As you walk down the stone steps leading to the Trout Tree Restaurant, you are suddenly confronted by a gigantic fig tree.

The Trout Tree Restaurant sits on the banks of the River Burguret off the Kiganjo-Nanyuki road, on the foothills of Mount Kenya.

From the foot of the steps, a wooden walkway leads you to the dining area which consists of two levels of platforms cleverly constructed around a massive fig tree. The fig tree is considered sacred by the local Kikuyu community.

The restaurant’s seating arrangement is simple, with individual tables and rustic booths under canvas awnings. There are no walls, so guests have a 360-degree view of the forest scenery.

The menu is simple and based on different trout dishes, although recently there has been more tilapia than trout on offer. The waitress explained that the long dry season meant extremely low water levels in the streams of Mt Kenya, which affected the breeding of trout.

For starters, there is a cold smoked trout with horseradish and trout chowder, a type of creamy soup. Alternatively, one can opt for a vegetable salad, mozzarella and tomato salad, or avocado slices. The prices range between Ksh300 and Ksh600 ($3-$6).

For the main course, the trout platter for two comes well-laded with grilled trout filet, hot and cold smoked trout, a trout paté, trout sashimi, kebabs, salad and potatoes, all for Ksh3,600 ($40).

I ordered the char-grilled tilapia, which was fresh and delicious and served with your choice of potatoes and vegetables. They also have fish and chips and tilapia fish curry.

For those who would still prefer to eat red meat in a fish restaurant, the Cordon Bleu Laikipia beef fillet with mozzarella, ham and barbeque sauce sounds delectable. Or you can choose the beef fillet kebab sizzler.

Both the penne rigate pasta and the spaghetti gorgonzola with spinach, mushroom and blue cheese are vegetarian, and the pizzas are baked in a clay oven. The main courses are all served on wooden platters and range in price from Ksh950 to Ksh1,350 ($10-$15).

Naturally, the fish goes down well with a glass of chilled white wine but cocktails, juices and punch are available.

Since the restaurant is basically outdoors, the ambience is natural, with the sound of the river flowing and wind blowing through the lush vegetation giving a sense of serenity. The water of the river, which flows from Mt Kenya, is so cold that the restaurant cools its crates of beer directly in the river.

A smiling waitress returned with a basket of pre-lunch bread rolls. They were soft, spongy and still warm so a dab of butter melted straight away.

My most recent visit was for an early lunch and there were very few patrons, making for a peaceful dining experience and quick service. Trout Tree can get very busy, especially during the holidays, and suddenly the wait-staff become overwhelmed and rush about madly, forgetting orders and leading to long waits for food. After all these years, they don’t seem to have devised the right formula for smooth service delivery during peak periods.

For dessert, they offer cake and coffee and fruit salad. I always try to buy a few kilos of fresh trout to take home. Sadly, they had no fresh fish for sale due to the drought.

The restaurant is open daily until 4.30pm. Trout Tree is a unique and quirky restaurant that you will want to visit time and again.