The good and bad of Pantry & Provisions Café in Westlands

For a long time, I was hesitant to visit the cafe at the Pantry and Provisions on Rhapta Road. Prices at the mini market seemed excessive, and I did not think the restaurant would fare any better. On the recommendation of three neighborhood regulars, I decided to go and see what it was all about. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sh500 burgers and pizzas starting at Sh700. The cafe also had a menu item I had not yet seen anywhere in Nairobi - onion rings. 

Onion rings are a side dish in American cuisine. They are a cross-section of an onion dipped in batter and deep fried. I choose to have onion rings with my Steak and Cheese Baguette. I should have just stuck with the fries – which smelled awesome - but we live and learn. The onion rings were not good at all. There was more batter than onion and if I was in my twenties and coming off a night of binge drinking, I would have happily indulged. But as it was midday and I was painfully sober, they looked and tasted unappetizing.

The Steak and Cheese Baguette was good, though. With caramelized onions and green peppers, it was reminiscent of a Philly cheesesteak. My lunching companion had the Texan Beef Burger, which they thoroughly enjoyed. It is hard to go wrong with bacon and a fried egg in your burger.  

The service at Panty and Provisions is leisurely, to put it nicely. It took five minutes to clear our table after our meal and receive our bill. There were only two other patrons in the café. One of the hallmarks of a neighbourhood bar or restaurant is a slower pace. But slow service is not synonymous with bad service. There are basic cues that wait staff should be able to pick up on without being instructed by the patron – like offering a spoon to eat yogurt. On the bright side, if the cafe doesn't have something on the menu but the mini market has it, they are happy to oblige, for example, my friend wanted yogurt. I imagine the same holds true for selections from the wine shop.

The Pantry and Provisions cafe looks and feels like a neighbourhood cafe with rustic furniture and reasonably priced menu options. Most impressive is the traditional pizza oven, producing delicious aromas and made-to-order pizzas. The atmosphere is relaxed, and I can picture spending a wonderful warm evening drinking Sh600 margaritas. I believe they have a happy hour.  It is pretty quiet during the day, so you can do some light work over a cup of coffee and pastry.