Carnivore is an open-air restaurant in the

Langata Lang'ata is a predominantly upper middle-class residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonk ...

suburb of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Carnivore's specialty is meat, and features an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. They serve a wide variety of meat and were famous for their

game meat Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products (primarily meat), for recreation (" sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, th ...

until Kenya imposed a ban on the sale of game meat in 2004. It remains a popular tourist destination.

History

In 1999, the restaurant seated 350 people and the restaurant's 330 employees served over 1000 people per day. The game, including giraffe, wildebeest, ostrich and crocodile, was raised on Hopcraft Ranch, outside Nairobi. Since the sale of wild game meat was banned in Kenya in 2004, the restaurant serves meat of domestic animals such as beef, pork, lamb, and chicken, as well as farmed ostrich and

crocodile meat Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include all extant member ...

. The meat is skewered on Maasai swords, cooked on coals, and served on cast-iron plates. It does have a vegetarian option. It ranked 47th on ''Restaurant'' magazine's "World's Best 50 Restaurants" list in 2003.

Simba Saloon

There is also a "Simba Saloon" night club on the premises with a capacity of 2,500, as well as an internet cafe, playground, and six bars. The restaurant holds concerts featuring local artists. International artists such as

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

, Tevin Campbell, T.O.K., and

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

have also performed there. Three people died in a stampede at the saloon in 2004. The restaurant is famous for themed nights that incorporate old skul, rock and soul nights to the merriment of many Kenyans.

Tamarind Group

Carnivore is owned by Martin Dunford of the Tamarind Group. It was opened in 1980 by Dunford, his wife, and a group of partners. Dunford opened Carnivore, inspired by the

Rodízio ''Rodízio'' (, ) is an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants where waiters bring a variety of foods repeatedly throughout the meal, until the customer signals that they have had enough. Traditionally, refers to ...

concept of Brazilian

churrascaria A ''churrascaria'' () is a place where meat is cooked in ''churrasco'' style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese word for "barbecue". ''Churrascaria'' cuisine is typically (but not always) served '' rodízio'' style, where roving ...

steak houses. The Tamarind Group operates Tamarind seafood restaurants in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and Nairobi. There are also similar restaurants name
Carnivore
owned by the same people, on the outskirts of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and in Cairo, Egypt.

Gallery

File:Carnivore restaurant.jpg, Inside the ''Carnivore'' File:Meat roasting at Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi.jpg, Meat roasting at ''Carnivore'' File:Carnivore Restaurant charcoal pit.jpg, Carnivore charcoal pit

References

External links