Lunch at the 805

Hi Londonistas! 

 It has been a while since we had a catch up. What fun things are you finding to do in London while the weather is bleurgh? 

The grey skies and soggy umbrellas might not be so inspiring but here is a post that might brighten things up! So after months and months of deliberating, organising and reorganising, me and the girls decided to FINALLY arrange lunch at what has got to be South London's most popular Nigerian restaurant.

805, in the middle of the Old Kent Road has been one of the cornerstones of African London's dining scene for years now. And although I have actually eaten there a couple of times before, I wanted to introduce my Spanish friend to their legendary tilapia. 

We called some of the other members of our dining gang, and voila! We were all sat around a table in the restaurant last Wednesday afternoon. First things first, if you are a driver, and are worried about the red route and 'no parking' signs in the area, you needn't worry.

Free Parking. Yipee!

The interior of the restaurant is very light, and clean - pleasant enough. However, apart from the few paintings sporadically placed on the walls, there is nothing about the interior that screams AFRICA! 

The maiter d' was nice. We were greeted at the door, and asked where we wanted to sit. However, the one other waitress who was waiting on five or six other tables, seemed lethargic and after twenty minutes of sitting down without being offered so much as a glass of water, one of the girls had to approach to ask if we could order drinks!

Anyway, service aside, the food was incredible. Once we had ordered, the food didn't take too long to arrive. My plate looked like this.

Mmm... Croaker fish, fried plantain and salad with a chilli sauce!!

I LOVE chilli and spice, and all things nice - which is very typical of Nigerian cuisine. But for my poor friends who asked for the mild option, it seemed the restaurant only offered spicy and spicier. It seemed that 'mild' is a concept unbeknownst to the chef at 805, because even the accompanying sauce labelled as 'mild' burnt the roof of their mouth. 

The fried plantain was perfect though. It was tasty and ripe enough without being too greasy. Also, the prices are excellent, for the amount of food you actually get. It is a shame though that during the three to four hours we sat and talked, after eating, we were not offered the opportunity to order more drinks. And although there were about four or so items on the desert menu, the only thing available was ice-cream...hmmm

A sneak peek at the menu!

Altogether, it was an enjoyable afternoon. Service might need a bit of polishing but the food is amazing. I do recommend spice junkies to visit the 805.