Wycliff Nduati works the room of his yellow- and orange-walled restaurant with the ease of an old habit. He flashes a smile at every customer who walks in the door and happily describes every dish on the Wycliff’s Kitchen menu to first-time diners.

“Everything is good,” he told two first-time diners, who ordered a round of beef-filled samosas, collard greens and fried fish.

The Kenyan restaurant lacks intimidation. No ingredient is cooked beyond recognition, and no dish is spicy (unless you order a side of house hot sauce).

The menu consists of honest, flavorful fare — food he grew up with while cooking in his father’s restaurant in Kenya.

Opening Wycliff’s Kitchen last summer was like coming home for Nduati, who left his native country in 2006 to earn an accounting degree from Franklin University. He opened the restaurant at the encouragement of friends who enjoyed the food he cooked.

So, Nduati struck a deal with the owners of Tikka Masala & Grill — the Indian restaurant formerly in a tiny strip mall off Cleveland Avenue on the Northeast Side — to feature a Kenyan menu alongside Indian offerings. The pop-up eatery proved so successful that Wycliff’s Kitchen is now the sole restaurant in the space.

Here, diners will find only Kenyan fare — beef and goat stews, whole fish, fried plantains and freshly made flatbread.

“We keep it real; we are authentic Kenyan food,” Nduati said. “People love it because it reminds them of home.”

His food is intensely flavorful with the spices of his native country — cardamom, coriander, cinnamon and clove.

“You don’t have to have tried Kenyan food before to love it,” he said.

Start with an order of samosas — fried pastries that resemble the Indian staple from the outside but are filled with fragrant ground beef, sauteed onions and cilantro. Next, try the karanga ng’o mbe (beef stewed with onions, tomatoes and cilantro); pilau (rice seasoned with Kenyan spices); sukuma wiki (collard greens with onions); and chapati (flatbread).

“Beef is a flagship meal here,” he said. “The flatbread . . . complements the whole meal.”

If you’re up for goat, try the karanga mbuzi — bone-in goat stewed until tender in Kenyan spices.

And if you aren’t sure what to order, just ask. Nduati will be happy to steer you in the right direction.

 Wycliff’s Kitchen

• 2492 Home Acre Dr.
• Contact: 614-772-3461, facebook/wycliffskitchen
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays

- The Columbus Dispatch