I had the honor of attending Sunday Jazz Brunch at Lord Erroll this past Sunday. I was so excited to spend a beautiful sunny Sunday mid-morning with amazing company, listening to amazing live jazz while downing some brunch. There is something about brunch that makes it so inviting, so this was a chance I could not turn down. Lord Erroll is situated in the posh neighborhood of Runda. Knowing that alone, set the bar so high. It was known to just a small number of people, but over the past few weeks, it has gained popularity.
Did Lord Erroll live up to our expectations? Read on to find out. Here is a review of my time at Lord Erroll
Ambiance
When you hear that a restaurant is located in a posh area such as Runda, you already create a picture in your mind and expect the venue to look beautiful. Lord Erroll does indeed look beautiful. The venue has a strong colonial English feel; polished mahogany floors, large veranda going around the whole house which opens up to a lush and well manicured lawn. Several artworks by Kenyan artists are strewn all over the place, giving it a modern Kenyan feel. Other rooms, such as the bar had photographic memorabilia reminiscent of the 1930’s and gave that warm vintage feel. The mid-morning Nairobi sunshine only amplified the beauty of this venue. All this magnificence made me anticipate all that was to come our way for the rest of the day.
Service
The staff at Lord Erroll were kind, but sadly, very poorly trained. The staff did not seem to have thorough knowledge about what the menu was about or contained. Requesting for something such as salt (which I feel should be on each table) or tea to have together with your brunch took ages to be responded to. No butter or tea/coffee was presented to us until we desperately asked for some. Some people I dined with had to get what they needed for themselves since it seemed the staff were not bothered to tend to them. I found that unsettling.
Prices
The prices are quite affordable. Paying sh. 1800 for a full bunch is not too bad. The problem for me was I did not get value for the amount of money paid. I am big on receiving value for what I have paid for, regardless of price. This fell short. I felt for 1800 shillings or 1200 shillings, I should get at least something I will have my fill with, that is delicious or probably something unique that I cannot recreate at home. If you can make better at home, at a cost much lower, then there is a problem. The price paid for the food received did not match up.
Food
We had two options for welcoming drinks that were being offered. There was a bloody Mary and a sangria. The bloody Mary was not popular across the board since the flavor was considered too assertive, however the sangria was refreshing and befitting for a brunch. For starters, we had a fruit salad with greek yoghurt with lime and passion fruit drizzled on top. It was an ok starter and quite refreshing for a hot day, but it could be a lot better especially with introduction of more complex flavors.
The food took about 15-20 minutes for it to be brought to the table after you place your order. I ordered scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. The eggs are brought runny whether or not you want them that way or not. The salmon was very little and we were given 1/2 a slice of toast. Literally, half a slice of toast. Our food was too salty.
It did fall short of my expectations.The quantities had great variations in size despite being part of the same menu and same amount of money being paid for whatever you order. For example, the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon came in a kiddie portion, while the pancakes seemed to offer a more reasonable portion. The cinnamon pancakes were tasty, but forgettable. Besides the pancakes, I felt that presentation of the other meals was not taken into consideration.
For those who ordered the full English breakfast, their meal was grossly under seasoned. If you are serving food to someone, it has to look good especially for a restaurant. We eat with our eyes first! The plating was poor, so it couldn’t photograph well. But sadly, the taste was also poor. There was no redemption for this :((
All the excitement that had built up at the beginning just melted away. I was underwhelmed to say the least.
Final thoughts
The ambiance was amazing; very serene and warm. However, it takes more than great ambiance to make me a loyal customer, you know? Plenty of work needs to be done to raise the standards at Lord Erroll especially with regards to their service and food. We aired some of our grievances and we were informed that they are under different management and major changes shall be put in place. Would I go back to Lord Erroll now? Highly unlikely. But would I want to go back after the new management have made improvements? Absolutely!
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Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
Very honest review. And to be truthful, I fear restaurant reviews that sound too rosy only for me to go and experience the opposite. I hope they read this and improve on their weak points. it seems like a pretty place, I too would love to go there when they improve.
Hey Debbie,
The thing about reviews is, sometimes when a blogger goes, the service is good, but in reality its not that good. So a blogger will write according to their experience but other readers visit when they are not putting up a show. I hope in the future to make more accurate reviews so that you guys get the truest possible picture of how dining at a place actually is. As for Lord Erroll, at least they now know the areas they need to improve on and their strong points. If they do improve, they will be really really big!
My sis and i wanted to visit the place for dinner…but we found that it was CLOSED for the day…it was only 6pm.
I had this amazing perception of the place but after reading this, i realize that them closing did us good… real good. Haha.
Thanks for your honesty.
Best.
I also had a good perception. I enjoyed the feel of the place but after tasting the food and experiencing the service, my enthusiasm just deflated. Probably them getting new management is the best thing that could happen to them. I will keep an eye on them, probably after a few months they will improve. I deeply and truly hope that they do.
Thanks for this honest review Kaluhi. My gal pals went to Lord Errol this past Sunday (6th Feb) for Nairobi Restaurant Week. The service was terrible – they got menus on arrival at 1.30pm, their orders taken at 2pm. The food arrived at 4pm- and it was cold! For such a reputable institution it’s disappointing they would get several restaurant basics so wrong.
Restaurant BASICS!!!! To this day I am still actually shocked that such a reputable place can offer so little. I find that very sad! Getting your order 3 hours after is was placed is criminal! As I said, it takes more than good ambiance to keep me coming back for more.
wow! can’t believe what i just read, this place had amazing food and service. maybe the management change is affecting it, i love how it was always so homey and hidden.
I also cannot believe what I have just read! Good food and service! whoa! We must have gone on the day they decided to flip everything over :(. But you are the very first person I have heard saying something positive about Lord Erroll. Perhaps that’s a sign of hope…
I read Jaytakeapic’s review and when your photo I knew I had to come to your blog and read about it. But this is is horrible and it’s not the first time I am reading about Lord Erroll shitty service and bad food.
It is not the first time people are complaining. That’s a clear sign of poor service that has been there for the longest time. I am still wondering as I type this, why would I find it worth it to pay 1800 shillings for runny scrambled eggs and 1/2 a slice of toast? Heh! No, thank you!
Kaluhi your photos are off the chain, which camera do you use and if using a phone which model? Am considering doing photography. Thanks
Thank you so so much! I try deliver only the best! I use Nikon D3100. Since I am not a professional photographer, I started with the very basic DSLR camera. It took sometime to learn but the difference it visible.
They needed time and now most probably they have fully recovered
I hope so. It is such a lovely place and it is so sad seeing service and food bring it down. I will return there independently and I pray they have improved.