I’ll be honest, when it comes to food, there’s rarely room for tardiness in my world and our one o’ clock reservation at Adega was no exception. My colleague and I arrived with seven minutes to spare.
We were met at the door by our server who wittily introduced himself as “Patrick, the only black Irish man in Kenya.” This was my second dining experience at the restaurant – the first was with my family about a month earlier – and I was excited to take my palette through another savory journey through Portuguese cuisine.
As our new, self-proclaimed Irish friend aptly put it as he showed us to our seats, the early bird catches the worm or in our case, a tall glass of Passion Fruit Mojito and Strawberry Daquiri. Freshly baked, warm rolls to go with our virgin cocktails? Yes, please!
The restaurant is located at Lavington Curve’s roof top and overlooks Lavington, the lush Nairobi suburb with a growing number of eateries. Depending on the time of day and season, I’d recommend layering up as the restaurant’s view comes with a likely chill.
As a Portuguese restaurant – which, for your information, happens to be the first of its kind in Kenya – I had prepared my palette for an explosion of well seasoned food and hot flavours and they sure didn’t disappoint.
For our starter, we had prawn and chicken rissoles, some calamari and fresh Greek salad. I don’t normally gravitate towards the chilli side of life but the Peri Peri calamari grilled in butter sauce had me at my first bite. Delicious!
The main course consisted of Monk Steak topped with a creamy mushroom source, Galinha Masai (my favourite) and LM chicken named after Mozambique’s capital city formerly known as Lorenzo Marquize. As side dishes, we had mashed potatoes, chips, creamed spinach and butternut.
If you ask me, Adega truly comes alive at night and my only wish would have been to enjoy this meal in the evening.The restaurant happens to be halaal and hass a family friendly space which comes equipped with a play set for the young ones, meeting the varying needs of different customers.
For dessert, crème caramel, chocolate mousse, granadilla mousse, iced nougat and berry terrin were brought out – my favourite of the four being the later. But, if you do try the restaurant out, I’d recommend Strawberry Kilimanjaro which is made right in front you making it a memorable dining experience.
Having never tried a Portuguese meal before, I can’t say with certainty that Adega pays homage to the European cuisine. I can, however, tell you that you are going to love the food – especially if you like a little spice in your life.
Try it out ladies and gentlemen. You can thank me later.
