Carnivore Restaurant
 

I have just learned that the Carnivore Restaurant is no longer able to serve game meat.

They still serve crocodile, camel, ostrich and then normal beef, chicken, pork etc etc the same way.

The new government brought this law out as the local people were hunting game for food and were getting fined and at times
prison sentences for hunting of wildlife.

The locals then brought out the question of why can restaurants and farms "use" this type of meat for foreigners or the richer locals.

The government responded by not allowing any game to be cooked or sold in restaurants or shops.

Carnivore is still the same and just as good for what you pay but for now - no more Impala, Buffalo etc etc.

Let us hope that it will eventually help cut down on the bushmeat trade.

carnivore hasn't been serving game for well over a year, the trade of game meat in Kenya has been banned for a similar period of time.

Jan - When I was there in June, they only had camel, ostrich & crocodile as their 'game' meats.

You are right, it is a good move - I didn't feel as anything was missing from my experience, I just liked the atmoshphere - it was fun!

The crocodile was OK, same with ostrich, both of which I had had before - but I didn't care for the camel. I really liked the beef, pork and chicken they served best!

hi jan, my kws friend who is the communications officer told me they havent served that stuff in a few yrs.
they put a stop to it awhile ago.
see ya, D

Well, I won't miss them whether or not they serve it. We went there last September 2006, the one near/in Nairobi. Not that good in my opinion, I enjoyed every meal at the Norfolk Hotel more than the Carnivore. Carnivore costs about twice times as much and also a cab fare to get there.
regards - tom

So the ostrich, croc and camels are farmed?

I have had some very good ostrich fillets in Southern Africa.....never cared to try the Carnivore, though.

Hari

As a good alternative to Carnivore, there is a similalrly themed restauarant called Pampas on the Mombasa Road near the airport. Was good quality and can recommend it for those wanting something to eat before the late nuight flights back to Europe !

It may be completely different today, but when we went in 1990 I inquired about the game and was told by numerous people that all the games (zebra, the different antelope, etc.) were raised on private reserves for food.

It just doesn;t make any sence that they would be poaching for the Carnivore. They didn't and don't serve that exotic of meats.

To all intents and purposes it was farmed meat. I can't see the difference between eating Zebra and eating cow.... frankly.

But I do prefer the Pampas Grill at The Panari. Carnivore you (over) pay for the experience.

Pampas @ Panari is still expensive but about $7 cheaper than the Carnivore.

They were only serving croc, camel and ostrich when we stopped in and looked at the menu last year (didn't eat there), so I think it's been at least a year since they stopped serving other game meats.

Whether the game meat was farmed or not, I always thought that it created the appearance of a double standard.

i second Pumbavu - Carnivore's game meat originated in private farms

Nowadays, (unlike in the Old days) you cannot count anymore on poachers...
Imagine telling a hundred guests: <b> &quot;Sorry ladies &amp; gents - no food today- our house-poacher has been arrested/shot by the anti-poaching-unit patrol&quot; ... </b>

were at Carnivore in August. The camel, etc. were exotic enough for us! Camel tasted good but tough. Croc was ok but bony. We thought the ostrich was great, very tasty and not tough. Regular meats were very good. We thought was a worthwhile experience.

Kevin

Was there October 2005, no game meat.

Just the stuff everyone already mentioned. ostrich was OK only.

Probably would not push myself to go back there if I was in Nairobi again.

How do you tell the difference between poached and farmed game meat? If Carnivore sometimes, when they got a good offer, threw in some poached meat, they wouldn’t have advertised it.

My guess is that they wouldn't risk ruining their reputation to save a few $$$$. News of bad food and illegal practices travel very fast.

Why spread rumours and possibly hurt someone's business and put people out of work unless your 100% in the know.

Sherry, I think my “suspicion” is very obvious. I have no idea if Carnivore have done anything illegal, but they definitely could have with very little risk, and there's a grey zone between illegal and legal. Worse things are done all the time for a few $$$. I've probably posted unfair and unkind comments about much more innocent and vulnerable entities than the obligatory safari stop that's the Carnivore Restaurant. I googled to find out if I'm alone with &quot;not so nice&quot; comments about Carnivore - apart from “touristy and expensive” - and the only thing I could find was this – that’s NOT saying they’ve done anything illegal.
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=77064

I ate at the Carnivore the first time I was in Nairobi in April, 1996. When my wife and I were there this last July, I wanted to take her there even though I knew (from reading this forum) that the restaurant no longer served game meat. I had told her stories about my last meal there, so I thought that she should experience it for herself. We both enjoyed the atmosphere and we definitely got our money's worth of food (buffet restaurants rarely make money off of me). The food was great, although the zebra I ate the first time I was there was the most delicious meat that I have ever had in my life.

There seems to be a lot of bashing of the restaurant in this thread. I don't know the details -- and no one else who has written so far seems to know for sure what happened either -- but wouldn't it be possible that the game farms were the ones who bought the poached meat and then sold it to the Carnivore? But it's also possible that if that was true, the Carnivore might have known all along what was happening and just looked the other way.

Is there someone on this forum from Kenya who can give us the full story?

I suppose the trade in game meat came under a moratorium some time after this article.
http://www.nationaudio.com/News/East...103200313.html

Hi Nyamara,
I can understand your suspicions, however, the first article that you posted stated something like a restaurant such as Carnivore &quot;could&quot; use these practices. That, I feel is deceptive and misleading reporting.

The second article that you posted was dated 2003. Thus far, those from the area in question have stated on this thread that these practices are no longer tolerated.

As always, I would trust those on this forum who are familiar with these practices and the areas in general over the media. That's where my suspicions lay - right or wrong.
Most respectfully;
Sherry

Sherry, of course Carnivore bought the meat from landowners who were benefiting from the “cropping” as is stated in the IFAW article. It was “perfectly” legal though. But according to this article by journalist John Mbaria, who I can safely say is better informed than any Fodorites, it was not THAT perfectly legal.
http://www.nationaudio.com/News/East...310320033.html

I'm learning a lot from this thread.