Travellers Restaurant is one of four restaurants that make Nairobi Hilton the ultimate stop for anyone looking for an optimal combination of class, quality food and service and warm ambiance. Located at the ground floor of Nairobi Hilton, Travellers restaurant is adjacent to Café American (for beverages and pastries) on one side and the Sale E Pepe Restaurant that serves a wide range of Italian delicacies, on the other. The poolside restaurant is the fourth restaurant at Nairobi Hilton and the Jockey Pub is a favourite for many who want cocktails or beer.
Traveller’s restaurant is designed to simulate an antique train complete with travelling gear and the tastefully furnished dining compartments gear up guests for a first-class dining experience. Open from 6.30 am till late, Traveller’s restaurant offers diners a variety of foods and wine from the à la carte menu during the day. In the evenings, the restaurant offers a themed buffet that ranges from African, Italian, French and Arabic cuisines depending on the day of the week.
I dined at Traveller’s with a friend when the Buffet was African themed and I must say that we greatly enjoyed the food and had an overall smashing experience. The efficient and courteous staff as well as the very enthusiastic and helpful chefs cannot go without a mention.
We started our meal with Beef broth which was a thin soup that tasted a bit like bone soup, and was served with freshly baked buns. I am not a big fun of soup but I loved the Beef broth and would recommend it.
The buffet was all inclusive and this was evident from the foods available for the main course and the desserts.
The meats included Tilapia Fish, Lamb slices, Chicken Gizzards, Tripes (Matumbo), Chicken (Kuku Paka) and Beef (Mshikaki) and were served with Ugali, Roasted Potatoes, Wali (white rice) and Muchenye. Other options included beans in coconut sauce, Managu, Kachumbari and a variety of other vegetables.
Salads included Cucumber salad, Chicken Liver salad, Smoked beef salad, Chicken salad and Seafood salad, just to mention a few. There was fruit salad too although one could choose to have fruit slices of water melons, papaya or pineapple, and passion fruits. Other choices included Sweet potato pie, Arrow root pie, Dates cake, Banana cake, Mandazi, Kaimati as well as Vanilla and Strawberry ice cream.
There was obviously so much to eat so we sampled as much as we could. The Rice was very well cooked and my friend loved it but the Roasted Potatoes stood out for me. One cannot really go wrong with meat and Traveller’s proved me right since the meats were all delicious. The Tripes (Matumbo) however deserve a special mention- my friend insisted that they were arguably the best in town.
Drinks are served separate from the buffet and I had fresh pineapple juice which had a tangy taste while my friend had Mango juice. We both gave a thumbs-up for the great tasting Ice-Cream we had for dessert- it was scrumptious!
I applaud Travellers restaurant for ensuring that diners get the best food in the most conducive atmosphere and I would recommend it for anyone who wants value for money and has a little to spare out of their budget.