When I think about an ideal brunch what first comes to mind are the ladies from Sex And The City where brunch revolved around company. Of course food is important but brunch is usually an occasion filled with girlfriends wearing over-sized sunglasses and free flowing froths, having laughs with one another and day drinking with no judgement. You are living your best life in that moment.
The queens of brunch
Brew Bistro serve buffet brunch every Sunday for 1,500 per person. The ambience at brew is conducive for a good time with great music, city views and an airy outdoorsy feel from the open rooftop. It’s a lot like what I would imagine a day party to be only people are seated chowing down A LOT of food!
The selection of the food on offer is a bit modest compared to other brunch buffets but it more than suffices. The buffet comprises of salad, barbecue, waffle, pasta & noodles, sushi, oyster and dessert stations. Like all buffets there are hits and misses and this buffet is no exception.
Having been there twice (over the belaire brunch) my second visit was more enjoyable as I knew what to get and avoid. Below is a breakdown of the buffet.
Salad
The salads are very basic with the usual culprits such as macaroni, kachumbari and potato salads. They taste the way they should but my highlight if they are considered part of the salads are the nachos and dips. The homemade nachos accompanied by the guac and creamy dip tasted great. The tiny weeny prawn cocktails were also good, I especially liked how they were the perfect size for one bite.
Barbecue
There is a huge selection of barbecue meat and fish on offer such as lamb, chicken, squid, spare ribs, steak, borewors and burgers. The barbecue station is the epicenter of the whole buffet and it’s abuzz with an open kitchen of chefs in action. This is the station that I feel had the most misses. The burgers were far from juicy, the chicken chokingly dry and the lamb and steak chewy and flavourless. The best items from the barbecue are the pork spare ribs that had a nice sweet marinade and the boerewors.
Pasta and Noodles
This by far was my favourite section of the buffet where you tailor your dish to your preference. The section has a wide array of vegetables, noodles, pastas, meats and sauces for you to choose from and everything is made infront of you. I have had both noodle and pasta dishes such as spaghetti carbonara and udon chicken noodles with a Thai mango sauce. Both dishes were delicious – the carbonara nicely rich with plenty of cheese and cream and the mango sauce the right amount of sweetness and tartness. Do not give this section a miss.
Waffles
The waffles here are yuuuuummmmmmyyyyyyyy! There is a lot of hype surrounding waffles which I didn’t understand until I had the waffles at brew. The wide array of toppings combined with the waffles were perfect.
Dessert
Brew has a very modest dessert selection that I honestly didn’t try because I was too full. One of my friends really enjoyed the parfait looking desserts below.
Sushi and Oysters
I feel like the oyster and sushi sections should be scraped off the menu because they are very disappointing. The sushi is not sushi and tastes vile! I can’t even begin to describe the taste it was just mushy and wrong. The oysters tasted off because of the vinaigrette which tasted like it had gone bad. I believe that the two items are on the menu to add on to the diversity of the buffet, but they are not executed well and should be removed entirely.
For an all you can eat buffet for 1500 in Nairobi, brunch at brew bistro is definitely value for money. I feel like there are more misses than hits, but for the amount you are paying ones expectations should be realistic. Brew can definitely do better especially when it comes to their barbecue. Understandably, they may not be getting the finest cuts of meat but the preparation could be perfected to amplify the taste. Having overcooked, dry, and flavorless meat is unacceptable and considering how the station is the Center Point of the entire buffet, this is where they should be flourishing the most. If you’re looking for an abundant spread filled with a superior food selection this is not the buffet for you, but if you don’t want to spend an arm and leg and want OK tasting food in plenty,this works. What they offer is enough and fair to match the price, you just need navigate your way and find what you like.
Rating – 5/10
Location – Fortis Tower, Mpaka Road, Westlands