Nairobi Restaurants

This was our home away from home almost every night of the trip. We were so busy getting on and off the bus all day - visiting children at orphanages, meeting folks with HIV/Aids or spending time with local people in Dandora. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was usually 7:30 pm or later and we'd have another early wake-up call the next day, so it became routine to head over to the restaurant, settle in, download with each other about the day, order, eat and head to bed. The soups, pasta, pizza, everything on the menu was really quite tasty. There weren't many lighter fares on the menu, but typically aren't in an Italian style restaurant and this was no exception. Upon request, they would bring warm, fresh bread to the table that was cooked outdoors in a large old-fashioned oven. There was also outdoor seating in a small courtyard that was very cozy and inviting. The service was a bit slow on providing the bill, but us Americans have a warped sense of time (especially in restaurants) anyway. Great spot if you're staying at Safari Park Hotel.

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Meat, meat and meat! That's what this place specializes in. We had exotic tastes of ostrich and crocodile, in addition to chicken, turkey, lamb and beef. There are dipping sauces galore and lots of items to choose from.

The waiter puts a white flag in the center of the table and the staff continue to bring around large skewers of meat until you "surrender" and put the white flag down. Its quite humorous really and this place definitely has a reputation as a "touristy" locale, but its worth going to once - definitely a unique experience and great spot for a group of people.

Favorite Dish: I really enjoyed the ostrich - its a very lean type of meat and because of that, can often seem a bit dry. The way this serving was prepared, it was full of flavor and tasted great. Its very similar to chicken, so don't be scared away by the name!

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Favorite Dish: Nyama chomo is the Kenyan national food. The photos are taken in a Kenyan restaurant in downtown Nairobi. The menu shows typical food like meat with Ugali, Chapati, Kienyeji or rice. The price is low here compared to western restaurants. The Kenyan people eat their food with their hands (without knife and fork).

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Talisman is, at the moment, very in place, especially for those locals who can afford it. No need to tell that majority of the guests, in such a restaurants, are wazungus who live in Nairobi. I visited it only by chance because Talisman is situated in Karen, part of the city I've never been before. Actually, I was invited by my old friend to join her and her friends for a dinner.
The interriors looks alike to those restaurants we find in Europe, furnished by different styles and times, but then you got impression like something is missing here. To be honest, I didn't like it much.

Favorite Dish: I ordered grilled goat meat because it was supposed to be very soft, so claimed to me the weiter. There are only few places in Nairobi where one can get soft meat, made in European way, but Talisman definatelly isn't one of them. The food wasn't bad but certainly not as good as at Mediteraneo or Trattoria.

Don't be confused by its name! Is it a Chinese cuisine or Thai cuisine? It is indeed an authentic Chinese restaurant which is very famous in the city. However, it is a bit strange of the name as a Chinese restaurant. Well, who cares about the name? We are here for the food. Name is not eatable!
The restaurant is decorated in a typcial Chinese way with the soft Chinese music background. If you make a reservation for the inside room, you will experience a more elegant and relax atmosphere. All the dishes are cooked to order. You can find Peking duck, pork, lamb, and various seafood. Vegetarians are welcomed and even special order is honored, for instance, the shark fin. The owners, a chinese lady and a young gentleman take care the customers friendly. The chief chef is also Chinese.

Favorite Dish: My favorite dish is chili crab. This crab is made with garlic and chili. The garlic and spicy taste together give the crab a fantastic flavor!

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Nice little boozer cum restaurant at the northern end of Tom Mboya Street on the first floor so it gives a great view of the street below. There is a nice airy outside terrace so you can watch the world go by as you slowly down a few cold beers.

Favorite Dish: A lot of the food on the menu here is from Western Kenya, Nyanza to be precise which makes a welcome change from the usual Nairobian fare.

This is just one of hundreds of chip shops in Nairobi. It is really hard to spend any time in Nairobi without ending up at some time of the day or night in one of Nairobi's chippies. There is a gaggle of good ones in Luthuli Ave, huge queues at lunchtime.

On more than one occasion I ended up in Munyiri's for breakfast after staggering out of Florida or Sabina joy. I remember one time in the early hours of the morning a rather drunk young chappie drinking vinegar out of the plastic bottle

Expect to pay anything from 35 bob up then help yourself to ketchup, chilli sauce and salt.

Favorite Dish: As well as chips a lot of places also sell
Bhajia (slices of potato dipped in spiced gram flour and fried),
Chicken (usually sold either full, half, quarter)
Sausages (usually beef not pork)
Boiled eggs
Samosa
Vegetable spring roll (only saw these in Ali's on Tsavo Rd)

Next to the Greton Hotel where I was staying in Nairobi there is a geat little no messing cafe restaurant. This is where I would go for my breakfast as it was a fraction of the cost of what they charged for the breakfast in The Greton. On my first evening as soon as i arrived in Nairobi I also ate here and had a rael decent plate of Njahi and rice. I new it was a decent place as soonas I put my head around the door and was surprised to see it full at evening time.