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Faith Kyoumukama @martkinel

Hola! That’s the farthest my Spanish goes, but now that I have interacted with a few Latin delicacies I’m willing to learn.

You can call me Mariana now that we are in little Spain or is it Mexico?  

Sankara Hotel, Nairobi recently launched its Latino-themed nights, which take place every Thursday of the week.

We are talking Latin American food, music and dancing at their Sarabi rooftop bar.

I went to one of the theme nights and when I got there, I wished I dressed up in a fringe dress so that I could be involved in all the cha-cha, salsa, bachata and zouk dances.

It felt like I was somewhere in Mexico, because of the Latino music and a vibrant crowd with paired individuals dancing beside the pool.  

Mocktails for teetotallers

The drinks menu has four options cachaca, rum and tequila-based cocktails and if you don’t want to partake of alcoholic beverages there are a variety of mocktails as well.

I went for a tequila-based cocktail, which I had throughout the evening.

The three options of tequila-based cocktails are Paloma, Gingerquilla and Acapulco, and I got to have all the above. 

I love Italian cuisine, but after having the Latina meals at Sankara I had a slight change of palate.

I got to have a bite of few things from the menu and it was enough to be foodie convinced. 

The menu has seven different options and two dessert alternatives. They have a platter that consists of hevous diablos (evil eggs), arepas (Venezuelan bread) and Cuban tostones (plantains).

The eggs are served in halves and tossed with sour cream that has cumin, salt, mayonnaise, and cilantro.

The combination is worth every bite. The arepas is made of corn, basically ground maize dough filled with cheese.

Imagine having flavourful ugali with cheese as fillers, I could not get enough of it.

Then there was something about their plantain chips that just stands out, but I’m told they fry them twice, which explains why they are crispy. They also sprinkle salt on them. 

Cheesy affair

We also had the Caribbean chicken roll, which is a boneless chicken stuffed with cheese and ham wrapped in spinach.

Anything with cheese I will indulge, this amazing boneless chicken incorporates cheese in all delicacies even when it seems impossible.

This chicken roll is almost like a perfect package with a balance of ingredients that complement each other.

They also have two beef options; the Punta can Burguer, which originated from the Dominican Republic and the Carne Asada from Argentina. 

The first option is beef marinated with mustard and rum sauce topped with spinach, mozzarella cheese onion, tomato, avocado and egg served in a bun. If you got lost, this is butter, but with a Latino touch. 

The Argentian beef features a fillet red wine and cilantro, very flavourful given there is a tad bit of wine in it, it’s also the only one that has no cheese so if you don’t like to partake in cheesy bites, this is a great choice for you.

My favourite dessert had to be rice pudding, which was warm and very creamy on the palate.

Also, it’s a healthy dessert. They also have the Suspiro de Limeña, which is a literal translation of ‘Sigh of the Lady from Lima, because it is soft and sweet like the sigh of a woman as a Peruvian poet described it.

It’s a creamy caramel-like pudding perfect for ending the night.

The prices are pocket friendly ranging from Sh700 to Sh2,000  for the meals, while the cocktails and mocktails ranging between Sh500 and Sh700.