At only one year old, The Social House, boasts one of two runners’ up spots in the ‘Best Urban Hotel’ category of National Geographic Travellers’ annual Hotel Awards and has fast become a must-visit hotel in Nairobi. Let’s explore this house together room by room.
The Living Room: A warm, cozy, industrial abode
As in every house, the living room is where your feet find first after the doors open. One fine Wednesday afternoon, a friend and I found ourselves at the “Living Room” of The Social House. “Living Room” may sound ambitious for a hotel (they call themselves a house), but it offered that cozy, homely feel and lived up to the name. Upon arrival, we were welcomed to a table with some soft leather chairs as we made ourselves comfortable. The smell of freshly roasted in-house coffee and pastries evoked a warm and fuzzy feeling. I love “people watching.” Some may call it being nosy, but I always notice what people around me are doing. I don’t stare long enough for it to be creepy (I assume), but I “casually glance”. I could see some guests having croissants and coffee as they had a casual business meeting. Another lady sat by the couch and slowly sipped her juice as she made what I believed was an entertaining phone call. This is a great informal hangout spot that offers casual dining.
Hotel lobbies can feel very cold and unwelcoming, but this room was far from that and felt like a relaxing abode. Everyone looked comfortable. Guests staying at The Social House also get free coffee.
Your eyes will not miss the iconic Maasai on a motorcycle art piece. The figure against the backdrop of Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” which happens to be my favorite poem, made the space feel very industrial. The yellow hanging lights from the high ceilings also added to this theme.
You can find their menu here.
Copper: The Urban Grill
The Copper room offered a relaxed fine dining setting. As if to live up to the name, the room had accents of copper and brass. Even the plates had a touch of copper. The table setting was immaculate with heavy plates and with the menu of the day displayed. I could see myself dining here with some of my friends as we toast to something grand like a business deal gone well. Long cylindrical light fixtures illuminated one part of the room. I could tell that they took their lighting seriously.
Not all the restaurants in The Social House share the same wine list. Here, they have selected the wine that goes with their menu. You can enjoy an extensive menu full of grilled meat, fish, and some great vegetarian options. You can find their menu here.
INCA
INCA is where you would want to spend your late afternoons on a Friday/ Saturday. I’d imagine that nothing feels better than sipping your Mimosas here as you laugh with friends. With colorful artwork on the walls, this rooftop restaurant & bar is a distillation of Peru’s diverse culinary heritage. I loved the well-stocked bar and kitchen. We found the chef experimenting with a new menu. I could also see the warmth and friendship between the staff as they casually gave their honest reviews about the new menu item. However, this place fills up so quickly so, remember to reserve a table especially for Friday and on the weekends. You can find the menu here.
The Other Room
This was my favorite place and the place where we had a reserved table. It has a pool and a well-manicured lawn. As a plant lover, I couldn’t help but notice all the live plants and flowers dotting the space. They even had a live wall where I forgot to take one of these Instagram-worthy pictures. Alive with activity & many guests, this was the heart of The Social House. I will let the pictures below do the talking.
The Food & wine: One wine type, 3 dishes. Is it possible?
We browsed through the winelist and we had two recommendations. One was the Cahors Malbec (France) and the other one was Saronsberg (South Africa) -distributed by Slater & Whittaker. I chose the Saronsberg wine because it was a 2020 vintage. My rationale was that I wanted to taste wine made from grapes harvested in 2020. The white blend was 55% Sauvignon Blanc / 45% Chenin Blanc. I have a love relationship with wine blends done right.
We based the food that we ordered on that wine. Most times, you will let the food guide your wine selection, but it is also interesting to do it the other way.
Starters
We ordered the Shrimp cocktail: Mexican recipe, cooked shrimps in a Marie rose sauce, served with fried tortilla (totopos). It was a good starter that had a mixture of flavours. The spicy tortilla topped with shrimp was a great start to the pairing. Because we chose a crisp and fresh wine, it paired well with this starter.
The other starter we ordered was the Cheese Tequenos which had deep-fried wontons, creamy cheese, and a guacamole dip. I was not a fan of this pairing as I felt it was too plain and needed a kick either in the form of spice, sourness, salt, or umami flavors. This may be because of my personal disinclination to cheese, but it did nothing for me. However, I realized that it was probably because the cheese was too thick. My friend paired it with some Habernero sauce (which wasn’t originally part of the pairing), which brought out the magic. I’d suggest that you ask for the guacamole dip to have some spiciness. That would save the dish.
Main
I ordered the grilled salmon, creamy mushrooms, spinach and chalaquita. It was the star of the day. Elvis (our wine & food expert for the day) brought a perfectly grilled salmon resting on a bed of creamy spinach and mushrooms to my table. The salmon had the perfect crusty top and tender bottom. My knife and fork kept digging in the fish. Bite by bite, sip by sip, I kept going. Should you find yourself here, ask for Elvis and order the salmon.
My friend ordered the Barbecued Peruvian baby chicken (whole robata-grilled chicken, aioli, crispy onions), which I dug into as well. It also came with a side of creamy mashed potatoes. It was a hearty meal that I would also recommend. The creaminess from the aioli and potatoes also complemented the wine.
Dessert
For dessert we had the blueberry cheesecake as the cherry on top.
The Social House had a wide array of wine from different regions in the world. As a wine lover, such spaces excite me. I know that I can always come here to try different grape varieties, wine regions and pairings. The Other Room would be a great place to have your wine because it is relaxed.
The attention to detail on how they also store their wine is impressive. With every chilled top-up, and with every bite, I discovered more character in the wine.
You can learn more about The Social House on their website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Should you visit the social house, drop me a tweet on how you found the experience.