Lucky me at Lucca

I had the privilege to attend the opening of Lucca Restaurant, Villa Rosa Kempinski's newest gem in their crown.

Lucca is located to the direct left of the hotel upon entry up the driveway - you do not have to enter the hotel to get to it.

The restaurant is meant to be Italian, and it is a theme that permeates through the food they serve us - ravioli and risotto, fish, and of course - wine at the door.

Because what is Italian if there is no wine?

Britta Krug, the Director of Sales and Marketing, informs me that Villa Rosa tries to keep all their restaurants as close to the chosen culture as possible - which is why at Lucca, the chef is Sicilian.

They intend to have five restaurants in the chef, all the while being faithful to the separate cuisines.

The decor is clean and minimalist, done in hues of brown, beige, white and black.

There is an authentic brick wall that makes you feel like you are sitting at a cafe somewhere in a hidden nook in Milan.

The eating areas are divided into four - a front terrace, a mini dining area, the main dining area and the outer terrace, which faces Waiyaki Way.

You would think with Nairobi traffic zooming by, you would be distracted from your food, yes?

No. The hotel has managed to somehow block out outside sounds - unless, of course, you are sitting outside.

Or it could just be the food is so good that you can scarce pay attention to anything else apart from your plate!

This is probably because of all the professionals they have running the place, such as the General Manager, Manish Nambiar, who was a chef himself for 15 years.

The piece de resistance - for me, anyway - was the to-die-for cheesecake, which was served after I was already stuffed.

I promptly made room for it - as you can see, it looked quite tasty - and did not regret one bit.

I'm definitely going back for more. Well done, Lucca.