One of the activities you can do on a stopover in Nairobi is to go for an exotic meal at Carnivore, a well-known Kenyan restaurant. There you will be able to order a good wine with crocodile meat, venison, pork or beef.
AMBIENCE 
Considering that we were in Kenya, the setting is acceptable. The waiters have colorful costumes. Outside, the tables facing the garden are more pleasant but surrounded by mosquitoes, and as we decided not to take malaria pills due to their adverse effects, we decided to sit inside the restaurant.
SERVICE 
Their staff is very friendly, always smiling and attentive to customer needs.
MENU & FOOD 
We expected more, but we liked to try game meats anyway. The crocodile meat was undercooked, it seemed to have been reheated and was a bit dry -two points less for the men in charge of the grill-. You can choose the option of the buffet (the different types of meat are served with swords and you get all you can eat) or you can order from the menu a la carte.
DRINK We weren’t going to drink alcohol because we still had to stay awake for a few more hours. However, we ended up ordering a Cabernet Sauvignon of South Africa that was excellent, the serving temperature was the right one and it harmonized very well with the exotic meats. The wine helped to improve the experience. Clearly, when evaluating this type of service, there is a level of subjectivity.
TIMES 
The times were quite long. Considering that there were not many people to attend at noon on a weekday, there were no excuses to justify the delay. You have to consider this circumstance especially if you have little time on your stopover.
PRESENTATION Don’t expect too much styling, it’s more a barbecue than a gourmet restaurant. Anyway, the presentation was adequate.
PRICE For Kenyan prices this restaurant is undoubtedly very expensive although, from an international perspective, the price is appropriate for the service they offer.
GENERAL EXPERIENCE The overall experience was positive, for the exotic meats more than anything. Surely if you visit the restaurant when the percussion band or the live DJ plays, your rating will be higher.
We would suggest improving the atmosphere with tribal ethnic music and taking gastronomy to another level by offering the diner an alternative to choose gourmet dishes, in addition to the basic grill options. As for the uniforms … or zebra, or leopard, different uniforms with alternative animal print can be developed but not mix everything because the result is not good. In any case, the sympathy of the staff remedies this detail.
| FACT SHEET ABOUT KENYA | |
|---|---|
| Capital | Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Mombasa is the main port of the country. |
| Vaccines | Yellow fever/ Taking malaria pills |
| Time | Check the time in Kenya in 24 Time Zones. |
| Currency | Kenyan Shilling (KES) |
| Exchange | Check the USD/ KES exchange in The Money Converter. |
| Language | English and Swahili. In some areas, Italian is spoken by the communities settled in the area. |
| Transport | The streets are very dangerous, taxis are not expensive but you have to choose an official one that has a license, they usually display them hanging on the mirror. You have to set the price before getting in because they don’t have a taximeter. It’s better to ask the hotel or airport to call an official taxi to be sure. The Matatu is another inexpensive option for transportation, it’s a bus usually with lots of passengers, there are also luxury buses as an alternative. |
| Temperature / Climate / Geography | There are several climates according to the area: arid in the interior, tropical in the lagoons and the coast and temperate in the heights. The temperature is quite regular throughout the year, the average is 25.5 C degrees (minimum 24, maximum 26). In October and November, it usually rains. In Kenya, you can find several species of animals like elephants, zebras and lions, most of them are in natural parks and reserves. |
| Religion | Christian mostly as well as Protestant. There is a minority of Muslims and adherents to tribal rituals. |
| Visa | With a European passport, you get a transit Visa of 20 euro at the airport. Check with the embassy what are the current conditions to travel according to your nationality. |
| Economy | They produce coffee, tea, flowers, cereals, beer and sugar cane. The economy also depends on tourism and telecommunications. |
| Airport | Jomo Kenyatta International Airport / Nairobi International Airport (NBO) |
| Food & Drink | Typical dishes: The national dish is Nyama Choma, grilled meat, which can be beef, lamb or goat. It is sold by weight. You can also eat antelope, zebra or crocodile/ Tilapia is a fish from Lake Victoria/ Sukuma Wiki is a very tasty wild cabbage from Kenya/ Prawns Pili pili, a very special dish for the Kenyan cuisine, prepared with butter, garlic, red chili peppers, lime juice, grated coconut, fresh coriander and paprika/ Samosas are dumplings with a spicy filling of chicken or different vegetables (potatoes, peas, etc.) of Hindu origin, which we can find in almost every corner of the country/ Ugali is a cornmeal dough that when left over is fried for breakfast/ Mukimo is a typical dish of the Kikuyu tribe, it is made up of corn, peas and pounded potatoes/ Pilao is a quite spicy rice of Indian origin, which is prepared like a paella, making a sauce with vegetables and a multitude of spices such as cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves/ Matoke is a tasty banana puree that they not only use as dessert, but also mixed with lemon to accompany main dishes/ Maandazi comes from the Hindu influence in Kenyan food, and is a semi-sweet bun, similar to a donut/ Wali basically consists of rice cooked in coconut milk, which gives it a smooth and creamy texture/ Kachumbari is a mixture of tomato, pepper, onion, parsley and, in some cases, avocado. Drinks: Mnazi is palm tree wine served with linden, which, like papaya or sugar cane wine, is delicious, but you have to drink them with caution/ Uki Uki beer made with honey/ If you prefer a more classic beer, the most popular is the Tusker |
| Plugs | G (As in England, two rectangular legs in line and another rectangular leg that is in a perpendicular position) |
| Culture | There is a very important ethnic diversity, 42 ethnic groups with their respective tribal languages. They still preserve rituals such as on the night of circumcision they cover children with mud, do a dance, play instruments, make them sleep on a bed full of hanging amulets, bathe them in the river and circumcise them at the end of the ceremony. The life expectancy of Kenyans is 55 years. Women have an average of 4.8 children. Only 85% of the population is literate. |
| Important notes | – Nairobi is a dangerous city, especially at night. We recommend not showing opulence and paying attention to personal items. – Kenya suffered some episodes of Islamic activism against a Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi and against the Nairobi National University. There were also cases of kidnapping by Islamic groups of businessmen and even volunteers from NGOs. – Driving is on the left side, roads are destroyed and people drive recklessly. – Sometimes thieves dressed as policemen can arrest you in order to steal. – Many times they have energy deficits due to droughts that affect hydroelectric dams so it’s possible that you suffer this situation if your accommodation doesn’t have a generator. |
