Little Garden. Is it a literal name, with an actual “little garden”? Because I love gardens, big and small, and almost always gravitate toward restaurants with some kind of greenery. Anyway, I was never going to find out unless I made time to go over there myself.
Location
It's Saturday. I take a nduthi (or motorbike) to Little Garden and pay 70 bob from the CBD. I would love to put some directions here, but it was honestly a little tricky for even me, a born and bred Nakuru resident, to find. As a quick guide, though, Little Garden is in Milimani, Richard Musangi Road.
There's a huge sign at the entryway reassuring me I was at the right place. The gate is ajar, and so I walk right in. Just next to the gate is a second entryway into the actual restaurant. Or, if you're driving, you can proceed further to an ample parking space just ahead.
Ambiance
Walking in, I realize that it's a different vibe from other restaurants I've been to. Most restaurants tend to have cramped spaces, fitting as many seating areas as they can in them. But Little Garden is gracious with space.
In a rectangular fashion, three-quarters of its edges have seating areas. Most are tents that you can close or leave open. The fourth quarter is a DJ spot, I presume. While the farthest end is a bar.
In the middle, in the open sun, there's an additional seating area. The remaining areas, though, have a clean carpet of grass with little stone paths to connect each area to one another. And that's about it, at least for the main restaurant.
Walking over to the car park, I discovered more seating areas. The first is a campfire setting. Next to the bar was another cool spot with two swing seats. Then, at the upper end is a building that has more seating areas, one of which is a generous lounge space and another in an enclosed room.
As far as I could tell, there were three groups of people here, and so there were plenty of places to make our own. I'm not sure whether Little Garden ever gets crowded because it honestly seems like a place that can host as many as fifty people without a sweat.
Food & Drink
Ambiance aside, I decided to order a cocktail drink, long island, of course, to keep me busy while I waited for my friends to arrive. It was 800 bob, but they do have other options starting from 600 bob. They also do have beer options for 300 bob, served ice cold just the way you'd like it.
My cocktail drink took forever; I nearly forgot I had ordered it. Meanwhile, we went ahead to place our orders for lunch. Now, the tricky thing with meals is that they don't offer individual meals. Rather, group meals of either chicken or beef and served with a side of something.
Okay. So, you can order a 1/2 kg (or more) of wet or dry chicken or beef fry. Then, have it with a side of ugali or fries or sauté potatoes or chips masala. Not quite sure of the prices, but it would cost around 1000 bob for a meal. I decided to have the sauteed potatoes only, at 250 bob.
It took another while for the food to arrive. By then, it was raining, and our efforts to close the tent didn't help much. So, we ended up having our lunch inside the building in one of the enclosed rooms.
I have to say, my food was tasty, way more than I expected it to be. I mean, usually, I avoid having meals from places I haven't been before because I don't play with my diet like that. But, I was fully satisfied by my last bite and took a mental note of returning sometime soon to try something else.
I noted that most of my friends didn't finish their meals. So, I presume the servings/amounts must have been good enough to eat to your fill. The waiter was also kind enough to pack the excess for us. Oh, I did receive my cocktail by this time, and I would rate it at a 7/10 simply because it didn't have as strong a buzz as is typical of long island cocktails.
In Closing
Little Garden is a delightful, tucked-away spot to chill with friends or share a family meal. But for some reason I can't put a finger on, it didn't shatter my world in the way I expected it to. Sure, it's a nice place. But it feels like a place I have been to before, only with a different name.
Have you been to Little Garden? What did you think of it? Which places would you like me to explore next? Meanwhile, check out our "Chilly, Fizzy, Long Island at Culture Mambo Lounge in Nakuru, Kenya" article, and let us know of any questions or concerns.