Biscotti Cafe

March 6, 2024

If you’ve seen the video of the cheesecake with syrup being poured all over it then you know about Biscotti Cafe. Located in the Westlands Eatery Strip Mall, Biscotti Cafe is a cute little cafe that is very inviting from aesthetics alone.

With a light airy colour scheme of whites, pinks and light greys, entering Biscotti feels like stepping into a cloud. The feather like light fixtures are probably what add to that feeling making it feel super cozy but so breezy at the same time. Love that it’s a fully outdoor setup but barricaded enough where you’re not directly under the sun and you’re protected from any rain or strong winds.

It has a coastal touch to its architecture with the intricate carving designs on the flower pots along the walls and on the arches in the main bakery. The brilliant white walls and the marble tables add an elegant touch emphasising the clean, airy feel.

I came here for brunch and as much as they don’t have an exclusive brunch menu, their breakfast options were quite a number. I was in the mood for pancakes of course lol, (KSH820/) and my trusty brunch companion Abigail had the Jalapeño chicken burger (KSH1200/) that comes with fries and a side salad. I love a good sweet & salty combo, so I added sausages to my order because it’s a halal place so they had no bacon.

Loved the pancakes here, perfectly fluffy, not too big, not too dense and they had a nice slight crunch on the edges that really all fluffy pancakes should have. The plate was surrounded by a medley of berries, powdered sugar and maple syrup drizzled on top.

I tasted a bit of the chicken burger and that was good too, very flavourful and filling. Chicken burgers can come across very meh so I’m glad this one wasn’t one of those.

Now the third person joining came a bit late, he got there a bit after 12:30pm and because this was a brunch plan - he ordered for a Shakshouka (KSH1050/). Unfortunately the waitress came back and told us they had stopped serving breakfast by 12 and he could only order from the lunch menu. Granted - we shouldn’t have assumed that this was a place that served breakfast all day, but they also had not indicated anywhere (menu or on the socials) that they only serve breakfast for a particular window of time - had we known that, we’d have planned to come there earlier than 11.

I explained this to the manager and also asked that because of this lack of information, if they could make an exception for this day and make the one meal especially since the restaurant wasn’t full. He refused and said my friend had to order from the lunch menu. We complied and he looked through the rest of the menu - please note he is vegetarian. Any vegetarian options he chose - the waitress would come back and say they don’t have this, that or the other for either dish. So now, after being made to pick something from the lunch menu, they couldn’t provide anything from the already very limited vegetarian options they had.

The manager came back - apologised for the lack of ingredients and asked my friend if he’d like a caprese sandwich instead (Literally just a cheese and tomato sandwich). At this point, we are all frustrated - why is the manager choosing a dish for the customer?? And if you can’t provide something for him to have from the lunch menu, why then can’t you just make the Shakshouka he originally wanted? Because he did come here with the intent of having breakfast - and they do have the ingredients for that dish. Whewww! The manager had to accept and get the Shakshouka order in because how can you deny a customer food in your establishment?

I don’t think he was too happy about that because the dish that was brought to my friend was a very mediocre Shakshouka, they didn’t put in any effort at all which I feel was unfair.

Anyway, we didn’t let that affect our time, and we decided to get the San Sebastián cheesecake (KSH550/) just to close out our time here on a sweet note. This popular cheesecake originated from Spain in an old town called San Sebastián. It’s a cheesecake that has no crust and is made with more eggs than your usual cheesecake. It also has a bronze/burnt top and has a custard texture in the centre.

Biscotti Cafe’s twist on this cheesecake is the addition of the lotus biscoff syrup poured on it to add some more sweetness to the cake. This was my first time trying this cheesecake and I quite enjoyed it. I liked it better without the syrup, the lotus syrup is extremely sweet so if you can’t handle super sweet sauces, I’d advise not pouring too much on it.

After that bad service we experienced I said I wasn’t coming back but I had a meeting planned with another friend and she wanted to try the place - so I came back… worried, but back nonetheless. But the second time around - service was actually not problematic at all.

We had some chicken wings (KSH800/), a steak sandwich (KSH1150/) and lamb chops (KSH1450/). The chicken wings were made chicken lollipop style and they were really good. The chicken wasn’t tough, the sauce on it was a sweet spicy sauce and they were a perfect bite size portion.

The steak sandwich also did not disappoint - though it could have used more sauce because the steak is a lot to chew through without a condiment, the cheese and the side salad helped with that. The fries were meh, didn’t taste as fresh as the ones I had the last time I was there.

The lamb chops were very tasty, esp with the mushroom sauce drizzled all over them😋 For dessert we tried the lotus cheesecake (KSH550/) and the red velvet cake (KSH480/), wasn’t willing to try the San Sebastián cheesecake again because my teeth would probably fall out lol. Personally… I didn’t like either. I don’t know why red velvet is still a flavour option in bakeries in 2023, people don’t really make it well. And the Lotus biscoff craze that has Nairobi restaurants in a chokehold clearly won’t be ending anytime soon either. This wasn’t a well done cheesecake. The only people who’ve cracked the use of anything lotus biscoff perfectly is Barista & Co, all their lotus flavoured items are amazing.

So Biscotti is clearly good for its food, but their cakes/pastries… not so much. I’m glad I went back a 2nd time because at least now I have a good view of their service after that unfortunate first experience. I would hope they’ve now clearly communicated their breakfast hours and I’ll for sure be going back to try the rest of their menu.