Sankara seeks to redefine luxury

After a long pandemic lull, Nairobi’s scene is alive once again with top hotels sprucing up their menus to attract sophisticated palates.

Last Saturday, Sankara took the step to refine its dining experience with new menus at its Sarabi Rooftop bar.

Under its head chef Jeff Gitonga, Sankara who has over the years worked in some of the world’s best hotels, has created a series of new menus with signature dishes crafted by the Sankara’s culinary experts.

Chef Gitonga describes the menus as a fusion of different culinary techniques he has adopted in his travels. They take a fun and quirky approach to food, yet “packed with flavor and freshness”.

“I collaborated with my team and together we put our collective creative approaches, guided by my experience and expertise, to come up with something exactly like nothing else,” he adds.

From Teasers to It’ll get Greasy and Waves & Marsh, the new menus not only reflect an authentic culinary but also signal a shake-up from old trends.

Largely, the menus are influenced by French, Italian, and Spanish cuisines that come with an assortment of exotic offerings in the three and 4-course meal options.

“The highlight is not only its innovative use of great, fresh flavours, but also commitment to seasonality and responding to the demands of our diners,” says Gitonga of the menus.

For the first installation, last Saturday, customers were welcomed with a glass of Champagne or Hendrick’s Gin before chef Gitonga introduced the Teasers that include seven different dishes to choose from.

There were panko-crumbed croquettes inspired by Lamu seafood. They were coated in light almonds, herbs, lemongrass, ginger, and chili and served with a veloute of bouillabaisse, pickled red radish, poached local pears in sangria, lemon, and herb crème.

There were also Bourbon BBQ glazed chicken wings, chicken and waffles which was a favourite, and Triangle pockets (a fancy name for samosas) among others.

After the Teasers, the chef brought servings from the It’ll get Greasy menu that included truffle – shuffle, pulled pork, the wholesome (for the vegetarians), smoked chicken burritos, and 4 – grain vegetable sandwich.

For diners who are crazy about salads, the Bugs-Bunny was a favourite. All salads were served with freshly baked artisan bread and spreads. There was Zeus, Greek salad, torched bell peppers, wild leaves, grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, cornichon, goat cheese, red wine vinaigrette, and micro herbs.

Others included Heirloom Tomato and Re-invented Caesar.

For those who love seafood, there was Pier 39’s famous Chowder, Dungeness corn and crab chowder, crab claw extracts, and celery, all served in hollowed sourdough and flat-leaf parsley.

There was also carrot and ginger and roasted tomato infused with olive, basil, and oregano.

Chef Jeff says the new menus will offer one of the most luxurious gourmet experiences in Nairobi.

“We give you the very best of everything, and we do it in a way that makes you feel special,” he says.