Lunch buffet at La Mascotte Restaurant served less

It’s a slow Thursday at work when my colleague suggests we try out a new restaurant for a quick lunch. The choice is between the new Mint Shack branch on Komo Lane Hurlingham and the recently opened La Mascotte restaurant at Somerset Westview Serviced Apartments in Kilimani. We decide to go to the latter. Just five minutes from our offices in Hurlingham, we arrive at this fine establishment off Lenana road. From the entrance, we are greeted by friendly front office staff and directed to the restaurant which is on the ground floor.

My first impression was “this is extremely neat and colourful!”. The restaurant has wine racks at the entrance filled with different types of wines and low-hanging plants from the high ceilings. The dark-grey low seats, brown tables with green tablemats, and yellow side plates added to the colourful ambience. We sat at a corner facing the swimming pool as we waited to be served. It had a beautiful view.

The service was a bit slow but once we got the menu, we noted that the meals were a bit pricy. An Oreo milkshake was going for Sh1,200, beef stroganoff for Sh1,850, 250grams of rib eye for Sh2,500 and a burger with fries was Sh1,800. We had settled for the rib eye and a burger before the waitress advised us to try their buffet at Sh2,500 and it comes with a free drink: a choice between tea, coffee, or a glass of juice. This made more economical sense, or so we thought.

We quickly joined a few other guests who were in the line to be served. Honestly, the buffet didn’t have much to offer. It was more of a mini buffet that had rice, mukimo, chapati, stir-fried veggies, and only two meat options - chicken and lamb. It reminded us of ruracio moments! The good thing was that the food was well cooked and tasty despite the presentation and lack of variety. The fresh coffee, pineapple mint juice, and fruit cuts for dessert helped in saving saved the day.

The downside to the experience was when the waiter presented us with Sh6,000 bill instead of Sh5,000 and her excuse was that they had increased the buffet price while she was away on leave and she was not aware. She looked remorseful and since she had offered good service and tried to give us a better meal option, we paid the bill. My rating for the restaurant was a 7 out of 10.