I liked The Hood restaurant. It reminded me of the modest parrillas you can find throughout Argentina and other Latin American countries. It’s mostly an outdoor restaurant, with a plethora of tables situated in a lawn under tents and hatches. There is some inside seating too (and given that the rains are coming that’s probably a good thing).
They specialize in grilled meats, though they also had other more elaborate dishes (which I can’t remember now). It’s moderately priced – dishes averaged $6 or so -, lunch for two was Ks 860 – $13, including three non-alcoholic drinks).
I went with Luke, a team member and new friend, and we had a nice time talking in the fresh air. What we did not enjoy was waiting for over an hour for lunch. Not only were we hungry, but we did have to get back to work! So my advise is to go here only if you are really not in a hurry.
As for the food, Luke got the grilled goat and I had the grilled beef. A chunk of bone-in meat is bbq’d whole and then the waiter (or actually, someone other than the waiter) cuts it into bite-size pieces tableside. Both the goat and the beef were quite good, the goat in particular, and they both were pretty tough. The beef was quite fatty as well. You are meant to eat the meat with your hands, and they bring a kettle with warm water to wash your hands before lunch, but we decided to go western and use forks and knives instead. It helped for cutting the fat. I have yet to encounter tender meat in Kenya. The meat was well done – I’d forgotten at first to ask for medium rare, and later I thought that I might as well not chance it anyway.
I had fries on the side, which were good. Actually all fries in Kenya taste pretty much the same way, they must be cooked with the same oil (I must inquire as to what they use). They are usually not very crispy, but tasty.
In all it was a good meal, in pleasant – if not elegant – surroundings.
The Hood Restaurant
Kasuku Road Kilimani
Nairobi
Kenya
2371410
1731181
I’m back from Nairobi now, but my last two nights there I went to eat to The Hood with friends and colleagues. It’s really a very nice place to hang out – if you are willing to wait for the food, they will cut the meat when you order it (you are welcomed to go and chose which cut you want) and marinate it then, so it does take from 45′ to an hour for a piece of meat to be grilled.
You can fill yourself with beers and potatoes while you wait.
What I liked a lot about the hood was the atmosphere, it’s very Kenyan and not so uppity as in the other restaurants. If I go back to Kenya, I’ll definitely be back at The Hood.