Open House

Best Curry restaurant in Nairobi. In my opinion that is anyway (and everyone that I have spoken to).

It is always busy, the food is delicious and the ambience is fantastic. It's located just off of Westlands round about, and to be honest, if you didn't know what it was, I don't think you would think too much of the sign or the building that it is in; there are no windows so you can't see inside. This can be a problem as many people like to see inside a restaurant before they decide whether they are going to spend the next couple of hours of their life in there; eating food that they may or may not like and walking out with an empty wallet. In this case, don't be fooled. Looking past the tacky sign, and behind the grey walls is curry like no other.

It is advised to book before hand, especially if you are opting for a table around 8pm, otherwise you might be sitting at the bar whilst you wait for a table to come free.

My family has been a regular at this restaurant for years, that when the owner is at the door he greets us by name;gives that personal touch.

I always order the same thing- butter chicken. I don't worry about not being too adventurous because I do go with other people (in case you were worried I went out to have dinner alone), and everyone else orders different things and we all share. It's perfect. We have papadums for starters, sometimes a paneer dish as well, and we always have butter naan to accompany the mains.

The restaurant has 2 floors, and on the left when you walk in is the bar area with some comfy chairs in case you are waiting for a table, or have come to collect your take away. The decor of the place is not five star, but you are not going to Open House to gawk at the wall paper or the centre pieces. You are going to experience the rich Indian aromas, and taste the mixture of flavours on your pallet.

I have never had a negative experience at Open House. Their standards have always remained consistent and that is why people keep going back.

Asmara

Located along General Mathenge Road; a busy road that many people drive up and down on every day lays Asmara. It was my first book club dinner that took me there, although I didn’t eat the Ethiopian, and opted for veggie lasagne instead; very delicious though I have to say.  I’m not the most adventurous person when it comes to choosing restaurants and I want to change that. So I made another trip to the same restaurant to try their Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.  Between the book club meeting and this trip, I had actually been taken to a different Ethiopian place, so I had a better idea of what everything was.

The restaurant was surprisingly quiet when we got there for a Friday night 20.00. We were seated at a table for four and greeted by a lovely waitress- Beryl. We debated whether to sit outside or not, but it was a bit cold and there were no jikos or heaters that we decided inside would be a better option overall. 

We ordered a bottle of the Ken Forrester Merlot to start with; the flavours of which had blackberries and a hint of coffee. We asked Beryl’s advice on what food we should go for, as spicy was the request from one of the members of the party. We went with the Asmara Vegetables, Chicken Mushroom, Keyh Tibsi, Tsahli Tibsi and with of course njera. The mix of all these flavours together was absolutely delicious. The service was first class, but the ambience needs to be worked on. It was very quiet in there apart from us. Having some background music and more customers will turn it from a good experience to a great one.