805 Restaurant

Reviews

• Chiara C.

  star star star star star_border 13 June 2026

  With the caveat that I had never had Nigerian food before this, I found the food at 805 very delicious. There are also huge portions as other reviews have said - myself and my friend both got takeaway boxes that could be another whole meal! We got the Jollof rice (slightly spicy according to someone who can't eat spicy food) and the Eforiro with yams (delicious but notably spicy by someone who loves spicy food). The palm wine is interesting to try but very very sweet.
  
  I have to contradict a lot of what other reviews have said about long wait times and unfriendly staff - Our waitress was very nice and happy to answer questions, and I would say while wait times were perhaps a bit longer than I'd like they weren't over the top.
  
  The only negative I'd say was the very loud music on in the background. It was around 8pm on a Thursday when we arrived, perhaps earlier it isn't as loud.
  
  In sum - Delicious food and would return! Am glad we went in the end as some of the bad reviews made us hesitate. Loud music, but friendly service. Recommend.

• Rae O.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 3 June 2026

  For my first review of 2018, I am sadden  to give Nigerian restaurant 805 a one star. I LOVE LOVE LOVE African restaurants, but as they say in Hollywood "Nobody get's a pass". When expressing that I wanted to try Nigerian food in London everyone from near and far recommended me to try 805. They stated it was a high class, authentic Nigerian restaurant and for us to dress "smart". After leaving an event at the British Museum, my friends and I were already dressed in our "London best" and were super excited to have New Years Eve dinner at 805. When our car service dropped us off in front or 805 the parking attendant opened the car door for us to exit. We so impressed but sadly this was a ploy for us to enter the madness of the 805 dinner service. The restaurant was very crowded, with various patrons indulging in food. When we set down our waiter introduced himself and my friends and I began to order. We decided to start with a beef suya. All Nigerian's know that staple food can vary based on the origin (tribe) of the chef. We began to asked detail information on the food, and the waiter informed us that he was not Nigerian. You do not have to be a Nigerian to work at a Nigerian restaurant but as a responsible waiter, you should know every detail of every dish. He could not tell us what ingredients were in the pepper soup, and the difference between the 805 Ogbonna and Egusi. My friend who grew up in Lagos inquired about their Banga soup. Our waiter who began to get annoyed by our questioning stated that he would get a staff member of Nigerian descendant to explain what Banga was. A woman in plain clothes came to our table along with the waiter. She poorly explained what Banga was. I asked if my friend could try the Banga stew. This is when the story gets's interesting. The waiter stated that the Banga Stew was frozen so my friend cannot try the stew. "805, Are you mad". A Nigerian restaurant should make stew fresh daily!!! I know that there will be some people reading this review who might think that frozen stew is appropriate. From someone who is in the medical field and has suffered from food poisoning 5 times from various restaurants, Food &Safety is very important. At this point, we wanted to leave but our car service was not scheduled to pick us up until another hour. We quickly ordered the most basic dishes in Nigerian cuisine. 2 orders of Jollof rice, one order of fried rice, fried fish, chicken and assorted meat). Our suya was extremely rubbery. Another waiter delivered us our main dishes. He gave us 2 orders of fried rice and one order of Jollof rice. I kindly told him that he made an error and that we ordered 1 fried rice and 2 jollofs. He then began to debate with me that the fried rice was Jollof rice. At this time my patience was wearing thin. How can the owners not teach the wait staff the difference between Jollof and fried rice?? It's like going to an Italian restaurant and knowing the difference between a Stromboli and a pizza slice. The debate went on for another two minutes. I then turned to a couple sitting next to us (who were also Nigerian) for assistance. They told the waiter that I was right. We finally received our complete order. The taste of the food is 3 star at best, but to have a wait staff that does not know the menu is irresponsible. As we were leaving the restaurant we saw a lady and her husband shouting at our same waiter for not giving them a bowl of water to clean their hands. Everyone in the restaurant was extremely annoyed at the wait staff.

• Amarachi O.

  star star star star star 30 May 2026

  I live in the States so wasn't sure what to expect at this Nigerian restaurant, bu I was very impressed with the food, service, and ambience of the restaurant!

• Deb O.

  star star star star_border star_border 28 May 2026

  Normally I would give 805 a 4/5, but my experience today was sub-par.
  
  805 prides itself on being a stylish and contemporary option for lovers of West-African cuisine. While their food is always great, their service is lacking. This afternoon, we had to practically beg for our drinks, which came minutes after our appetizer. Now if this was a pasty shop I wouldn't be too bothered, but let's be real here, West African food is SPICY. Sadly, we had the opposite problem with our mains. They simply arrived too late, and the kitchen made two people in our party wait for an additional fifteen minutes.
  
  The devil really is in the details, and while I think 805's mission is great, it would greatly increase its appeal to non-West Africans were it to address some of its pitfalls in service. Despite my disappointment, I will of course be back on my next visit to London. I've loved their food for the past two years- joloff rice w/ mixed meat is my staple- and their sticky toffee pudding (!!!!) is simply unparalleled.

• Leslie L.

  star star star star star_border 22 May 2026

  Esquire Lounge And 805 Restaurant When there with the taste of London meetup grp Comments From The Night
  
  "I really enjoyed the evening, lots of interesting conversation. Plus delicious Nigerian food :)"
  "Was a pleasure meeting you guys, hope you all got home safely."
  "Great event, thanks for organising! Nice to have spent the evening with a lovely friendly group of people. Hope to see you all again soon"
  "Enjoyed the Okra, fish and Garri."
  Leslie (West Africa Cooks