Restaurants in Kenya
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Carnivore
Vegetarians, please look away now. This is hands down the most famous nyama choma restaurant in Kenya. At the entrance is a huge barbecue pit laden with real swords of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, camel, ostrich and crocodile. As long as the paper flag on your table is flying, waiters will keep bringing the meat, which is carved right at the table.
reviewed
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B
Bangkok Chinese Restaurant
The Bangkok has been in business for a number of years but was clearly named by someone with no grasp of geography, as there's virtually nothing Thai on the menu at all. If the disappointment gets too much you can always crack open a bottle of Moët.
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C
Olympic Restaurant
Further south near the waterfront woodyards, the Olympic serves the usual favourites. It's less popular than its more central rivals, but no worse off for that. The owners are very friendly and it's a favourite with a slightly older crowd.
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D
Furusato Japanese Restaurant
Behind the Sarit Centre, this is a very stylish place with seductive set Japanese meals including sushi, teppanyaki and tempura. The sushi and sashimi here are delicious. Reservations are recommended.
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E
Singh Restaurant
The Sikh temple near the bus stands operates this small cafeteria restaurant, tipped by Mombasans in the know as one of the best places in town for vegetarians.
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Hapa Hapa Restaurant
Advocated vehemently by its regulars, this waterfront eatery is a bit more informal and African under its low thatch than your average.
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Mombasa Coffee House
Take the opportunity to escape above Moi Ave for fresh coffee and snacks, or local meals away from the daily grind.
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Trattoria
This long-running and very popular Italian joint could hold its head up in Melbourne or San Francisco, offering excellent pizza, pasta dishes, varied mains and a whole page of desserts.
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Siam Thai
This attractive restaurant has an extensive menu of actual Thai food (gasp!) and a very good reputation. Unga House can be reached from either Woodvale Grove or Muthithi Rd.
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Tamarind Restaurant
Perhaps the finest of the various Tamarind ventures, eating on the terrace of this grand Moorish building overlooking the water is a romantic splurge you can't afford to miss. Seafood is the focus here, but meat eaters won't go hungry and vegetarians even get their own menu. The only bum note is the rather cheesy keyboard music, which takes a few dawas (vodka, lime and honey cocktails) to drown out. There's a casino upstairs - just remember you'll need some money for the taxi back to town.
reviewed
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K
Bush Gardens Restaurant
The Bush Gardens is the template for a whole set of restaurants along the waterfront, offering breakfasts, seafood - excellent fish, top-value 'monster crab' and the inevitable lobster in Swahili sauce - and superb juices and shakes mixed up in panelled British pint mugs. Somehow just about every traveller on Lamu ends up here at some point, and it remains a great meeting point and a firm favourite with repeat visitors. We hear the samosas are quite good, with a squeeze of lime of course.
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L
Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
One of those rare places with a character all its own, Blue Nile's quirky lounge couldn't be mistaken for anywhere else, painted with stories from Ethiopian mythology - if you've ordered one of the many goat dishes, it's best not to read the panels about poison until you've finished your meal! For the full communal African eating experience, order the seven-person doro wat (spicy traditional chicken stew) with a few glasses of tej (honey wine).
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M
Restaurant Akasaka
A wonderful Japanese restaurant next to the Sixeighty Hotel. It's always a little quiet, but this fits the stylish Japanese décor and the food is very authentic. There's even a tatami room (reserve in advance) where you can eat at traditional low tables. Akasaka runs the full gamut of Japanese cuisine including udon noodles, sushi sets, tempura, teriyaki and sukiyaki as well as great miso soup. Good-value set lunches are also available.
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N
Alan Bobbé's Bistro
The talented M Bobbé established this superb French bistro in 1962, and Nairobi gourmets and gourmands alike have been worshipping at his culinary altar ever since. Even reading the chatty handwritten menu is enough to send the palate into raptures. The interior, doused in red velvet, adds perfectly to the recherché ambience. Reservations and smart dress are encouraged, cigars and pipes are not. Look out for the poodle above Koinange St.
reviewed
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O
Kengeles Bar & Restaurant
Run on the lines of a Western chain restaurant, Kengeles' impressively varied menu encompasses burgers, grills, Mexican, African, Indonesian, Asian and buffet options, and the open-air balcony is a fine place to dine. On a quiet night, though, the service can be truly lousy. The chain was rumoured to be in financial difficulties at time of writing, and had also seemingly fallen out of favour with Nairobi council.
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Little Chef Dinners Pub
Thankfully this funky green-hued pub-restaurant has nothing to do with the British motorway diners of the same name, dishing up big, tasty portions of Kenyan and international dishes from pilau to stroganoff. The 1st-floor bar has a pool table and a great breezy balcony, one of the most relaxed places in town for a beer. The company has a couple more outlets in the area, but this is by far the nicest.
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Q
Kahawa
Kahawa has an unusual coastal theme - the counter even resembles a traditional dhow, complete with mast. The menu, however, is anything but old-fashioned, proffering an ever-changing cavalcade of unexpected specials to complement the grills and steaks, from frittata to a 'Mexican breakfast'. Speaking of breakfast, this is indeed a good spot to take the most important meal of the day.
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Chic Joint
One of our favourite new bar-restaurant discoveries, chic might not be the first word that springs to mind but grills, stews and nyama by the kilo should never go out of fashion. Fresh fish is delivered daily and the tilapia is generally excellent. The patio seating is separated from Uhuru Hwy by a thick hedge, with some sizeable speakers providing music in the evening.
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Nyama Choma Place
This place is highly rated by Kenyans. There's a butchery where you select your meat and then it's tossed on the barbie - any day of the week you'll see clouds of delicious-smelling smoke rising from the restaurant. It's best to come in a group as meat is sold in the form of whole goat legs or complete racks of ribs. Chips or ugali are also available.
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Old Man and the Sea
Definitely the daddy of Malindi's restaurants, this old Moorish house on the seafront really has no competition in its class. The food's superb, service is attentive, you can get decent wine by the glass and the guestbook is effusive and entertaining reading - apparently Tupac Shakur returned from the grave to eat here. A 16% VAT charge is added to the bill.
reviewed
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Thorn Tree Café
For a lunch splurge in an upmarket environment, head for the Stanley's legendary cafe. It's an oasis of civilization amid the madness of the streets and the food, while overpriced, caters to most tastes. Although it still serves as a popular meeting place for travellers, the once famous noticeboard has been reduced to a shadow of its former self.
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Tamarind Restaurant
Kenya's most prestigious restaurant chain runs Nairobi's best seafood restaurant. The splendid menu offers all manner of exotic flavours, and the lavish dining room is laid out in a sumptuous modern Arabic-Moorish style. Smart dress is expected and you'll need to budget for the full works, particularly if you want wine or cocktails and lobster.
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Siesta Bar & Restaurant
You say mzungu, they say gringo…we just say olé! This is quite possibly the only Mexican restaurant in East Africa, set in a fine garden above the harbour by the Nyali Bridge. It's great for a sunset beer (or tequila if you've got the cojones) and the near-authentic food comes highly recommended.
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Seasons Restaurant
Whatever the season, the cafeteria vats here always brim with cheap Kenyan and Western favourites. The Nairobi Cinema outlet has a popular bar and beer garden, and there are a couple of similar branches around the centre. You can bring in your own booze, food or miraa (twigs and shoots chewed as a stimulant) for a 'cockage' fee.
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Malindi Dishes
A great little Swahili canteen. As the name suggests, this place serves great food from the coast, including pilau (curried rice with meat), biryanis and coconut fish, with side dishes such as ugali, naan bread and rice. You'll get a grand feed here, but it's a Muslim place, so it's closed for prayer at lunchtime on Friday.
reviewed