Haru Japanese Restaurant in Karen

‘Japanese food in Kenya?’ I thought when I first got here.. but in fact everywhere I’ve eaten has been surprisingly good.   Sushi always feels healthy and I’m less inclined to guzzle a bottle of wine whilst eating it so we bounce between my two favourite places to get Sushi in Karen,, the Talisman and Haru.

You’ll find Haru Japanese Restaurant along Karen Plains road, tucked into a mall in the Professional Centre. As with many restaurants in Nairobi the outside belies what you’ll find within. Ignore the shady looking mall, once through the front door you’ll find a little peace of Japan.

Calm and inviting ambience

Plants cascading from wicker baskets hung from the ceiling whilst open flame burners, candles and jars of wildflowers add ambience. The restaurant is small, the outside space only sits about 10 tables, but its cosy rather than cramped. I’m a bit fussy when it comes to lighting; too light and its unromantic, too dark and I cant see what I’m eating but Haru have the balance right. The restaurant feels authentic, warm and inviting.

Fresh and beautifully presented food

Japanese food doesn’t hide behind sauces and strong flavours, so good Japanese foods needs to be fresh and well presented. The fish at Haru is sourced from the Kenyan coast and all vegetables come from local suppliers.

We ordered Gyoza to start.  Little dumplings filled with pork and chicken were delicately flavoured with soy, ginger and garlic.

Greedily we asked for Udon Noodle Soup, Tempura Prawns and for Sushi: Monsters of Rock and the crab rolls. It was all, without exception, delicious. There was far too much food for two people who possess extremely healthy appetites to eat, but eat we did until our tummies pained and we had to eventually give up and resort to a doggy bag – it was all so damn tasty.

The Tempura Prawns are an absolute must, served on a bed of tempura veggies, they wont do you waistline much good, but they are so very crisp and the prawns so very succulent that you will happily give yourself over to obesity. For me the Udon Noodles needed an extra pizzazz, which was great as they came with a little bowl of spices for you to add yourself. Both the sushi dishes were delectable; of particular note were the Monsters of Rock; a sushi roll with a crispy outer and a wonderful Siracha topping and the Crunchy Tuna roll, crunchy, zingy tuna atop well flavoured sushi rice. I can’t recommend it enough.

For drinks you can choose from beer, sake, wine and soft drinks.The wine list offers an unexciting range of reasonably priced wine by the bottle, although they only Drostdy Hof by the glass.

For Karenites you can’t go wrong with Haru.  The restaurant delivers every single time. On my many visits there the food is consistently fresh, beautiful in appearance and full of flavour. The service is impeccable and the informal atmosphere makes for a great date night or quiet meal with friends.

For a Japanese closer in to town how about visiting Tokyo Japanese Restaurant. Our visit didn’t go well for this review but my husband has been back several times and was very impressed.

Originally posted January 2018 – updated October 2018

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