A Food and Drink Guide to Kenya: What to Eat and Where

Why Kenyan food deserves your attention

Kenyan cuisine blends East African staples, Indian spice and Swahili coast flavours. Meals are hearty, social and built around fresh produce, grilled meat and fragrant rice. Whether you are in Nairobi, on the Mombasa coast or near the Maasai Mara, eating well is easy and affordable.

Signature dishes to try

• Nyama choma - Kenya's beloved grilled meat, usually goat or beef, roasted over charcoal and served with kachumbari (tomato-onion salad). Order it by weight at a roadside butchery.
• Ugali - a firm cornmeal staple eaten with your right hand, scooping up stews and greens. The carb backbone of most meals.
• Sukuma wiki - sauteed collard greens with onion and tomato; the name means "stretch the week".
• Pilau and biryani - spiced rice dishes from the Swahili coast, often with beef or chicken and warm cardamom, cumin and cloves.
• Githeri - a homely mix of boiled maize and beans, central Kenyan comfort food.

Street food and snacks

• Mandazi - lightly sweet fried dough, perfect with morning chai.
• Samosas (sambusa) - crisp triangles filled with spiced beef or lentils.
• Mutura - grilled Kenyan sausage, a popular street snack in Nairobi.
• Mahindi choma - roasted maize sold on street corners, rubbed with chilli and lime.

What to drink

• Chai - milky, sugary spiced tea, served all day everywhere.
• Tusker - Kenya's iconic lager; also try Kenyan craft beers and dawa, a honey-lime-vodka cocktail.
• Fresh juices - mango, passion fruit and tamarind are abundant and cheap.
• Kenyan coffee - among the world's finest; Nairobi's cafes serve excellent single-origin brews.

Dining tips and etiquette

• Wash your hands before eating; ugali and meat are often eaten by hand, always with the right hand.
• Tipping around 10 percent is appreciated in restaurants but not mandatory at local joints.
• A budget local meal costs roughly 200 to 500 KSh; a mid-range restaurant 1,000 to 2,500 KSh.
• Drink bottled or filtered water and choose busy stalls where food turns over fast.
• Carnivore in Nairobi is a famous, if touristy, spot for a nyama choma feast.

Stay connected in Kenya

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