Como Tigoni

January 31, 2024

Last December saw the great migration of Nairobians into Tigoni to experience the newest restaurant in that area - Como. Como made a splash in the food scene late last year and people were even more excited to find out that it is a restaurant by popular fine dining chef, Steph the Chef. If you’ve had her food when she was still doing deliveries only then you know she will give you quite an experience at her very chic eatery in beautiful Tigoni.

Taking a drive into Tigoni already makes part of the adventure of experiencing Como. It’s about 40 minutes of a drive from Nairobi, passing lush tea farms down Limuru all the way into the vast compound where Como lies. The restaurant itself is not massive but with an outdoor setup and bonfire pit adjacent to it, it doesn’t feel small at all. More like cosy, airy, intimate.

I’ve been here twice now, the first visit was with a large group and the 2nd was just myself and a friend. As a large group we took up the majority of the space in the restaurant. We arrived to a stunning table setup with jars of jacaranda placements across the table and set menus placed at each seat. The natural light really fills the place and the surrounding flower bushes makes you feel like you’re having lunch in a garden. Ambience is on💯 so far. Decor is simple, natural and assisted by the brilliant white wood beams on the ceiling and the lack of high walls allowing for flow of air and sunlight.

We had a set menu organised by Stef prior to manage the large number of people. If you’re a small group you may not need a set menu. Our starters were - Lamb, Feta & Rosemary samosas (KSH650/), Mafe wings (KSH900/); mains - Slow Roasted Herb Chicken (KSH1750/), Catch of the Day (KSH1800/) and for dessert - Molten Lavender White Chocolate Cake (KSH750/).

The samosas were tasty but barely had any feta in them🤷🏾‍♀️ The dish comes with a chilli mint chutney that I enjoyed though it was as chilli as I’d have liked. I probably need to accept that I like chilli to be very chilli unlike most people.

The chicken wings had a nice peanut sauce basted on them and they came on a bed of mash sweet potato aioli. The wings needed salt but that sweet potato aioli was superb. I preferred the samosas over the wings though.

On my 2nd visit here, we tried the Limuru pears & Camembert (KSH950/) & the Crispy Pork Belly (KSH1050/). The wine reduction on the limuru pears dish was very little but the combination of the tart Camembert cheese and the sweetness of the pears + the crunch of the walnuts makes the cheese more bearable for those of us who can’t take Camembert on its own.

I was highly disappointed by the pork belly. It was something I was looking forward to trying but the pork was quite bland, it lacked salt and the bourbon butter spread (very fire🔥) was also in such a small amount. The addition of cubed mango to the dish was great though.

For the catch of the day - it was a chunk of fish fillet sitting on top of herbed potatoes, creamed garlic spinach with a passion white wine reduction. The fish was too dry but I can get past that because this whole meal together was really tasty! That passion wine reduction needs to be bottled and sold everywhere! My only thing with the food here is the portions are so small! Even after all these meals, we were still pining for more food… I think she’s going the Michelin style of dining, where the focus is the quality of the food and not so much quantity but in the African market…? I don’t know…

Service on this day was VERY SLOW. We were the only people in the restaurant, a group of about 20 people and the service was annoyingly slow. The dessert was brought out very late, way after we had finished eating, after socialising and people were ready to leave but as it was our office end of year lunch, we were good to wait. On a normal day I would not have waited that long for dessert.

It’s a good thing we waited though because that cake was ridiculously good! I can’t even describe it probably but it felt like heaven in my mouth, the flavours were perfect and I don’t know if the frosting was ice cream but the consistency felt like it… there was blueberries somewhere in there, the cake itself wasn’t super moist but the flavours were hitting!

The reason for my second visit was for one thing and one thing only - The Chaimisu (KSH750/). This is a fun twist on the classic tiramisu - the chai version. The first one we got was a tad too watery. They didn’t give it enough time to set in the fridge so we asked for another one that at least had the thick mascarpone top so we can get the full Chaimisu experience. The taste profiles were exquisite! I could taste bits of chai masala and cardamom, the coffee lacquer had settled nicely at the bottom so you still get that classic tiramisu taste with hints of chai spices in it👌🏾

The service the 2nd time around wasn’t too bad, the place was full but the service wasn’t as slow.

Steph is definitely a world class trained chef who has mastered great techniques that she incorporates in her cooking, taking you on a journey of flavours and cuisines… her strong suit seems to be mostly on the condiments/sauces & the desserts, she creates those perfectly. The food, though tasty, could use a bit more finessing especially the main meals - the proteins should be able to taste great even without the accompaniments. Just my opinion, don’t come at me please.

That aside - Como is a beautiful restaurant in beautiful Tigoni with vast grounds for kids to play, and adults to socialise and chill in, perfect for family gatherings, birthdays, fun afternoon dates with friends or intimate date nights under the stars… it fits the vibe for so much and it’s a nice break from the city.

Reservations are required as the place gets full pretty quick.