Nairobi, Kenya — Food and Dining
Restaurants in Nairobi, Kenya
Restaurants
Expensive
CarnivoreRestaurant
An outing to this restaurant, just outside the city, is an essential part of any visit to Nairobi. Nairobi's most famous nyama choma (literally, ‘roast meat') restaurant no longer serves plains game, but you can still dine on camel, ostrich and crocodile cooked over giant barbecue pits. There is also an open-air nightclub, the Simba Saloon, and live music venue here.
Langata Road
Tel: (020) 605 933.
Website: www.tamarind.co.ke
Tamarind
Nairobi's finest fish restaurant is elegant and expensive but well worth the money. Fresh crab, lobster, prawns and catch of the day are flown in from the coast daily. Venison, steak and poultry dishes are also available. Service in the Arabic-styled dining room is excellent and the atmosphere outstanding.
Harambee Avenue
Tel: (020) 251 811 or 220 473.
Website: www.tamarind.co.ke
Moderate
Panda
Nairobi's best Chinese restaurant is tucked away on the first floor of an unassuming building. Service in the spacious, Chinese-styled dining room is attentive and the food provided sumptuous.
Kaunda Street
Tel: (020) 213 018.
Swahili Corner
This is a superb, good-value restaurant serving traditional Swahili food. Seafood dishes and curries are particularly good, as are the freshly squeezed juices available.
Koinange Street
Tel: (020) 316 854.
Thorn Tree Café
This historic café-cum-brasserie is found in the centrally located Stanley Hotel. The thorn tree in question is actually the third to stand on the site, but is still used to post messages upon. Snacks, pizzas and cakes are produced on the premises and there is often live music.
Corner of Kimathi Street and Kenyatta Avenue
Tel: (020) 228 830.
Website: www.sarovahotels.com
Cheap
Nairobi Java House
This justifiably popular coffee shop, one of seven branches in the city, serves some of the best breakfasts in the city. Portions are generous and the wide variety of coffees and cakes is excellent.
Mama Ngina Street
Tel: (020) 313 565.
Website: www.nairobijava.com
Nightlife
Nairobi has a number of lively venues for drinking and dancing as well as musical attractions that include some of East Africa’s busiest clubs and best bands. Entrance fees to clubs are low and prices inside reasonable. You may find that if you are unaccompanied, you will attract quite a lot of not-entirely welcome attention though. Westlands and the River Road area tend to be the most popular districts with revelers after a drink and a dance, while the live music venues tend to be scattered on the outskirts of town.
The Lord Delamere Terrace Bar, in the Norfolk Hotel on Harry Thuku Road, is an obligatory stop for a well-appointed Tusker beer and a chance to people watch. Zanze Bar on Moi Avenue is a friendly top-floor bar with pool tables, cheap food and a wide selection of drinks that gets very busy on weekends. Another popular watering hole is the Latin-themed Havana, on Woodvale Grove in Westlands, which attracts a hip young crowd. Bar Code, also in Westlands in the Westview Center, sells potent cocktails and has a DJ playing hip hop and R&B tunes.
Nightclubs playing reggae as well as contemporary pop and dance tunes include Sahara City on Mombasa Highway, which boasts Nairobi’s best sound system and the popular, frequently heaving Florida 2000 on Moi Avenue. Black Cotton on Langata Road is a monthly club outside the city center whose open-air dance floor attracts people from all over.
For live music try Club Sikiliza on Limuru Road, which hosts Kenyan pop as well as theme nights playing jazz, rock and hip hop. The Green House on Nyangumi Road has a very good reputation for live music and for serving tasty Kenyan food, while the Ngong Hills Hotel on Ngong Road hosts great live music in the evenings and a jam session on weekend afternoons.
