Comfy, convivial...Nice.

This blogger enjoys his tipple, but he is not a connoisseur of fine liqueurs, wines or brandies. this blogger is partial to Heineken, Corona Extra, Pilsner and the almighty Absolut. Crucially, however, this blogger is very partial to a convivial atmosphere while imbibing, an atmosphere that has become rarer than civility on Nairobi's murderous roads. It is an atmosphere that can be found in very few establishments in Nairobi's increasingly Very Loud CBD: The Porterhouse in the KCS Building along Mama Ngina Street.

The patrons of this fine drinking-and-dining establishment are a cross-section of Nairobi's professional classes with a generous spread of age-groups, intellectual rigourousness and socio-economic standing, with the occasional unwelcome Loud Drunk. The fare is fairly priced. This blogger is happy to report that when you order a cold one, it is properly cold and manages to remain cold for longer than seems possible given the laws of thermodynamics. The staff (sorry, Kioko...my Thesaurus is currently being mauled by a colleague across the table) is personable, helpful and, rather surprisingly, constantly displaying a measure of probity that will put some of their patrons to shame; feel free to leave your laptop, smartphone, tablet, whatever on the counter as your teeter decorously towards the facilities, which are clean and well-served with water and tissue of so-so quality.

This blogger does not have the buccaneering and pioneering spirit of many of his peers; he wanders far shorter distances from his regular haunts and The Porterhouse has proven a convenient stop between this blogger's offices and the taxi rank. (Mututho has made life difficult for the drink-and-drive cohort.) But more than that is the generally welcoming and generous (up to a point) character of the patrons of The Porterhouse. Conversations are easily joined, hotly debated and intellectually dissected. It is the poor conversationalist who leaves The Porterhouse without having learned something new or having experienced an opinion other than, Yes Sir! The Porterhouse is a part of Nairobi history and this blogger is happy, quite happy, that the proprietor has not succumbed to the Fast Buck Bandwagon that seems to have turned every decent pub in the CBD into a den of iniquity for the corruption of the morals of the youth.

This blogger's colleagues have taken a poll and decided that this coming Valentine's Day they must redouble their efforts to ensure that there is a wedding in his future. Towards that end, they are determined (women lawyers are a sight to see when they set their mind to something) to ensure that this blogger's Friday ritual is interrupted by Cupid or Eros or whoever they Shanghai in this ill-fated, doomed project. For this blogger intends to wend his way to his favourite corner (in the extremely agreeable Smoking Section) and park his ample hindparts on one of The Porterhouse's tremendously comfy stools. And bar the success of one or two women lawyers of fierce reputations, that is indeed what shall come to pass.