My first Fine Dining Experience at Serena Hotel

The amuse-bouche is complimentary from the chef. Photo | Kemzy Kemzy


What you need to know:

  • Tucked at the far end of the Nairobi CBD right next to Central Park is the prestigious, award-winning 5-star Serena Hotel

Tucked at the far end of the Nairobi CBD right next to Central Park is the prestigious, award-winning 5-star Serena Hotel. This is where I was to have my very first fine dining experience in one of their three restaurants known as the Madhari Fine Dining Restaurant. All reservations have to be made between 12 and 6pm.

We arrived at around 5.45pm and went direct to the restaurant which is located upstairs in a quiet secluded place. The red and white theme, ambient lighting and fresh roses on the tables assents romance and relaxation. We sat at the terrace with the best view of the vibrant Nairobi city and the sky blue swimming pool just below.

No sooner had we sat than Joel the service guy introduced himself and asked for our wine orders as we waited to have a look at the menu. I went for the white and sweet option with a vanilla scent (Bianco Nobile alla Vaniglia) while my friend decided to have the white and dry wine (Nederburg Chardonnay) option. 

Madhari Fine Dining Restaurant has a Chef’s special menu for the day that was going for Sh6,500 and also an option of the à la carte menu where you can mix and match your own orders. We got a very extensive guidance on what each item entails and even some of the most highly recommended meals to try. The chef gave us cauliflower soup, tuna fish-cake and beetroot flan as an amuse-bouche, just basically to amuse our taste buds and clean our pallets. For appetizers, we went with the option of half a dozen Burgundy Escargots which is sautéed Escargots in sizzling garlic butter and Brioche Crumble Sh1,600 and the Seared Canadian King Bay Scallops complemented with black pudding. Escargots are basically snails - special edible ones. And they were surprisingly very delicious and tasted like mushrooms. The presentation was top notch!

The main meal; Salmon fillet with mashed potatoes and Grilled medallion of highland beef with french fries and vegetables. Photo | Kemzy Kemzy

By the time our main meals were arriving, I was almost full. Our main course was the slightly seared fillet of the Atlantic salmon on a creamy leek fondue with mashed potatoes Sh4,000 and the grilled medallions of highland beef with a side of vegetables and French fries. For the first time, I ate medium rare beef and I enjoyed it. 

For dessert we chose Cardamon Cream Caramel, mixed berries and dark chocolate Creameux for Sh1800 which came with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I was awe-struck. My friend went for the option of chocolate black forest.

My overall rating was excellent. Be ready to spend your money.

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