Upon asking around for places to eat in Kigali, Soy was one that was mentioned multiple times. This restaurant is so beautiful. The ambience can be felt from the moment you step out into the driveway and are greeted by the big SOY sign emblazoned on a stunning cobblestone wall. The interior/exterior because it’s an outdoor restaurant that feels very indoor is just as inviting with its sea blue walls adorned with hanging plants and warm lighting at each corner making it feel like an oasis of sorts.

This is my second visit to Kigali after very many years and of course I had to hit up some restaurants. First up being - Pili Pili, quite a popular bar and restaurant in Kigali. It feels like more of a lounge than a full on sit down restaurant. The first thing I noticed was the outdoor sitting area - there’s plenty of day beds, a vast pool (that no one was in) and it opens up to a fantastic view of the city of Kigali.

Mama Rocks hit the scene back in 2016 and I remember being very excited for proper gourmet burgers and the fun flavours to boot. They’ve made a name for themselves in the fast food scene starting from the original food truck at the Alchemist to expanding with branches in various parts of the city today. There was a point in time that their standards had dropped significantly for me, I’m gonna say around 2019, so I stopped going there completely until now, three years later.

A Mexican restaurant after my own heart! Fonda used to be located at the Rosslyn Riviera Mall and I really loved that location because of how much space it had. Luckily they didn’t close down completely and just moved to the rooftop food court at Sarit centre. They’ve kept the decor very similar, bright colours, stained glass, nice little Mexican elements and they have enough seating both outside and inside the restaurant.

This cloud kitchen restaurant is a newbie to the Nairobi food scene and they hit the ground running as soon as they launched back in July. Ayeyo is the Somali word for grandmother and a perfect brand name for this Somali restaurant cooking up fresh & delicious meals that taste like food your grandmother would make. I recently got to try their signature dishes; the rice & hilib (goat meat, KSH1450/) and the rice & chicken (KSH1250/) and I have so much to say!

I’ve been wanting to visit this place for a very long time and planning for lunch here took an even longer time because aligning schedules with three other adults is an extreme sport. The popular Nab A Burger is located in the Office park complex in Riverside. I thought it was a sit down restaurant but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s actually a food truck with a section of Office park’s compound used as seating space.