Geco Cafe

January 26, 2024

Geco Cafe has grown so much from the little cafe it used to be. I remember I’d always go there and get something to eat as I wait for my car to get washed at the Geco car wash.

Now it’s a full blown gastropub and the home of live music in Nairobi. I’ve been to Geco multiple times from the little cafe days to present day where all the cool kids hang out now. I’ve loved seeing that transformation! With a bigger space comes a bigger vibe. Geco has an indoor and outdoor setup, feels very much like an outdoor bar and restaurant though with the majority of the space being outdoors.

The decor is vintage retro mixed with Afro hipster. You have your lounge chairs, you’ll get high tables with bar stools, you’ll randomly find a little carriage in the middle where I think a max of 3 people can fit in inside, you’ll find naked motorcycle seats surrounding a little table… It’s a nice eclectic mix and I like that about it.

Inside you’ll see paraffin lamp lanterns hanging from the ceiling against gunia (sackcloth) or fabric draping. The walls are plastered with wooden panels and a variety of guitars are lined up along the walls from the stage to the back of the restaurant just in case you didn’t know that this was a place for music.

There’s always music playing in the background throughout the day so already it’s quite an inviting space. The menu is quite varied, they have everything from breakfast to lunch and dinner. They have pasta and pizza selections, they have burgers & bitings, they even have a dessert section now… but what Geco is popularly known for - are their famous meat platters🤤

And that’s exactly what I was there for the last time I visited. I had another food date with a friend and we opted to have the platter for 2 (KSH3,700) which includes beef rum steak, slow cooked beef ribs, slow cooked beef hump, lamb shoulder chops, pork spare ribs, chicken drumsticks and camel sausages.

That’s quite a mouthful already. We didn’t really want the camel sausages so we asked if we can switch that for their also very popular fish fingers but our waitress said it’s not possible. So we opted to get fish fingers on the side and replace the camel sausages with pork sausages instead.

The fish fingers (KSH800) are 4 in total and come with either chips or a side salad. The side salad was so yum! I really asked for a second plate because I really did enjoy it. I think it’s because it had pineapple in it, I love a sweet salad. The fish fingers are flakey and fat and yummy so the 4 can be filling enough if you’re not starving.

I have to note that our waitress really had an attitude on this day and barely wanted to serve us. Due to this, everything was so slow, food service was slow, drinks service also slow, even getting the bill was a task.

Anyway, let me not digress so much. The platter finally came after lord knows how long… and even after the wait, it had items missing - it didn’t have the pork ribs and the sausages. Don’t get me wrong, the whole platter looked fantastic but why were there items missing? As she went to find out from the kitchen, we dug into what was already there. That beef was so soft, so sumptuous! All the beef items were grilled to perfection and little bits of fat on the side added so much flavour. I’m not the biggest lamb fan but even the lamb was tasty and that kuku choma - moist and juicy!

Once again after quite a long wait and after we’d gotten through more than half the platter, we finally got the sausages and the ribs😬 Those ribs were looking mad malnourished though… there was barely any meat on the bone yet y’all know how fleshy pork ribs usually are. That was disappointing, feels like we were being given whatever was left that they didn’t want to serve but had to because they possibly didn’t want to grill afresh🤷🏾‍♀️

The food was good and we were quite full even without said ribs but it would have been nice to get the full platter that is advertised.

I’ve also had pizza here before and I especially love the Geco’s favourite (KSH1,450), which has chicken, beef, bacon, olives and oregano😋

Food aside - Geco hosts a plethora of live shows almost every other day dubbed Tribe brewed sessions. Popular days include Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays even Sundays too if you’re feeling like a cheeky sundowner🍹 It gets very full very quickly though, so if you’re trying to catch a live act, get there early enough to secure a good spot! The day I was there Miss Fena decided to get on the mic and give us a little something which was really cool:)

The carwash being right there is also perfect for those who wanna escape traffic, get your car cleaned and catch a vibe solo or with friends. I just need them to work on their service a little bit more. The number of times I’ve been there in the past couple of months, service has been quite slow and that really takes away from the experience.

The Geco Tribe has grown so much that they have their own merch now from sweatshirts to hoodies to cups and wheel covers.

It’s a really dope place to catch up with friends, go on a chill night out if you’re not feeling the club or even for a date because it’s not too fussy. If you’re trying to go today - a flyer on what’s on the lineup tonight is in the gallery below. The show starts at 7pm!