What's Covered in This Article
The place
I recently found a unique and special dining experience at Nairobi’s Pallet Café in Lavington.
What made my experience extra special is that the cafe not only catered to my taste buds but that all my orders, requests, and gratitude fell on deaf ears… literally…
At Pallet Cafe, the staff talk with their hands and hear with their eyes.
They are deaf.
In an effort to promote the training and employment of differently abled persons, the Cafe hires deaf staff; a first for Kenya.
Being an unapologetic lover of food and avid student of the Kenya Sign Language, I HAD to try out this new restaurant.
And not to worry if you can’t sign a word of KSL. You will still have a great time. Plus it’ll be an opportunity to learn one or two signs… you know..
The front page of the menu has sort of a “cheat sheet,” with pictures of the signs, which you can use to order hot drinks such as hot chocolate and coffees. But if all else fails, just point what you’d like to have and the wait staff will write down your order to confirm.
The location
Along James Gichuru Road, directly opposite Lavington Shopping mall on the other side of the road.
The space
Opened in early 2019, Pallet features a stylish, green, outdoor setting with views of a garden and kitchen area.
The aesthetics are quite simple with quirky stuff such as glass wind chimes, used bottles, used car tyres, soda bottle planters with live flowers, etc. hanging down from the translucent roof shed giving the cafe a rustic vibe. The cafe is also fronted with seats and tables made of wood, cut metal containers, and recycled sewing machines.
Together withmy squad – Eddie and Hellen – we visited visiting on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The frog-design
Thercoal burners offered to us were a grand gesture.
The atmosphere is quite serene hence the numerous patrons visibly using the cafe as a work station.
The Service
The service was impeccable and our waiter Boniface was extremely attentive and patient, and he made us feel very welcome! As soon as we walked in through the entrance of the cafe, he greeted us warmly and allowed us to pick our preferred table.
Boniface was positively surprised that we responded in sign language.
He was super attentive throughout our visit.
We felt more gratitude for the opportunity to learn some new words in Kenya sign language while we were.
The Food
Both the drinks and food menus are pretty large and there’s almost something for everyone.
Watch out for the special of the day. On this day it was fish burger and home cooked fries.
Eddie and I ordered smoked salmon on a bed of avocado and lettuce accompanied with garlic fries. Hellen ordered chicken wings and home fries. We all enjoyed our meals and it was all sooo delicious.
For dessert, I decided to skip and have a hot chocolate instead. Hellen ate ice cream while Eddie skipped dessert all together 🙂
Generally,
Highlights
The unique concept and the overall ambiance of the place.
Speaking with the owner Farhad and just hearing his passion and vision for the cafe. Though not deaf, he understood that deaf people, just like everyone else, would appreciate dignified employment opportunities, and did something about it. This challenged me.
Watching the staff successfully interact with patrons who had no or limited sign language skills was also a highlight for me. It however brought to the fore, for me, how challenging it is for the deaf and all others who are differently-abled to dine out at out at standard restaurants and access services in Kenya such as banking, treatment, transport, etc.
Verdict
Drinks: 9/10 — Food: 7/10 — Value: 8/10 — Service: 9/10 — Ambiance/Décor: 9/10
Although my initial motivation for visiting Pallet was mostly for the experience and opportunity to practice my Kenya sign language skills, the overall experience turned out to be quite memorable.
It was a fun, unique, and filling way to practice my Kenya sign Language Skills.
I will definitely be back…
Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right. #deafcan
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