One of the things I miss about Lagos during the cold London winter months has to be the comforting grilled meats streetfood called Suya. I arrived in Lagos a few days ago for my cousins wedding and with the help of a friend decided to visit some of her favourite Suya spots in Lagos . Now when I mention grilled Nigerian assorted meats I often get asked by Elisha and my Portuguese friends about the sourcing of the meats and type of meat. Questions such as , is it a horse ? Is this where Lassie ended up ? are you meant to eat a cows foot ? Human stomach isn’t really built for whatever that is surely ? Etc. Well my friends, Suya is simply made with beef , chicken , ram and parts such as tripe , kidneys, livers or just the fatty parts. It is marinated with a peanut and peppers spice mix , grilled on hot coal , placed in a massive vat of oil, then grilled again ( every place does it differently ). They place it on a paper , sprinkle some of the spices , add some freshly diced onions and voila…heaven on a paper is served. To complete the meal you have to wash it down with a bottle of cold beer.
when I asked my friends Jamie and Toyosi to tell me where the suya meat’s comes from , they laughed and said ” why go down that rabbit hole ?” Don’t think about it , just enjoy the deep yummy flavours. Soo with all that controversy laid to rest, here’s a rank from Number 4 to 1 of my favourite Suya spots in Lagos.
Eagle club Suya Spot – Number 4
LP’s acid reflux friends ( she has a few interestingly enough ) swears by this Suya spot in Surulere. It isn’t overly oily and spicy. Taste wise for me it was okay , however I like my Suya oily , fatty and just slightly spicier as that’s what gives it that depths of flavour. That said, if you like dry Suya and can’t handle the heat for health reasons, Suya spot in Eagle club and a Suya place in Club 81 can cater to your needs.
Bukka Hut – Number 3
This place has soo much smoke you walk away smelling like roasted meats. There is a massive queue outside the place even at 11.30 pm. Fees are paid at a separate booth with receipts handed to the grillers. The meat comes out quite smokey and juicy. The only thing it lacks is that extra dimension that Glover courts brings to it’s flavour profile. Bukka Hut definitely has to be one of my favourite Suya spots in Lagos. They have more variety than most places as well.
Mai Balangu – Number 2
Just by the road side , this place off admirality way in Lekki serves very tasty , mouthwatering and juicy Ram Suya. It doesn’t beat the number 1 place, however it’s close. They have a dude cooking noodles and roast chicken parts right next to the grill. It deserves to be in my favourite Suya spots in Lagos list. Toyosi, ( LP’s cousin ) describes this Ram suya as being very close to Glover courts masterpiece in terms of ranking. “Northerners apparently love this place and deem it more authentic than Glover court”. This is definitely worth a visit for their ram Suya alone.
Glover Court Suya – Number 1
This Suya spot in Ikoyi is well known as possibly the best Suya joint in Lagos . It’s soo well known everyone can tell it’s Glover court just by their uniform. The Suya was greasy , spicy and very flavourful. This is as good as it gets when it comes to Suya. They also have pan fried rice cake that’s chopped and added to the meats . The bread , meats and spice mix combo was delicious. Many will swear by Glover court being the best and I agree with them.
I spoke to friends about other Suya spots such as the University of Suya , Ikoyi club Suya etc,however the feedback still rates Glover court as being the best of the bunch.
Pro tip : Carry a repellant when moving around Lagos in the evenings . Those mosquitoes can be persistent if you are eating by the road side.
Check out a video of my Suya excursion
