Casper & Gambini's — Restaurant in Ikeja

Located in Ikeja City Mall, this restaurant is great for family gatherings. There are tables for big groups, which can be reserved ahead of time. It's also perfect for solo dining, and you don't always need to reserve a seat if you are with a group because the restaurant is almost always empty in the afternoons. However, I’d advise that you call ahead to reserve so that you're not disappointed. For smaller groups of one to three, you can always walk in without reserving. Great ambience, but can be loud at night because of the music. It’s always quiet during the day.

I always looked forward to their bread basket, which they serve as complementary. It’s delicious, especially with the feta cheese.

I don’t think I like their Tikka Masala. The day I had it, there were barely chunks of chicken in the sauce, and it tasted like Titus sardines.

And I think the smoothies - I’ve had their strawberry banana and the one with Kiwi, and they tasted too sugary. I hope they do not add sugar to the smoothies.

I don't like that they are inconsistent in cooking good meals. I don't think they have a recipe they follow.

My ratings for Casper & Gambini have fluctuated between 4 to 5, and now 3. I have lost count of the times I've visited because of how good they used to be. Now, I think they're a shadow of themselves.

They are quick to take out a dish from their menu.

I liked their Pesto Pasta, but they took it off their menu.

I always loved the ice cream croissant. It had nuts and fruits in it. But they've also taken it off their menu.

Their Jollof rice used to taste great, even though it comes in tiny portions. The size didn't bother me because I’d always ask for an extra. However, the recent Jollof I had was a bad experience. The chicken and plantain were oozing plenty of oil. Even the tiny strips of carrots looked like it was soaked in oil. How can a meal so expensive taste like something gotten out of a fast food restaurant? I think this might be my last time at Casper and Gambini. It was good while it lasted.

Jollof rice: 8000 Extra Jollof rice: 1000 A big bottle of water:...

What a huge disappointment. I went there yesterday, Sunday 26th September. They started well but, it all went downhill. For my main, I ordered their Casper's chicken escalope. But, because I was getting full from the entrée, I asked them to pack it as takeout. I got home and opened it to eat immediately. The outer part of the stuffed chicken was actually nice but the middle was rotten. I asked my sister to share with me. She also spat out the middle that it was rotten. That was so unpleasant.

Then, I'd had their chicken tenders as my entrée. It was nice and so I ordered another one as take out, along with the chicken escalope. I asked if they remembered to add the dip in the takeout. I was assured that it was included in the takeout. Only for me to get home and there was no dip. What's the point of chicken tenders without dip, please?

Lastly, when my friend and I got there, we were seated at a table. As we were finishing our entrees, we were told our table had been reserved for others and we had to be moved. Why weren't the tables marked then? Nevertheless, we got up to move. Then, we were told the place they wanted to move us to had been occupied and to please sit down. 5minutes later, we were asked to move to some other spot. We got there and we had barely sat down when we told we couldn't sit there too because they were also reserved. But, you brought us here. Please, what manner is disorganization is this?

As we were letting our displeasure be known, the supervisor who was named CYNTHIA joined the conversation and decided to be rude as she glared at us. She managed to be rude and condescending in a low voice so as to not get noticed by people around. She deserves an Oscar for that performance. I had to ask her to please not talk to me anymore and I'd continue the conversation with the other lady who was serving us.

Anyway, I will not be going there again and if I am invited there, I will definitely ask that we go elsewhere. No way I am paying for food poisoning, missing dips and bad customer service.

Ps: Felicia gave...

Was at Casper & Gambino's this evening. I liked the ambience. When we first entered, the staff were not that attentive, there was no one on hand to usher us to a seat, we did complain and they apologised profusely. I had the Italia classic pizza and crusted parmesan eggplant. My husband ordered the steak salad with the fried yam accompanied with tomato salsa. The pizza was thin crust but I keep on having a feeling that it was frozen but it was okay. The reason why I ordered the eggplant dish was because I needed a vegetable side dish to accompany the pizza. It would have been nice if the pizza came with a side salad. My husband's salad was fresh but the steak was a bit on the dry side. We enjoyed the drinks ordered which were: iced tea - that was refreshing, cappuccino and mocha. The ambience was great, the seats were comfortable and the staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. Service charge was a bit high, it will be nice if it trickles down...