Nairobi has had restaurants, and then it had Hard Rock Café, an international chain that took Kenya by storm when it opened shop in 1993 and not necessarily because it sported multiple TV screens or celebrity posters on walls dotted with musical instruments and personal memorabilia of famous musicians.
The signature of Hard Rock Café on Mezzanine 2 at Barclays Plaza along Loita Street was a 1962 pink Cadillac hanging from the ceiling from where it stared down at dates wolfing ‘crab in tangy cocktail sauce’ and later washed down with ‘Elton John Wig Raiser’ (Tequila, lime cordial and tonic on the rocks).
Hard Rock mesmerised Nairobians, not only with parking valet service, but also with a creative menu: Stevie Wonder’s Braille Soup (hot chilly soup served with banana chips. MC Hammer’s Kebab Rap (grilled lamb). Milli Vanilli Surprise (cashew nut ice cream floating on a pool of mango sauce). Or Kool & The Gang ‘temperature adjuster’!
Owned by former Alego MP and shipping magnate Edwin Yinda, and former Private Secretary to retired President Moi, Joshua Kulei, Hard Rock Nairobi followed in the tradition of this chain of musically themed restaurants founded by American Isaac Tigrett and Briton Peter Morton in 1971.
Hard Rock Nairobi - one of over 190 restaurants in 59 countries - closed shop in 1999 when a tenancy kerfuffle led to a 16-year court dispute!
