Destination Weddings in Kilifi: Inside The Twisted Fig

Home to Beneath the Baobabs, one of Kenya’s biggest festivals, The Twisted Fig is no stranger to organising extravagant events. This same property that hosts a weekend for 5,000 people is also a wedding venue on the Kenya coast. One set up to handle everything from a small ceremony to a large celebration. As a destination wedding venue, the grounds are located on 50 acres of protected forestry, with hundred year old baobabs. Designed as a versatile, full-service venue, it offers couples a space to bring together music, art, cuisine, and community for a truly bespoke celebration. On-site catering and bar service mean couples don't need to bring in outside vendors for the basics. Let us tell you why the Twisted Fig is Kilifi's most perfect destination wedding venue on the Kenya coast.

The Scenery 

Located near Kilifi’s Takaungu Creek, The Twisted Fig is within a luscious green forest that you will adore looking back on your wedding pictures for years to come. With ancient baobabs, a deck set on the edge of a small valley, there is more than one location for you to pick for your ceremony. The venue contains three different stages meaning you’ll have no trouble finding a dining and dancing location you’ll adore. And our open air spaces mean that anywhere you pick you’ll be surrounded by the serene sounds of the forest and birds. This is the kind of setting couples searching for a coastal wedding venue in Kenya are looking for.

On-Site Bar and Catering

The Twisted Fig runs its own bar and kitchen on-site:

Bar service — a full bar team on the property, stocked and staffed, with no need to bring in outside vendors or coordinate separate alcohol licensing. Couples can build a drinks menu around what the bar already does well, or ask for something custom for the day.

Catering — our kitchen team that run the Twisted Fig everyday are equipped to cater for much larger events. The menus are shaped around what’s fresh and in season locally. The kitchen can do a sit-down dinner, a buffet, or grazing-style stations depending on the size and feel of the wedding.

Music and Sound, Handled On-Site

Running Beneath the Baobabs every year means The Twisted Fig already has the equipment and the crew to handle sound for a crowd far bigger than a wedding. The property has its own on-site studio and music team, so couples don't need to source a separate sound company or hope a rented PA system holds up for the night. That team can set up sound for the ceremony, the speeches, and the reception, and help plan the music for the dance floor after. We can work with a couple's own DJ or band, or help source one. Paired with a late-night license, it means the music is handled properly rather than pieced together last minute.

Experience With Weddings

The Twisted Fig has hosted weddings before and works directly with wedding planners to handle decor and event setup. Couples can bring their own planner and the venue will work around their vision, or lean on the venue's team if they'd rather have one point of contact handling the day. Either way, the goal is the same: couples get to be at their own wedding instead of managing it. It's this combination — scenery, sound, catering, and experience — that makes The Twisted Fig one of the most complete destination wedding venues on the Kenya coast.

Ready to start planning? Get in touch with The Twisted Fig to check availability and start planning your wedding.

Where to Eat in Kilifi: A Guide to the Town's Best Restaurants

Where to Eat in Kilifi: A Guide to the Town's Best Restaurants

Kilifi's food scene runs from floating creekside restaurants to garden bistros to local spots for a taste of the Kenyan coast. Here are places you don’t want to skip. 

The Twisted Fig

Set among centuries-old baobab trees within the Beneath the Baobabs festival grounds, The Twisted Fig is an al fresco garden dining destination. Serving garden-to-table dining with a menu that leans on what's fresh and in season. Expect dishes like a succulent lamb shank souvlaki or a perfected fish and chips served under the trees for lunch or by candlelight for dinner. The menu consists of hand crafted cocktails that you won’t find anywhere else. There's also an on-site greenhouse supplying part of the kitchen, and a suspension bridge from Kilifi Plantations that gives arriving guests a view over the forest canopy before they even reach the tables.

Distant Relatives

Distant Relatives is an eco-lodge and backpackers with a poolside garden restaurant. The kitchen serves appetizing breakfast dishes, coastal cuisine, wood-fired pizza, and seafood. The atmosphere is perfect for a laid back lazy day where you bask in the sun while waiting for your food to arrive. It is also one short walk away from accessing the creek where you can take a dip if you want to. 

Food Movement

Tucked inside the Kilifi Plantation, Food Movement is easy to miss and worth the detour. The kitchen focuses on organic, locally sourced dishes — tacos, salads, and fresh juices stand out — served in a tree-shaded, laid-back setting with a bar built into the base of a large tree. It doubles as a co-working spot during the day, so it's as much a place to linger as to eat.

Salty's on the Creek

Salty's on the Creek is Kilifi's floating restaurant, moored on the Mnarani Creek and reachable only by boat from the Old Ferry. The menu is built around seafood and vegetarian dishes with Japanese and Mediterranean influences, and the draw is as much the setting as the food — sunset over the water, with the whole restaurant swaying gently on the Creek.

Asian Kitchen

For something outside the usual seafood-and-grill rotation, The Asian Kitchen serves Asian and Korean dishes in Kilifi. It's an ideal option when the craving is for something different from the coastal staples. Based right by the ocean, you can dine in their open air spots with the ocean breeze passing through, or in the restaurant which is inside a Swahili castle. They serve fresh sushi, a range of dishes, a tasty matcha for your afternoon tea and a range of ice creams for dessert. 

Apache

The Kenyan coast has been influenced by both Indian and Arab traders who historically passed through, and the cuisine reflects it. Apache is a perfect local cafe with a huge menu with all the Kenyan and Swahili dishes at affordable prices, including vegan/vegetarian options. Affordable and tasty, this is a spot you don’t want to miss if you’re searching for an authentic feel of the Kenyan coast.