Nairobi eats well at every price. Kenyan food is filling and straightforward, and the city adds the Indian cooking of Parklands and Ngara, Swahili dishes from the coast, and restaurants from everywhere else.

Dishes to try

  • Nyama choma - goat or beef roasted over charcoal, chopped at the table, and eaten with kachumbari (tomato and onion salad) and ugali. The Nairobi weekend meal.
  • Ugali - stiff maize porridge, eaten with the right hand alongside stew or greens.
  • Sukuma wiki - greens cooked with onion and tomato.
  • Githeri - maize and beans, simmered together.
  • Mukimo - mashed potatoes, greens, maize and peas.
  • Chapati - flaky flatbread, often with beans or stew.
  • Pilau - spiced rice from the coast, usually with beef.
  • Mandazi - lightly sweet fried dough, with tea.
  • Mutura - a spiced sausage grilled at roadside stalls in the evening.
  • Samaki - fried or stewed fish, often tilapia, served with ugali.

Where to eat

  • A kibanda - a small roadside food stall. The cheapest meals in the city.
  • A “hotel” - in Kenya this often means a simple local restaurant rather than a place to stay. Tea, chapati, stew and ugali at low prices.
  • Nyama choma places - from joints in the estates to famous names such as Carnivore on Lang’ata Road.
  • Cafés and restaurants - dense in Westlands, Kilimani and Karen, and in every mall.
  • Delivery through Glovo, Bolt Food and restaurant apps.

Drinks

  • Chai - tea boiled with milk and sugar. Offered everywhere, all day.
  • Kenyan coffee - grown here and good; the cafés take it seriously.
  • Juices - passion, mango and avocado, often fresh.
  • Beer - Tusker is the national lager. The legal drinking age is 18.
  • Dawa - “medicine”: vodka, lime, honey and ice.

Paying and tipping

  • Cards work in most restaurants in the better-off areas; M-Pesa works almost everywhere, through a till number.
  • Tipping is appreciated but not expected. Around 10% in a sit-down restaurant is generous; check the bill first, as some add a service charge.
  • Ask for the bill - it will not usually come until you do.

Eating safely

Busy places with high turnover are the safest bet. Drink bottled or filtered water, and be careful with salads and ice in very cheap places if you are new to the city.

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