Hidden gem with great nyama choma
This unassuming restaurant serves the best of a delicious Kenyan staple. PHOTO| BON VIVANT
What you need to know:
- This is because they stir it with a special traditional whisk to emulsify the top layer of fat with the rest of the broth.
- Red Cube wisely prefers to err on the side of using too little salt, so as not to irk their patrons on low-sodium diets. You can always add salt, but you cannot subtract it.
Along Langata Road, just past Hillcrest School, the Total petrol station houses an unassuming restaurant known as the Red Cube. It is not far from Karen Hospital, so I have driven past this spot on a number of occasions. The ambiance is functional and somewhat rustic. It consists of a covered area at the extreme end of the petrol station. Inside are several garden chairs and tables. Bamboo plants in large pots decorate the exterior, and the interior holds a well-stocked bar, dance floor and DJ’s table. During the evenings, this place gets popular.
They are open for lunch and dinner and are quite efficient in their food production. Regular customers call in, order their food, and pick it up after 45 minutes. If you live within Karen or its environs, they offer free home delivery.
Their meals are ‘traditional’ Kenyan barbeque - mostly designed to go well with a cool frothy libation. We ordered roasted goat meat with sides of ugali, mukimo and kachumbari. The wait time is standard, but if you are patient, your meat will be even tenderer. The goat meat was succulent on the inside, and crispy on the outside. I could not fault it in any way as traditional nyama choma goes, except that some cuts were softer than others. Along with the regular alcoholic drinks, we also ordered some bone soup with our meal. The soup takes a minimum of one hour. It is worth the wait. Similar to the real traditional bone broth, it appears milky in colour, like weak tea.
This is because they stir it with a special traditional whisk to emulsify the top layer of fat with the rest of the broth. Red Cube wisely prefers to err on the side of using too little salt, so as not to irk their patrons on low-sodium diets. You can always add salt, but you cannot subtract it.
The meal was simple, generous and delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed the juicy meat with individually shaped mounds of ugali. The mukimo was as good as homemade: sweet green peas, soft potatoes, and traditional greens pounded into a tasty mash. Their menu also offers spinach, fish fillet, kuku choma (roasted chicken) dry fried meat and other local delicacies.
We thoroughly enjoyed this filling, fresh traditional meal. A kilogram of nyama choma goes for Sh700, chips, mukimo and potatoes cost Sh50 each, ugali is 100 and kachumbari is 60 bob. Delivery starts from Sh200 depending on your location.
Ratings
Food: 4.5/5
Hygiene: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Value: 4.4/5
Ambiance: 2.5/5
Child-friendliness: N/A
