Tamambo at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden

Tamambo at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Overview

The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden oozes colonial charm. Set in what used to be Karen Blixen’s old coffee farm estate, is the delightful Tamambo Restaurant. The beautiful gardens are a great place to enjoy the peace and quiet of rural Africa.

On week-ends and holidays, live music groups play Jazz and traditional and modern music, in a relaxed atmosphere among the comfortable surroundings; a long open veranda, suede chairs, large open fireplaces (great for cold wet days) in a decor reminiscent of days days gone by. Butterflies and birds are seen around the gardens among the sweet smelling frangipani and brightly coloured bougainvillea .

The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden dates back to 1906. Baron Blixen bought the Coffee Company for his wife Karen in 1913. The Swedo House served as the farm manager's house and Karen Blixen (known by her pen name Isak Dinesen) spent a great deal of time here. The restaurants is located in the same compound as the beautiful Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Cottages which guests are able to stay in as a tranquil retreat away from the hustle and bustle of Nairobi.

The Swedo House has been refurbished to it’s original style. It’s available each day as a lounge for guests, or for tea or cappuccino or for romantic dining by the fireplace. It’s also a popular venue for receptions, small meetings and formal dinners.

The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden dining

A light menu is available in the bar for late night snacks and a clay pizza oven creates pizza’s that are just delicious. There are five areas for lunch or dinner. The menu is extensive with a variety of international food on offer. Weekly specials are popular and a soup and seafood bisque of the day are also available. Menu items include: steaks with a wide variety of sauces from the French Belgian gourmet chef: Pierre. Numerous seafood dishes are offered such as fish with Pink Butter or Crab Diablo and a wide variety of salads. There is a good vegetarian choice and pasta items are available. The bar snacks offer sizzling beef and chicken, hamburgers, cottage pie or chicken wings if you prefer.

PHONE 0722 171 599 TO PLACE ORDER AND HAVE IT DELIVERED TO YOUR HOUSE IN LESS THAN 45 MINUTES (see Menu Attached)

Occasionally special food theme evenings are hosted, an outdoor barbecue or special ethnic food buffets, which provide variety and interest to this tropical setting.

The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Activities and Events

• Saturday Lunch and Tuesday Night New Orleans Style Jazz;

• Sunday Buffet in the gardens with Live Music and Croquet on the front lawn

• Special theme evenings: Black tie "Out of Africa" Events or "Murder Mystery" dinners in Swedo House;

• Fundraising dinners and dinner theatre: lectures on African Wildlife, History, Adventure tours, and Peoples of Kenya

• Games and tournaments: Occasional pool, chess and Tumbledown tournaments. Other tabletop games available at the Bar or kept in the Swedo House (chess, scrabble, puzzles, Boggle, Chronology, and more).

• Special Holiday events: New Year's Eve, Valentine, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween & Easter Egg Hunts

• Private functions: Weddings and private parties in the garden or L'Amour Restaurant (up to 150 people). NB: One of the restaurants and bar facilities will always remain open for the regular clients and guests.

The Karen Blixen Coffee Garden opening times

The Restaurant is open for breakfast from 7:00hr daily and the kitchen remains open until 22:00hr.

Within the grounds, nine cottages are available for guests to stay in.

The Tamarind Group was voted - EAST AFRICA'S MOST RESPECTED COMPANY : 2005 & 2006 and is part of a series of high quality restaurants found throughout Kenya. These include: Tamambo Bar & Grill in Westlands, Tamambo Tapas Bar at the Village Market, The Carnivore and the Tamarind Restaurants

There are other popular tourist attractions nearby:

• Nairobi National Park(20 minutes)

• the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage(15 minutes)

• KWS Safari Walk and Animal Orphanage(15 minutes)

• Karen Country and Golf Club(5 minutes)

• Giraffe Centre (15 minutes)

• Kazuri Bead shop (5 minutes)