Hob House.

“Food is love made visible”

“In a world of fast food and drive-in takeaways the connection to the dish itself is lost, there is nothing so awful as speaking to a machine and at the end of it getting a box ….” I got this statement on the Hob House website and I could not agree more. While fast food and take out does make our lives easier, there is experience and connection lost, and that is one of the reasons why I had the resolution to try at least every month to eat out in a restaurant I have not been to or serves a delicacy I have not experienced before. Last weekend I decided to try out Hob House.

Hob House is located in Kitusuru, Kinanda road, roughly 15 minutes from Westlands depending on what route you use. My friend and I took an uber from ABC place (I genuinely expected the uber driver to use the Redhill bypass but this guy decided to go all the way to Peponi road. It is hilarious when Uber drivers take the longer route thinking that they will be paid more but the cost remains the same). It was our catch-up date, kind of date where we get to see how far we are with our goals, what’s new in our lives et al. We are living in a fast-paced world and it helps to have friends and family who help to keep you on track and keep you grounded.

 We got there at around 2:00 pm, just after lunch and so it was not crowded at all. We got our table near the garden and got to make our orders fairly fast. One thing that stands out about the menu is the fact that three-quarters of it is vegetarian food. For the starter, I had to order from the kiddie section because that was the only way I was going to get chicken wings. I have this thing where I judge restaurants by how good or bad their chicken wings are and, to be honest, the wings at Hob House were different from anything I have had before. Different in that they looked like wings from a kienyeji chicken and they looked roasted. It had been a while since I had roasted chicken and I enjoyed the 4pieces of wings. The fries on the kids’ plate were also a lot, a bigger serving than what is actually served in most restaurants. The chicken wings and fries were ksh.750. I never get restaurants that do not allow you to eat from the kids’ section. I am still paying for it, isn’t that what counts?

For our main dish, we had the chicken Fateh and Lebanese toasted bread. The chicken Fateh had chicken baked in onions, garlic, and tahini. It did taste like it had butter and it had cheese and cowpeas. My friend and I got the small serving that fits two for just ksh.950 and it was enough and even packed some. I loved the flavors in the dish. It was not hot, chilli wise so if you love hot food it would be wise to let the waiters know as they are taking your order. The food was however not as tasty when it got cold. 

The restaurant does not serve alcoholic drinks so I had to settle for a strawberry or a raspberry mocktail, I cannot remember which of the two, which was worth it considering I love sweet things. My friend ordered for pineapple juice and was greatly disappointed because it tasted like the juice you buy in the supermarket and dilute. It was definitely not worth the cost. The average price of drinks is sh.300 and sh.500. If you do carry your alcohol though, they will let you have it but you would need to pay a corkage fee of sh.500 for every bottle of wine and sh.50 for every beer.

I loved the service at Hob house seeing as one does not get the kind of waiters and waitresses who hover around. The ambiance is serene and has that up-country kind of vibe. There are no matatus that go to the place so uber would be your best pick. From Westlands to Hob House we ended up paying around sh.300. The place is amazing for family time and also some alone time. I also learned from their Airbnb page that the owners of Hob House use 20% of revenue gotten from accommodation to train and empower their staff members, something that I actually think is amazing. If you do love art, you are likely to get a few pieces you can purchase.

I would definitely recommend Hob House if you are looking to try out the Lebanese cuisine. It is also a really nice spot if you are looking to be outdoors and in a serene place. If you are into yoga, they also have Yoga on Saturday mornings (If my memory serves me right).