The street food place in a posh neighbourhood

There's a new kid on the block that everyone has been posting about on social media lately, so to satiate my curiosity and my hunger, I decided to pass by Nairobi Street Kitchen for some lunch. Right off the bat, I get the appeal, as the place is an Instagrammer's paradise. There is plenty of wall art, urban street murals, and everywhere you look the colours are bold and eye-catching and the space is urban, fun, and upbeat.

The concept is that one can stroll through about a dozen dining outlets as though walking through a street-food market and sample global cuisine from the different restaurants and bars. They are all housed under one roof in a huge industrial loft-style space which includes an upstairs area—so you can then pick where you'd like to order from. I spotted up to three indoor food trucks in the space which were all brought into the space during construction. Desi Loco serves Indian vegetarian street food, Si Senor - which is where I ordered from- offers freshly made corn tacos and also has a margarita bar, and Hopskotch is the pink-coloured ice cream truck that offers an array of desserts to choose from. If I had ice cream for every time I've seen their "I licked it so it's mine" backdrop on social media, I would be obese. 

The other outlets include Bird Exchange whose menu is all about poultry, Beer & Bones on the terrace of the upper floor which offers BBQs- if you'd like to look out onto the city as you sip the craft beers and cocktails, this is the spot to be. The names of the outlets allude to what you should expect from the menu; Nood, Butter'd Buns, Fire & Dough, Social Rooftop & Bar, Spilt Milk, and Social Rooftop Bar which is the place to catch a live band and sing karaoke. Simply put, there are plenty of options to choose from.

I enjoyed signature cocktails with fun names drawn from Nairobi street lingua, such as Tao Tao, Ka Rada, Kanjo, Ka Supu, Matha wa Chai, and Kibandaski. The Tao Tao was a favourite, made with gin, thyme-infused Cointreau, truffle oil-infused honey, orange bitters, and lemon juice. 

Nairobi Street Kitchen is a fun and lively space to hang out. There has been some criticism online that the prices and food don't match up. I'm keen to try more outlets here, but the tacos were decent. 

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