Nairobi: A Gluten Free Guide

We have spent close to a month in and around Nairobi, in a mix of central neighbourhoods and the outskirts where we’re working for two months. We pop into the city regularly for appointments, shopping, and the occasional meal out, which means we have a pretty realistic picture of what eating gluten free here actually looks like.

The short version: we had a brilliant time and ate very well. Celiac disease is not widely understood in Nairobi, so you do need to go in with some knowledge of where to eat and shop. But once you have that, it is an enjoyable city to eat in. The food scene is varied, self-catering is easy and affordable, and the traditional Kenyan diet suits us better than most. I even made a chocolate fudge cake for my birthday, being celiac here is far from a hardship.

Key points for celiacs:

• Celiac disease is not widely known in Nairobi. In expat and tourist areas you will find restaurants with gluten free menu markings, but staff understanding of cross-contamination varies.
• Westlands and Kilimani have the best concentration of international restaurants with GF options. Karen is our favourite area of the city and also has a good restaurant scene worth exploring.
• Self-catering is easy. Supermarkets are plentiful, apartments are well-equipped, and grocery delivery is available.
• The traditional Kenyan diet is naturally celiac-friendly. Chapati and mandazi are the main wheat items to avoid, and both are easy to sidestep.
• Packaged pulses and lentils often carry no cross-contamination labelling. Buy fresh from a market where possible.

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Getting Around

Almost everything in Nairobi, including restaurants, cafés, and shops, is inside or attached to a mall. It feels odd at first, but it does mean that eating out tends to be straightforward once you know which malls are worth visiting. Uber is widely available and the easiest way to get around. Short walks are fine in quieter neighbourhoods, but keep your belongings close in busier areas.

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Eating Out

Most of the options below are in Westlands, which sits close to the UN offices and several embassies and has the best concentration of internationally-minded restaurants in the city. We also ate well in Parklands. For Karen, we did not eat at enough places to make personal recommendations, but Find Me Gluten Free is a good place to look for current options before you visit. I like to check menus directly before I go anywhere.

Beit é Selam | Westlands

An Ethiopian and East African restaurant, and one of the more interesting places we visited in Nairobi. The menu has gluten free symbols throughout, which makes navigating it much easier than most places in the city. There is a lot on there, starters, mains, desserts, and a good amount of it is marked GF, including the Flourless Chocolate Cake if you make it that far.

We went for olives and cocktails on our visit, and both were delicious. Watching the other dishes come out, gave us serious food envy. It is on the pricier side for Nairobi, but worth it for an evening out.

Fonda’s Taqueria | Westlands, Sarit Centre (2nd floor, rooftop)

A Mexican restaurant on the rooftop of Sarit Centre, and one of the best meals we had in Nairobi. The taco shells are gluten free, and a lot on the menu is naturally gluten free.

We went for a variety of meat tacos, rice and beans and left completely stuffed.

Nairobi Street Kitchen | Westlands, Mpaka Road

A collection of food vendors operating under one roof, each with their own menu. Several of them mark gluten free options. Buttrd Buns, the burger counter, uses potato buns, so most of their burgers are naturally gluten free. Si Señor, the Mexican vendor, also has GF markings on the menu. Fire n Dough (pizza) says it does gluten free bases but I’d probably give it a miss due to cross contamination risks.

It is a fun, casual place, good for when you want to eat different things.

Chowpaty | Parklands

A vegetarian Indian chain, and one of our favourite discoveries in Nairobi. Prices are very reasonable, the menu is largely naturally gluten free, and the staff were very helpful and had an awareness of gluten free food. Our waitress ran through the menu with us, suggested dishes, and checked with the kitchen without us even asking. When I mentioned I also had a dairy allergy, they made sure nothing was prepared with dairy or ghee, including the dosa, where ghee is typically standard.

We had the masala dosa and a mushroom tawa, and both were excellent. Idli and rice dishes are also on the menu. For the price, the food quality and level of care here is hard to beat.

HomeChef Gluten-Free Bakery & Café | Westlands

A dedicated gluten free and dairy free bakery and café. They do gluten free chapatis, croissants, and bread. After weeks of watching everyone else eat chapati, it was amazing to finally taste one. They are also on Uber Eats if you cannot get across the city in person.

Hero | Village Market, Westlands

A Japanese restaurant worth visiting if you are after sushi. The Find Me Gluten Free listing for gluten free soy sauce was not accurate when we visited, we were limited to only a few dishes between us. We went in with pretty high expectations and we were slightly disappointed. That said, we ate safely there and left happy.

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Supermarkets & Shopping

Self-catering in Nairobi is easy and the quality is high. There are multiple supermarket chains across the city, plus grocery delivery if you are staying somewhere central.

Naivas was our favourite for day-to-day shopping. Good value, well-stocked, and everywhere. No dedicated gluten free section, but all the basics are there.

Quickmart is similar and useful for everyday staples, but as above, no dedicated GF products.

Carrefour is the best of the main chains for specific gluten free items. We found gluten free flour there, and pasta.

Greenspoon is an online grocery delivery service with a dedicated gluten free section. They stock gluten free bread and dairy free cheese, and delivery across Nairobi is straightforward. We used them a couple of times.

There is also a health food shop inside Village Market called Healthy U that stocks imported gluten free products. It is very well-stocked and very expensive. We did not buy anything, but it is there if you need it. They also have an online store and a few other locations in Nairobi.

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A Note on Beer

Hopsmith is marketed as a gluten free beer and easily found in Nairobi. It is brewed from barley and uses a process to reduce gluten levels, putting it in the same category as other gluten-removed beers, much like the ones we have in Europe. We made the mistake of thinking it was safe for us to drink, and reacted pretty badly to it.

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Where to Stay

Apartments are much more readily available than hotels in Nairobi, and we would recommend them to anyone, celiac or not. Airbnb and Booking.com both have a large number of clean, well-equipped places with proper kitchens, and many have pools, gyms, or play areas, great if you are travelling with children.

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Practical Tips

• English is widely spoken across Nairobi. A few words of Swahili will always be well received.
• Use Uber for getting around. It is reliable and takes the stress out of navigation.
• Keep your belongings close, particularly in busy areas.

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Conclusions

Nairobi is a city we loved, and eating gluten free here was much easier than we expected. The key is knowing where to shop and which restaurants to head for. Between Westlands, Kilimani, and Karen, there is plenty to explore, and between Carrefour, Greenspoon, and the city’s abundant fresh produce, cooking for yourself is a pleasure. We ate very well here and would go back without hesitation.

For a full gluten free guide to Kenya, see our dedicated separate article here.