Beautiful spot, beautiful food

I don’t frequent restaurants in Karen due to proximity.

There is also the matter of the traffic on Ngong Road; you know the traffic is particularly slow when a hawker comes up to your window and tries to sell you a live chicken, and he keeps at it for about 10 minutes while you sit there half-listening yet having nowhere to escape to.

It was about midday on Saturday and it took us well over an hour to cover one kilometre.

The thing about the handful of restaurants I’ve been to in Karen, though, is that despite the traffic, they are always worth the hustle. My encounter with Dari Restaurant can only be described as love at first sight.

The space is tucked amidst rich green foliage complete with neatly manicured lawns. There is a chic indoor seating area, and a white bridge leads out onto several private gazebos for those looking for a more secluded dining experience.

These seem to be pretty popular, so calling ahead to make a reservation is advised. We were lucky to get one which stands right in front of a water fountain complete with two geese wading about in its waters, and the only downside was the cold.

IT'S WORTH IT

The menu has a variety of options from steaks to a selection of pizza and Indian food. For starters, I had calamari rings which came with lime and aioli sauce (Sh950) while my companion had tandoor chicken wings marinated in tikka sauce (Sh850).

The calamari platter was good, but I found them a little too pale for my liking, mostly because I like my calamari done in a very specific way; coated and deep fried until a deep brown like mandazis. The chicken, on the other hand, was worth composing a ballad for.

We settled on steaks for the main meal, although they were quite pricey. The menu however explained that these were aged angus steaks so we were curious to give them a try.

As we waited with tall glasses of fresh orange juice, I couldn’t help but notice all the good looking, well-dressed men walking about. Even the staff are attractive. Ladies, if you’re single, Dari seems to be where all the fine men go to hang out on Saturday so braving that Ngong’ Road traffic may be worth it.

There was an amazing band playing all afternoon, and right next to their stage was a kids bouncing castle. I even spotted a wedding group that was there to take pictures, and a baby shower party.

I got a 200g sirloin. It came with a mushroom sauce, fries and salad. The uncooked, marinated beef was brought to the table on a hot steak stone, which is basically a hot plate that lets patrons cook right at the table. The beauty of this is that you get to prepare it to your preferred doneness.