about a week ago (week agooo).

It's on Idejo Street in V.I and as soon as we passed the dodgy looking construction workers and other people hanging about and climbed the stairs, I fell in love. Let me just say now that my expectations for this restaurant were sky high and I was very sure I was going to be at least a little disappointed. Efe and I sat down and perused the menu, giggly with excitement. We looked at the menu and were surprised by some of the prices, 3 maki rolls for N1,200? Yes please! Our waiter was pleasant and quite knowledgable and also very patient as we were consumed by general indecision. In the end, we opted for Prawn Tempura and Chicken Dumplings for starters.

The tempura came with tempura sauce and was coated with the lightest, fluffiest, most delightful batter. The type that doesn't leave you feeling like you've swallowed a wad of oil and clogged up your arteries, the best kind! And the dumplings were extremely flavourful, they came with chilli powder, soy sauce and sesame seeds, but really I enjoyed them just on their own.

Oh before I forget, I had an Izanagi's Kiss to drink, a non alcoholic cocktail with apple juice, coconut juice and some other stuff I've since forgotten. It has the yummiest, most fragrant smell. Efe had an apple juice. No need for expensive drinks when there's food to be had!

For our mains we ordered one plate of Beef Udon Noodles to share along with three maki rolls, from left to right the rolls are "Mango Roll" which was a roll wrapped in a deliciously sweet slither or mango. "Plantain Roll" which had tiny and fairly spicy plantain pieces over a tuna roll and my absolute favourite the "Salmon Skin Roll". The sushi came with a side of wasabi and ginger. The noodles were extremely tasty as well and even though we struggled to finish it, we still picked up all the pieces of tender, well flavoured beef and left the delicious noodles alone.

At this point I have to talk about the service, we got to the restaurant at about 6.30, just half an hour after they open for dinner, (can someone say keen beans?) and were immediately given our choice of seats. By the time we were leaving a couple hours later, all the tables were completely occupied, it was mainly full of expatriates and the crowd ranged from families, to couples, to just friends hanging out. This was a random Tuesday evening, I would hate to see what it's like at the weekend and so my dear friends, if you're planning on going; reserve, reserve, reserve! My main point though is that even through this busy period, our food still came out consistently and seemed to be perfectly timed by our more than able waiter. It was not until towards the end of the meal that I started to feel Mr. Perfect was cheating on us with the other tables around. Lol.

To end the whole fiesta, I ordered the Warm Lava Cake, Efe decided to pass on dessert though. I really considered being a good fitfam girl but what's the point of not trying dessert? Especially when by this time, I was convinced Izanagi could do no wrong! I kissed my "almost" abs goodbye and dove, head first into the warmth of this decadent chocolate cake. If like me, you love chocolate, your taste buds will explode at the richness of this dessert. The sensations of the warm cake and the cold ice cream were enough to make me shed a real life tear and I don't regret getting the cake for one second.

Warning, objects in the pictures are larger than they appear. The serving of cake was probably better suited to two people than one, but who's complaining? My only issue with the dessert was the inclusion of strawberry ice-cream. Yuck. Who does that? At the end of it all, our bill came in the cutest treasure box and I bet you're wondering what the low down is.

A grand total of N19,800. Yup, you read that right. Fortunately for us, it was just within our budget and worth every gaddem kobo! Unfortunately, it means I can't go there once a week until I've exhausted their entire menu like I originally planned to. :( 

So here's my final low down of what has been by far, my best dining experience in the whole of Lagos and certainly my top three in all my experiences.

Food- 9.5/10

Service- 9/10

Ambience- 10/10

Overall- 9.5/10

If you've been meaning to visit Izanagi's then go! If you've never heard of them, still go! If you don't like sushi or other Asian food, hell just go anyways! And if you see me munching away in a corner then come say hey and join me :)