Nairobi Restaurant Week 2016 (Part 1)

If you know anything about me at all by now, it should be this- I'm a huge food and wine lover. Combine that with a love of writing, and I resolved to make sure I write more about food and wine this year!

Nairobi Restaurant Week ran from the 28th of January to the 7th of February, with some restaurants extending until the 12th. Around 50 of the city's finest restaurants designed special 3 course menus for KSH. 1500 or 2500, and 2 course lunch menus were also available, for KSH. 1000 or 1800. This was the first Nairobi Restaurant Week I was actually in the country for, so I was really excited to attend!

I managed to attend 3 restaurants this time, and hopefully next year, with a little bit of planning, I'll be able to try more! I managed to do About Thyme, OhCha Noodle Bar and Zen Garden.

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About Thyme

I started off NRW 2016 by heading to About Thyme for a lovely lunch with my mum. We both decided to do two courses, and share a starter and a dessert. A good thing too, since we were both so full by the end of it!

For starters, we had the Golden Sweetcorn Fritters with Avocado Salsa.

Golden Sweetcorn Fritters with Avocado Salsa

I really enjoyed these, especially with the avocado and lemon (or was it lime? I confess to being horribly ignorant about the differences). I've only ever had salsa that definitely had hints of red and came in a bowl, so this was a cool change. I definitely wouldn't mind trying these again- maybe they could add them to their regular menu? Hint hint? The only thing I think would've made them a little better would be a little chilli on the side- and I definitely used the sauce they gave!

For the main meal, my mum ordered the Tamarind and Chilli Tilapia, and I had the Morendat New York Farm Strip Steak on a Mushroom Puff Tartlet.

Tamarind and Chilli Tilapia

Morendat New York Farm Strip Steak on a Mushroom Puff Tartlet

My mum says that the fish was excellent, and the bite I stole definitely confirmed this. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't as interested in the kale as she was, so I can't comment on this! While my steak was good, I felt that it definitely couldn't measure up to About Thyme's famous pepper steak (seriously, it's so good), so part of my meal was spent fondly thinking about the latter. However, I loved the mushroom sauce, and the combination with the tartlet! The veggies were done well, and I actually finished them.

NB: I know this might make some of you stop reading, but I feel like I must warn you- I order my steak well done. Like, almost burnt. No chance of anything bleeding on my plate!

For dessert, Mum and I went for the dessert trio, which consisted of a chocolate pot, banoffee tartlet and granadilla/lime cheesecake. Oh. My. Goodness. I'd've happily come back to do NRW at About Thyme and had this for all three courses (and I expressed as much to the owner). This trio was DIVINE!

Dessert Trio

Aside from the food, the service was warm and friendly as usual, and I noticed Deborah (the owner) going around and checking on everyone, including us. I'd never sat in the garden before, and I think it was a pleasant location for lunch. Bonus points for the fact that I didn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes as I usually do!

If they had to add anything from their NRW 2016 menu to their regular one, I would strongly suggest the dessert!!

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Keep an eye out for my next post, in which I talk all about OhCha and Zen!

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