EATING&OUTING: Fancy food, basic service

Admittedly, they have an incredible and extensive wine collection – probably so you can drink so much you forget that they almost made you hate beetroot. PHOTO| FILE

What you need to know:

  • When I was asked to lunch at Hemingways Nairobi, therefore, you can imagine my apprehension.
  • These luxury hotels and restaurants target the same clientele after all and sometimes like to compete.
  • I would much rather have chapati madondo that I am sure to enjoy rather than have to wince through three courses.

I once had a rather extravagant dinner that scarred me for all other fine dining establishments in Nairobi.

Pango Brasserie (or the scene of the crime as I now fondly like to call it), was simply too fancy for its own good. I’m all about being innovative in the kitchen, but the chefs played around with molecular gastronomy a bit too much. No matter how much the chefs experiment, the final dish still has to be palatable. What’s the point of being served a really pretty dish that you can’t even enjoy? To think that the final bill came to over Sh5,000 for nothing but an Instagram picture…

Admittedly, they have an incredible and extensive wine collection – probably so you can drink so much you forget that they almost made you hate beetroot.

When I was asked to lunch at Hemingways Nairobi, therefore, you can imagine my apprehension. These luxury hotels and restaurants target the same clientele after all and sometimes like to compete. I would much rather have chapati madondo that I am sure to enjoy rather than have to wince through three courses. I walked in with an open mind although I was ready to flee if I saw beetroot on that menu. Besides, it was only lunch and you can always play it safe with this meal.

First up was scallops with caviar which is a great way to whet your appetite. The scallops were fresh and very lightly pan seared on each side with very little seasoning so you could really savour their flavour. The caviar was actually a lamb fish roe which is not the expensive beluga caviar but has a nice texture to it and makes for a great garnish. I saw the chef and got him to our table. Soon, he was recommending a mushroom soup of dried porcini, shiitake and portobello which are first soaked then mixed with butternut, onions, garlic, butter and chardonnay. If I was fond of soups, this would be right up my alley because I love mushrooms for their earthy flavour.

My ribeye was done medium rare and was good. When you eat enough steak around Nairobi, you can almost start to guess when a kitchen uses the 21-day aged steaks from Morendat farm in Naivasha. The prawns came in a creamy sauce which my date and I both loved.

What was underwhelming about the experience was the service, which was okay but could be better. When you are a luxury eatery, everything needs to be top notch. Waiters should for instance be trained on the menu items and be able to tell you some of the ingredients used or even recommend dishes, something Caramel Restaurant does very well. If I’m going to pay over Sh7,000 for lunch, my chair should be pulled out and my napkin placed on my lap. That money could have been used to pay fees for a child in Kenya’s ‘free education’ system, you know?