Food & Drinks

New Dishes at Hilton

courtesy

Some of the dishes that we sampled at Hilton pool garden restaurant, which includes smoked salmon with crushed avocado on toasted rye bread and chicken wings. PHOTOS | COURTESY

Hilton Nairobi is one hotel hidden-in-plain-sight. But if someone asked me which restaurants are in the Hilton, I wouldn’t have a clue. My visits have mainly been to the conference rooms on the first floor.

The Hilton Nairobi is one of the oldest buildings in the city and serves as a landmark for those unfamiliar with the capital. Upon entering, one is struck by the vintage bicycle cart design feature, and a reception staff who appear to have worked there for a solid number of years. The Hilton Nairobi has four restaurants.

Cafe American, located next to the lobby, is the place for coffees, teas, pastries, sandwiches and other light snacks. Themed around classic Hollywood, pictures of actors and actresses from the 50s to 70s adorn the walls.

The main restaurant, Travellers, serves international cuisine. Living up to its name, antique suitcases and travel bags decorate the walls as do an assortment of vintage tools which include sewing machines and metal sieves.

Even more nostalgic is a section of the restaurant whose design resembles seats in a train, complete with luggage space on top.

Elsewhere in the hotel, their Italian restaurant, Sale e Pepe comes with a wood oven for pizzas. On the topmost floor of the Hilton is the Pool Garden restaurant.

The patio setup features hanging flower baskets, flower pots, a bar and a swimming pool. There were a selection of dishes that Executive Chef John Muriithi intends to include in the new menu.

To start, we are served a Caesar salad with sautéed garlic prawns, asparagus with gribiche dressing and mursik cheese; smoked salmon with crushed avocado on toasted rye bread and fried chicken wings served with tomato and barbecue sauce.

We clear both the salmon and the chicken wings from our plates in no time.

Our mains included medium rare beef fillet steak, baked salmon, grilled lemon chicken breast and spiced pork chops, all served with chips or potatoes.

The pork chops, Chef John tells us, are from the shoulder and not the more commonly-used loin. Meat from the shoulder doesn’t dry up, he says. It is a flavourful dish, mildly spiced with a hint of rosemary.

For dessert, we had bite-sized baked cheesecake, chocolate macaroons which we all agree would have been a treat had they been softer, mini lemon meringue pie and home-made chocolate petit fours.