K'Osewe Ranalo Foods — Restaurant in Nairobi

K'Osewe Ranalo Foods along Kimathi Street in Nairobi's CBD is the third generation of a remarkable rags-to-riches story of one William Guda Osewe. From hawking mishikakis (shish kebab) and later setting up his first eatery under a tree in the Kaloleni area of Nairobi in the early 70s to opening Ranalo Foods at the Kenya Railways Central Station, then relocating it to the former Cameo Cinema on Kenyatta Avenue, Ranalo Foods quickly became the go-to place to experience authentic African food.

These days, the family run restaurant popular for serving traditional and local dishes and playing smooth tunes from the Lingala maestros of Central Africa appears to have seen better days. Thanks to a harsh COVID-19 season and the proverbial liquidity trap. Perhaps the Westlands branch is doing better. What's your experience there?

Yet still the fish here slaps in a certain special way and when combined with wimbi ugali and that rediculously nutricious mrenda, while a TPOK jazz classic plays in the background, Ranalo confirms it rightful place among the great eateries to experience that truly authentic Kenyan...

This place was so hyped back in the day, so I sought to check it out. We made the mistake of sitting down waiting for the waiters and waitresses to serve us. We had to call them over to request for service and the menu. The way it works, is apparently you have to go to the cashier order there then get a receipt. You then sit down and wait for the servers who pick the receipts then serve you. They have no menus! You have to read the board near the cashier! Imagine that! The portions are so small for the price that they offer. The greens, which should honestly come free are a whopping 200KES. On that day at 3pm they had zero vegetables. The food tasted great though! But I don't think I will be dining there anytime soon....

Unless you know about this place you may not enter as it doesn't look like much from the outside. However it's a very good place to eat. It's super local and far from being a touristy place. There is no set menu so you get what's available but the fiid is very good and typical Kenyan food. Staff is very friendly and will answer all your questions about food. Wines are decent. I would recommend not showing too late otherwise most of the food options may be gone. It has a very quiet atmosphere but food is worth going there if you are looking to try local places. It reminded me of my local lunch time neighborhood...