Goji, the little spot in Lagos that you find by turning your back on the main street

Two hundred meters. That’s all that separates Rua 25 de Abril, its English pubs and its pizza-pasta-burger menus, from this little terrace set on cobblestones where we ate for less than 10 euros per person. Two hundred meters, and Lagos becomes a city again where you want to sit down.

Because we quite like Lagos, but it has the flaw of concentrating all its dining options on two or three axes, and I’ve already said what I think about that in our Lagos guide: the relentless succession of bubble tea, modern brunches, kebabs, Indian food, and pubs broadcasting the Premier League from the street. You walk among the azulejos with an English match commentary in your ears, it’s quite a violent contrast. And the few Portuguese restaurants that still hold on there end up drowned in the mass.

The reflex that changes everything, move away two streets

Our rule in Lagos has become simple over time, we turn. We leave the street where everyone walks, we take the first alley that goes up or down, and generally the addresses become decent after a hundred meters. Goji is exactly that, a small terrace set on the cobblestones of a pedestrian alley, under a tree that hadn’t yet had its leaves when we passed, a few tables outside, and this immediate impression of no longer being quite in the same city.

Inside it’s small, it’s turquoise blue, there are wooden shelves, plants everywhere, and a wicker light fixture. Nothing flashy, nothing photogenic-for-the-sake-of-being-photogenic, just a decor that holds up and doesn’t try to sell you a cardboard Algarve (that matters more than one might think, in a city where three out of four shops line up mini surfboards made of resin).

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And while we’re on the places you only find by turning, The Garden is a two-minute walk away, same old town, same logic, except that for this one you have to push a gate to only suspect that it exists.

Destination

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A name like that doesn’t promise a tomahawk

With a name like this, let’s be clear right away, there’s no need to hope for a tomahawk steak. Goji is written right there, and the menu follows, it leans heavily towards the plant-based side, toasts, bowls, salads, smoothies, fresh juices. It’s not a militant menu by any means, there’s smoked salmon and pastéis de nata in the display, so we’re more on the healthy side than strictly vegetarian. I’m fine with that, personally I didn’t go there dragging my feet.

The menu is bilingual, Portuguese and English, it fits on one page and that’s already a good sign. You know what I think about menus that cram together pizzas, pasta, and burgers on the same sheet, zero coherence, zero trust. Here everything makes sense, you understand in thirty seconds what the kitchen can do, and the rest of the time you look at the display, the fresh fruits, the bottles of juice, and the pastéis with their little price tags.

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What’s on the plate

We had toasts, seed bread, avocado, cherry tomatoes, fresh cheese, with a colorful salad on the side. Then a second version, smoked salmon, cucumber, radish, pepper, sesame seeds. It’s fresh, it’s cut the same day, and it tastes like what it is, which should be the standard everywhere and frankly isn’t in the area.

There are also bowls, the kind that are balanced and well-colored, very in line with the surf and vegan vibe that has been floating around Lagos for a few years. Let’s not kid ourselves, this isn’t fine dining and it doesn’t pretend to be for a second. It’s well made, simple and digestible, and for lunch between two visits, it’s exactly what we came looking for.

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The only false note, and it’s a sound one

Caroline pointed out something I hadn’t noticed at the time, the music doesn’t fit the place. In a spot like this, with the wood, the plants, and the blue, you expect a soft and natural background, almost birdsong, something that accompanies without being noticed. Here, it was clearly off. Afterward, whether it’s the house’s habit or if the playlist just slipped that day, we don’t know, we only went once. I note it, I don’t make a judgment.

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Who it’s for, and for how much

Goji is the lunchtime spot when you don’t want to spend an hour and a half there. Some small toasts, a bowl, a smoothie, and you’re off. The real argument is that you don’t leave feeling heavy, no brick sensation in your stomach, no mandatory nap two hours later, and that changes a lot when you plan to walk all afternoon.

On the bill side, we came out for less than 10 euros per person, provided you don’t order a drink (because of course, fresh juice and smoothies can quickly raise the bill). For Lagos in season, that’s reasonable.

And if you’re looking for what to do next with a light stomach, Ponta da Piedade is a fifteen-minute drive away, except that it goes up and down quite a bit once you get there, so it’s best not to arrive with a burger in your stomach.

Destination

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Practical information

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PS: there’s a sign on the wall that gives the wifi code, and the code is “smoothie”. There you go, you know everything, including what you absolutely didn’t need to know.