The Phoenician

October 1, 2025

The Phoenician has really stood the test of time in Nairobi, having served an eclectic mix of Japanese and Lebanese for over 20 years now! Nestled in a leafy corner of Brookside in Westlands, the Phoenician is a very beautiful space, transporting you to a space of zen and tranquility from the moment you walk in.

It’s quite a large space with both outdoor and cozy indoor seating. I love how they’ve incorporated Swahili style decor to their space with the day beds, the intricate carvings on the chairs and couches and the very lamu-esque archway at the entrance.

I came here for dinner with a friend a while back and we tried quite a bit of everything. They have a Lebanese section and a Japanese section on the menu so you can pick and choose what you’d like from either or from both. Can’t be at a Japanese spot and not have some prawn tempura! We got started with some of that (KSH1850) and also had some seaweed salad (KSH1200), calamari (KSH1100), lamb chops (KSH2700), tiramisu and blueberry cheesecake.

The tempura was absolutely perfect! The only other place I’ve had good prawn tempura is Haru so I’m glad to add this place to the list. I’m not the biggest fan of seafood but one thing I will eat is a deep fried prawn

The seaweed salad was also amazing! This really surprised me because I thought seaweed would have quite a strong taste to it but it was very refreshing, and the salad had a sweetness to it that I really liked. I think we ordered another immediately after having this one, seaweed is good for you guys:)

The calamari was good according to my girl, I did not even attempt to try it. The lamb chops were way too hard. I think they stayed on the grill too long because the meat was quite tough. I didn’t enjoy this dish much.

For dessert - the tiramisu was actually really good, it tasted fresh and very tasty! The blueberry cheesecake would have been great had it been allowed to set properly in the fridge, the texture was too soft for a cheesecake but the blueberry-ness of it all was delicious.

The service here was a bit of a mixed bag, they kept forgetting orders and were not quick on recovery. The place wasn’t that busy so I worry how it would be on a busy night but here’s to hoping they’ve gotten better at service by now.

The ambience is absolutely perfect! It’s giving coastal vibes with a nice jazzy music background, perfect place for a date night, also great place for celebratory events like birthdays, anniversaries etc. Makes for a nice private space for business meetings/lunches and it also provides just the right amount of intimacy for a proposal Just an fyi because wedding season is around the corner.