CHEKA Japanese Izakaya

If you love Chinese and Japanese food, you should definitely try out Cheka Restaurant. Located in Lavington, the restaurant is located in the quiet suburbs of Nairobi. I was craving some pork ramen that evening and went online to scout for places to satisfy my cravings when I recalled this restaurant. I had been here once before and had tried their dumplings and chicken ramen which were quite a delight. The restaurant has ample parking space which is free and the neighborhood is quite secure. My date and I arrived at the restaurant at around 7 pm. We were seated by our waiter who asked if we would prefer to sit outdoors or indoors. It gets quite chilly in the evening and the restaurant provides Maasai shukas (traditionally patterned blankets) for their guests to use, which I loved. We chose to sit outdoors and soon our menu was handed to us. Their menu consists of a wide variety of seafood including oysters, prawns, and shrimp. The ramen dishes go for KSH 1000 per bowl which I thought was fairly priced. My date ordered the chicken ramen while I ordered the pork ramen ( well-done). While we waited, we ordered a glass of mango juice and pineapple, and mint juice for my date. We skimmed through their alcoholic menu and decided upon a tot glass of our drink of choice, whisky. AMBIENCE: The restaurant is family-friendly and cozy and has a few porch swings situated at different corners of the restaurant. They have an open kitchen and you can see the chefs whip up your meal if you sit indoors. The designated smoking area is outdoors for the comfort of other guests. The bathroom is an all-inclusive bathroom that is shared by all guests. The seats are more of wooden benches which I did not mind in the slightest. SERVICE: It was a relatively busy night but we had no complaints about how we were attended to. Our waiter made sure our meals arrived on time and checked on us frequently on how we were enjoying our meal. CHARGES: The menu at Chekafe is fairly priced and will not hurt your pockets. All in all, I was very well pleased and full due to their generous portions. The chicken ramen was absolutely delicious, I must add. It is worth checking out and sampling their other seafood options.

Cheka Izakaya is a Japanese restaurant in Nairobi. It’s located in Kauria Close off Muthangari Road. It’s hidden away in a very cozy neighborhood in Lavington. Its owners are actually Japanese and because of this, the authenticity of the food is usually admirable. You get the full Japanese experience all the way from sitting cross-legged on the floor to the drinks. In actuality, you could choose to sit at a normal table but why would you.

The hospitality as soon as we entered was just wow. I actually felt like they were waiting for me the whole time. We ordered several dishes from their menu. Steamed rice -300/=, Pan-fried noodles pork -1100/= , fish teriyaki -850/= , Tuna rolls at 1200/= and the rolled egg which was 500 /=.

The amount of pan-fried noodles was so much I couldn’t even finish even half of it. Honestly, I’m not really a fan of Japanese food but my partner ended up finishing everything on the table. I found their prices very friendly and they delivered value for your money. To note is that the preparation usually takes quite a while so take that into consideration while you consider dining.