Below is part of an article that appeared in New York Times in 1977 in print archive before the start of online publication in 1996. Read the full article here

What’s Doing In Nairobi

Restaurants, which run the gamut from French and Italian to Chinese and Indian, provide alternatives to hotel dining rooms. A good French restaurant, in fact the only French restaurant, is Alan Bobbe’s Bistro on Koinange Street (tel: 21152). The Mandarin on Tom Mboya Street (20600) has an extensive menu of Chinese dishes (remember, in this part of the world egg rolls are called spring rolls). Marino’s on the first floor of International House on Mama Ngina Street (27150) has good pasta and OSSA buco. An Indian buffet dinner in mild, medium and hot variations is served amid a pukkah sahib atmosphere at the Sittar restaurant at the Heron Court Hotel on Milimani Road (29201). There are dozens of less ornate Indian eating places, like the BluKat, the Maharajah and the Three Bells, where adventurous diners can explore spicy specialties. There are no kosher restaurants, though there is a synagogue. A particular joy is an evening out at the Kentmere Club, a restaurant in an old colonial setting a half hour’s ride out of town in Banana Hill. The place has a limited capacity and reservations (call 337496 in Nairobi) are essential. Generally, a good, four‐course meal in Nairobi costs about $5. For a quick lunch try the Lamu coffee house on Standard Street. As for Kenyan dishes, few are available in the places tourists frequent, though the Hilton advertises a Kenyan stew. The staple of the Kenyan diet, ugali, a porridge of flour and water, demands an acquired taste. Kenyan beers, however, both lager and pilsner, are superb.