Johnny Rockets takes off?

I heard from my friends that is was expensive. A minimum of 5k per head if you want a burger with chips. 5k! That’s 20 English Pounds or 30 American Dollars! For that kind of money I expect valet parking, or any type of parking for that matter, and for a fast food joint they had very little space. How do I know? I went of course! Not even 5k will keep me from at least going once, which is what most of the people I spoke to have said will be all they can support.

Back to the parking; nestled on a small plot opposite Ocean View on Adetokumbo Ademola street in Victoria Island in Lagos, the first of Johnny Rockets five proposed outlets in Nigeria has parking for only about a dozen cars. If the vehicles are any more, the patrons come into the conflict with the parking attendants for the back beside the outlet, and sometimes cause a nuisance to traffic on the road. How they received planning permission I guess is less surprising, we've seen worse. Once inside, the ambiance is designed to take you back to a 1950s American diner, and it largely delivers. You are warmly greeted and the menu only betrays the location with the inclusion of jollof rice on the menu.

However, the aspect of their offering that really blows one away is the prices! A quick comparison. A Smoke house single burger (my burger of choice) in a Johnny Rocket's outlet in NY is about 10 dollars. In Lagos it’s fifteen. I had an Oreos Cookies and Cream milkshake which set me back thirteen dollars (adding malt would have set me back an additional 2 dollars) but would have cost only six dollars and thirty-nine cents in New York. Fries were four dollars for a medium order and six for a large so I gave that a miss, paid my 4.5k and disappeared into my car to avoid being towed as I had parked in front the neighbouring bank (naughty) and arrived at my vehicle to be berated by the parking attendant responsible for the area, who fortunately for me was not at his post when I parked.

I would give the smokehouse burger a miss next time. It was huge, a decent portion, but tasted like it had blue cheese when the menu offered cheddar, a worrying sign. I would have preferred to have a smaller burger at a more reasonable price as not many can match Chopaholic's prowess and even I struggled. Now the milkshake on the other hand, was just how I like it. Thick, creamy and delivered the flavour it promised. Now then next day I went back to get one for a friend (I know I know I said only once) and of course was going to get one for my self just to confirm my first impressions, but alas they were out! Still I discovered the secret of their success (Blue bunny Ice Cream) as the manager revealed that their local supplier had let them down. So I guess I could make them for myself at home, for much less and in healthier portions than they offer.

So all in all, if you want to go to a place where parking is hassle but you are assured of a seat inside (there is less parking than the occupancy inside) and pay well over the odds for a mediocre burger (I'll try the original if I ever go back and let you guys know if it's any good) then perhaps this is the place for you.

Happy New Year!