Bamba

March 6, 2024

Bamba is located on Amboseli road in Lavington but can be a bit tricky to find because the sign is quite hidden, they need bigger signage. The restaurant itself is set up quite nicely, it’s a semi-outdoor space with plenty of seating space either at the bar or the main dining space.

I came here for dinner with a friend and even though the place was empty at about 6pm, we were informed that all the tables were reserved and we’d have to dine at the bar so it’s quite a popular place. Make reservations beforehand.

The decor is a mix between industrial and tropical vibes with hints of middle eastern touches here and there given it’s a Lebanese inspired eatery. Even their bathroom is beautifully done - I want those sinks in my house!

I thought I’d hate sitting at the bar but I quite enjoyed it actually. You get to dine in a more casual setup and also people watch at the same time😉 Plus you have direct access to the bartender so all your drinks come first.

The menu is quite minimal, they focus mostly on tapas style dishes, grilled dishes and pizzas. I found the appetisers to be quite steeply priced in my opinion but I think as a city we’re getting to that New York level pricing point where starters are by default KSH1000 and up. I need this economy to start acting right please.

For starters we ordered the fire roasted mushrooms (KSH850) and the dips trio (KSH1250) which is a dish of 3 different types of hummus dips accompanied by lavash bread. For the mains we had the Shish Tawooq (KSH1050) and the Shokaf (KSH1350). And for dessert - we got the pineapple puffs (KSH750).

The Mushroom starter was quite a small portion and also quite salty but not bad. The yoghurt it comes with helps balance the saltiness.

The Shish Tawooq is a chicken dish; grilled cubed chicken thighs with pickled veggies, paired with a garlic sauce and lavash bread. That chicken was bursting with flavour! Those thighs were marinated and grilled to perfection. I wasn’t a big fan of the garlic sauce, I preferred the tzatziki sauce from the Shokaf dish, as a better dip for the chicken.

The Shokaf is a beef dish - marinated beef tenderloin cubes paired with yoghurt tzatziki sauce and lavash bread. So so good! The beef was so tender, rich in aromatic flavours and the pickled veggies added a nice tartness to the meal.

All these dishes tasted so great, their marination game is on point kabisa. My only problem is - I wasn’t full🥲 The portions are quite small, especially for the price point, I kind of wish I had ordered pizza instead because bread and cheese will always fill you up. I hear nothing but great things about their pizzas so that will be my next try when I go back there.

Before I forget about the dessert, those pineapple puffs were perfect! They are basically little round jam filled mandazis paired with ashta cream. So yummy! The jam is pineapple rum jam which is exquisite and they are coated with powdered sugar on top to add a bit of pizzazz to the dish😊 As a sweet tooth, I really enjoyed that dessert and definitely recommend it. All I needed was some tea to wash it down with and I’d have been the happiest camper. I can’t speak about the drinks so much but I’ve only heard great things about the cocktails here so that’s a plus.

The ambience of the place is very chill, nice and relaxed. Music is always playing in the background and it’s not annoyingly loud, the place filled up pretty quickly after we’d been there for about an hour. The service wasn’t bad either - the place was busy but we didn’t wait around to be attended to for too long.

They have live bands on Sundays for the music lovers and it feels like a nice place for a post work hangout, dinner dates or just a drinks catchup. They have a brunch menu as well and the vibes here are great for brunch or lunch plans too.

For a fairly new restaurant, they’re not doing too badly I must say.