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.