Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Nairobi

Came across this place today while on a walk. It is located along Kijabe street next to Longonot place. Not the easiest of finds, but the decor, location and general atmosphere more than make up for it. I honestly thought I would love this place when I first stepped in, but am not quite there.

The seating area is huge both downstairs and upstairs. They can accommodate big groups as well as small intimate groups. The menu is mostly seafood and they have a wines list as well as a beverage menu. This is definitely not a place for those on a tight budget. The prices are fine dining prices without the fine dining. This seems to be a very annoying and worrying trend in Nairobi🙄🙄.

They have a host at the entrance who ushers you in and the manager is always making rounds. I did give her my feedback. That said, the service isn't great. They take too long to take your order, they don't ask whether you are allergic to something and advise accordingly. The menu does point out certain allergens, but not all. One unique thing about them is they give you the number of calories, proteins, fats in each dish. This is a plus👌🏾. They also have none dairy options at extra cost.

I ordered the avocado and crab salad. They did not have crab, so they replaced it with prawns. According to their menu, this is supposed to be: "A healthy, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, and fresh and tasty salad with avocado and steamed deep-sea crab." The prawns were deep fried and the dressing was mayonnaise. I think bringing a dressing on the side is a much better option that just having it in the dish. Personally, I hate mayonnaise. It never adds anything to a dish plus all the oil that goes into making mayonnaise is a recipe for a heart attack. They also don't have options for dressings to choose from. The avocado was unpeeled and it was set on top of the vegetables. Unpeeled avocado on raw vegetables that you are supposed to consume is a no no especially in a restaurant 😒😒. The portions are also laughable. A quarter avocado, a soup spoon of bite size prawns on a bed of a few leaves of lettuce and carrots the length of a skipping rope, drizzled with mayonnaise for KES 900🤨🤨🤨🤨. It is beyond ridiculous.

I also ordered an orange rabioso tea that included other herbs. This tea should be re-named "passion fruit tea' because that was the only flavour in the tea. Either the balance is wrong or someone is lying. It even had the colour and consistency of passion juice. It was also sweet which made me question whether a sweetener was added. It is not passion fruit season so there is no way that the passion fruit was naturally sweet. This falls under herbal teas in the menu, but something is a miss. The tea was tasty, but for someone who doesn't take sugar or sweetener in their drinks, I felt a certain way about it. I do appreciate that they light a candle underneath the pot which keeps the tea hot. Yes, it was hot passion fruit tea and it can be enjoyable. If you don't mind the sweetness, I would recommend it.

They had a saxophonist in the house. He did a good job. That said, if I lived or worked at Longonot place, I would be massively pissed. The music is honestly too loud. Kijabe Street is relatively a quiet street which only amplifies the noise. I could hear the music all the way at the Norfolk. Someone seriously needs to look into this.

They also don't serve breakfast which just so happens to be my favourite meal of the day.

I can see people on a date, intimate dinner enjoying this place sans the loud music. They have a seating area next to the pool and I suspect it looks magical in the evenings.

NB: Not sure how I feel about scanning the main menu. They give you the drinks menu and tell you to scan a QR code to get the main menu. Going through a well designed menu is part of the appeal in fine dining(and dressing up of course) and technically the use of gadgets at table is frowned upon when it comes to fine dining. They also give you a cleanex to wipe your hands as opposed to a hot towel.

An interesting find, but I would not...

Last night (11th September 2023), I had the misfortune of dining at Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant & Café situated at Longonot Place on Kijabe Street, Nairobi.

I must say that it was one of the most disappointing experiences I've had at a restaurant in a long time. From start to finish, everything seemed to go wrong, leaving me thoroughly unsatisfied.

We specifically made all the reservations in advance and communicated with the restaurant via Email to ensure that it would be a memorable experience as we were celebrating a Birthday. As such, we expected to experience an enjoyable evening.

First and foremost, the service was abysmal. The waitstaff was inattentive and it took an eternity just to get someone to acknowledge us and bring us menus. Throughout the meal, our server rarely checked on us, and when we requested something, it felt like an inconvenience to them.

We were seated outdoors where there was an abundance of mosquitos. We requested our waiter to bring us mosquito coils or spray. That request was completely ignored.

The quality of the food was equally underwhelming. The menu touted a variety of dishes, but they lacked flavor and creativity. The appetizers were bland and lacked seasoning, making them completely forgettable.

After the starters, we had to wait an additional hour and a half. At this stage, one of us had to walk over to the kitchen to request them to cancel our main course order as we were tired of waiting. Eventually, the main courses showed up. Each one was cold; overcooked, tasteless, and lacking in presentation. It felt like the chef had no passion for their craft, resulting in a lackluster dining experience.

To make matters worse, the prices were exorbitant for the subpar quality of food and service we received. I expected to pay a premium for a memorable dining experience, but what we got was far from that. It felt like a complete rip-off, and I left feeling cheated and unsatisfied.

Furthermore, upon voicing our displeasure to three separate staff members, one of them being a chef, there was a total lack of any initiative to try and rectify the situation. This combined with the lackluster service and mediocre food, made for an overall unenjoyable and extremely disappointing evening. We couldn’t wait to get out of there and didn’t even bother to find out how awful the desserts would have been.

In conclusion, I cannot recommend Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant & Café to anyone seeking a quality dining experience. The lackluster service, uninspiring food, and inflated prices make it a poor choice for a memorable meal.

Do not be fooled by their TripAdvisor reviews. Save your time and money by seeking out a more deserving establishment that values their customers and takes pride in their...

I went to this restaurant twice once for dinner on Saturday then again for early dinner on Sunday. I was a patron at the hotel apartment that is connected to it. Saturday was fabulous great service and a great meal..the staff was ultra professional and pleasant they were 5 stars..the food was very yummy and tasty

However went back on Sunday left a sour taste in my mouth..I entered and sat where I had the evening prior. A 2 top. The server explained the menu and the brunch option quite thoroughly. I chose the brunch option which consisted of 6 courses and the option for unlimited wine (sushi dumplings crab lobster squid pasta etc) food was delicious again and I had no room for dessert. Service was again spectacular I started the first course sushi and a gentlemen came to the table and asked me was someone sitting with me. He was dressed in shorts, white shirt and soiled gyms shoes. He looked like he had just finished a playing around outside I said excuse me? he said can you tell me who your server is I said i don't recall her name as I continued to look at him with a suspicious eye. Did he want to eat with me did he need a meal? What was he doing. And who the hell is he? As I kept an eye on him he approached another server and asked her was she the server for my table she told him. As he stood by my table he called out to my server across the dining room and said loudly when there is one at a table remove the place setting. He snatched up the place setting and walked away with it. I then realized he must work at the restaurant. besides being UNPROFESSIONAL WITH THE WORKER HE DID NOT INTRODUCE HISSELF AS THE MANAGER! Who does that? I continued to eat and watch him he went to another table with unclean hands and no gloves and proceeded to debone their fish tableside He wondered back toward me and asked how was the food. Still never introducing hisself The food was good the servers were fabulous but the manager needs some training. Extensive training. Who shows up to work in shorts, dirty gym shoes and an dinghy white shirt. The food was good but his behavior took this place from 5 stars to 4. Do better manager Matteo. It's just totally...