Canopy Cafe

February 19, 2024

I visited Canopy Cafe this past weekend for brunch and I have lots of thoughts! The cafe is located in Ushuru Sacco Plaza, Kilimani.

The setup is very minimalist, with muted tones and scattered greenery. The space being quite large could do with maybe more greenery or some art work as the walls are bare making it feel emptier than it should be.

They have a limited menu, with brunch and lunch/dinner and a separate drinks menu. I usually go for chicken & waffles immediately but since I wanted to try more than just one thing, I decided to try their house waffle (KSH1050 - this is no longer on the menu), paired with their cloud coffee (KSH480). My friend had the tiramisu french toast (KSH1450) and we both shared the chicken tacos (KSH1350).

The waffle was good, not too doughy, not too thick, a good amount of berries - & a dollop of mascarpone… Now with the mascarpone is where I got worried - because isn’t it meant to be slightly thick? Not super liquid where it’s melting on the waffle? Or is that just me?

The cloud coffee is called a cloud coffee because of its appearance, and because it has quite a bit of whipped cream as well. It’s best taken iced to get the aesthetics right since they can’t use the bubble glass for the hot version. If you are lactose intolerant I suggest you take your lactose pills before sipping this and don’t be like me who just drank it raw and it really ran through my stomach… It was really yummy though.

The Tiramisu French toast was the best thing I tried and I don’t even like French toast, and the toast wasn’t super eggy yay! The bread was a nice thick slice yet soft on the inside and perfectly crispy on top. That paired with the espresso caramel sauce and berries! So good.

Last but not least - the chicken tacos with sesame sauce. The dish has 3 tacos filled with 3 fried chicken balls, some slaw, guacamole and a very flavourful sesame sauce. Yes I had mine without the guac - if you’re new here, I’m not the biggest fan of guacamole. The chicken to me was a bit too deep fried, I know it’s meant to be crispy but it tasted more of batter than the actual chicken. Everything together in said taco tasted great though, that sesame sauce adds a spicy kick to it.

The service was a bit slow despite having a few people there. There seemed to be only one waitress throughout my time there, I only noticed a second one come in as I was ready to leave and she was a lot more attentive than the last one. The manager was very hospitable, even with the slow service, she took on serving duties to help.

They have a bit of outside space which would be great for outdoor seating especially when the sun is out. Since the space is open and feels hollow, people’s voices echo a lot so it feels like you’re in a hall instead of a cafe. I think opening it up a bit to the outside will allow for sound to maybe flow better but that’s also if they’re able to use the outside area, maybe they’re restricted.

Canopy cafe is the sister restaurant to Mode Cafe that’s also in Kilimani - which explains the similarity in theme. My experience was good overall, it’s not amazing but not horrible either.