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I like restaurants with names that are well thought out, the ones that entice a diner. Love at first site, you might say.  

Of course it doesn’t always end there because there is décor, menu and overall an experience that should be worth remembering. I recently came across a restaurant known as Honey and Dough. Fancy name, right? So it was on my must try foodie list, which means, I had to at least try it out before the end of year. 

I was at the restaurant located on the seventh floor of One Africa Place on Waiyaki Way in Westlands, Nairobi, for lunch the other day. It has amazing décor, with solid wood honeycomb-shaped ceiling teeming with lights sending warm vibes across the restaurant. Perfect for a besties meet up, a date, or simply a family get-together dinner. 

Basically, this restaurant caters for the health-conscious lot and vegans. They have burgers, wraps, pasta and curries, with a wide option of gluten-free meals.  

Well I know you’re wondering where the meat is — as I did initially. Yes, the restaurant caters for meat lovers too.

Let me clarify something before diving into the meals I devoured. Vegans do not eat meat and animal products, while vegetarians don’t eat animal meat, but may eat products that come from them (such as dairy products and eggs).

Middle East dish 

The menu, specially curated for me and a few other foodies, comprised of starters, a main course and dessert.  A cold glass of mixed berry no-jito (pun intended) was the non-alcoholic drink for the day.  Usually, I would have preferred the alcoholic choice, but considering it was mid-day, a cool non-alcoholic was the perfect drink. 

For the starters, we had sauté chicken wings that had been seasoned in Asian sauce. However, the Asian seasoning, which is super flavourful, wasn’t one of my favourite starters because I like my wings dry, without any seasoning. 

But if you love sauces, this is a must have. The mezze mix was what I loved most; it had chicken pea with falafel (made from chick peas) quinoa (a grain crop grown for its edible seeds) tabbouloeh (chopped tomatoes, mint, parsley salad) and hummus (usually chick pea paste) served with pita bread. 

The mezze mix is a Middle East dish, and what I love is how natural, but tasty it is. The best way to eat the ‘combo’ is by spreading the chickpea paste to the pita bread, like butter on bread.  

Then there was the pulled pork Bao bun, which is a juicy tasty with ginger pork in chilli sauce with red cabbage paired with bao bun. I loved the ginger pork, but because we had main course coming up, I didn’t try it with the bao bun. A bao bun, also known as a Gua Bao, is a type of lotus leaf. 

For the main course, there was quite a variety. On the menu was the barbeque (bbq) chicken wrap, Mac (macaroni), cheese and beef medallion. The chicken wraps are marinated with bbq sauce, fresh lettuce with mozzarella cheese. 

It’s almost like a shawarma (pita bread stuffed with minced meat), but with extra toppings. This one stood out because of the cheese, giving it distinct flavour. 

The best, according to my taste buds, had to be the mac and cheese.  Why it surprised me the most was because this was vegan, mac and cheese, served with vegan meatballs. 

The meatball are made of quinoa and falafel and are surprisingly very tasty, a bit dry on the mouth when chewed alone, but works perfectly with the mac and cheese. 

Desert time 

I found the beef medallions soft and tender wrapped with sweet, yet succulent taste of the bacon. It was served on a bed of mashed potatoes.  

Finally, it was time for dessert.  Usually I skip this item, but when I saw it was lime coconut cheesecake, I thought, why not? However, it was not the usual cheesecake, it’s the vegan type made with dates, coconut, limejuice and cashew nuts. Another option was pina colada ice cream that was paired with mango and pineapple skewers. 

I can say healthy meals have never tasted so good in my foodie journey.  The menu price here is pocket-friendly. Don’t let the posh name scare you just yet; food ranges from as low as Sh550 to as high as Sh1,300.  However,  you must make reservations before visiting the restaurant to avoid disappointments.