Talisman is a beautiful restaurant located in Karen. It’s been around for as long as I can remember, I actually can’t recall a time when Talisman didn’t exist. What started out as a small family restaurant back in the 90s has since grown into one of the most iconic restaurants in this city. The house turned restaurant is settled in a beautiful corner of the Karen neighbourhood. There are cozy indoor seating options and the restaurant opens up to a beautiful outdoor setting surrounded by greenery and pockets of seating for either big or small groups.

Zen garden is a scenic restaurant located in the lush Spring Valley neighbourhood. I hadn’t been back here in very many years so my visit a few weeks ago was a nice refresher. Zen Garden is exactly as the name suggests - a zen garden. There’s a great tranquility that covers the place so you already feel zen just upon entry. They have a most beautiful garden with stunning florals, gigantic succulents that line up the pathways and vibrant pockets of hydrangeas that add pops of colour amongst the greenery.

This charming restaurant is located along Marula lane in Karen. I love how vibrant it is right from the entrance with beautiful art works on display along the vast corridor that opens up to a stunning garden setup with lots of seating space and fun decor draped with lesos and ankara fabric. I really like that they have a bonfire area for those cozy evening dinners. The menu is quite standard with various dishes available for breakfast lunch or dinner.

This place was formerly the Tortuga Rum Bar (not sure what happened to them) and now it’s a Korean restaurant and bar. Located on riverside lane, Chimek House looks pretty chill and nice for a Saturday afternoon. They didn’t change up the decor as much and no one uses the pool still (including us). The menu is mostly fast food, including their famous Korean fried chicken. I tried to get an iced coffee but my order was constantly forgotten until I gave up on it and that’s when they remembered and brought it - it wasn’t good coffee.

Hemingways Eden is a boutique hotel located deep in the heart of Karen. Like really deep in Karen, if you don’t live in or near the Karen environs just put aside a good 40min to drive there. Once the roadtrip is done though, you are welcomed into a most serene space! The hotel’s restaurant, the Deck, is perfectly positioned next to a lagoon and borders the Giraffe Sanctuary forest, giving it such a picturesque view.

I saw a reel somewhere that said Nairobi is being dominated by 3 things: Matcha, Padel and that run club They’re not wrong! If you haven’t tried the very famous Karak & Go vanilla Matcha latte then I applaud you for not giving into peer pressure. But also - where are you hiding? Personally - I tried the matcha, I didn’t like it at all. The milk is way too much for me and the only thing that makes that drink palatable is the vanilla syrup they add to it.