Mama Rocks Gourmet Burgers

January 19, 2024

Mama Rocks hit the scene back in 2016 and I remember being very excited for proper gourmet burgers and the fun flavours to boot. They’ve made a name for themselves in the fast food scene starting from the original food truck at the Alchemist to expanding with branches in various parts of the city today.

There was a point in time that their standards had dropped significantly for me, I’m gonna say around 2019, so I stopped going there completely until now, three years later. Had dinner at the Kilimani branch a while back. I prefer this branch due to proximity to where I live, parking and comfort (they have such comfy couches!).

This particular branch is cute and cozy with a couple of booths that boast sunken pallet couches that can seat over five people very comfortably. They also have high tables running through the centre of the restaurant for those who want a more elevated seating.

Their menu has really grown over the years. I remember when they just had their signature burgers and now they have boutique burgers, pizzas, ribs and other extras as well. My favourite burger was always the Mango Maasai burger (KSH1,190/), because I love mangoes and that chilli mango mayo hits the spot every time! Now my ultimate go to is the Sweet Mother🤤

During this visit we tried the chicken strips (KSH600/), and three burgers: Sweet Mother (KSH1,290/), Souq It To Me (KSH1,190/) and Djubalicious (KSH1,150/). I also had their passion juice (KSH370/) which I love so much, it’s so fresh and so tart! I’ve had the chicken strips before and really liked them the last time I had them but this time, they weren’t really done well. The batter was way too much, there was barely any chicken in the actual strip… yeah these were not great. Maybe it was just a bad day for these because they usually are quite a tasty snack.

Now let’s talk about these burgers. The burgers come with fries and one sauce of your choice. Any extra sauce is charged at KSH50/. I’m gonna start with the one I liked the least - Djubalicious. This is one out of their two veggie burger options, it has a chickpea falafel patty, halloumi, grilled eggplant, rocket leaves, shata mayo and a Zanzibari chutney. All these ingredients sound so great but even with all this goodness assembled together, the burger still tasted extremely bland.

You can see how big that patty was from the picture below. I literally took one bite and I couldn’t fathom eating any more of it. Funny thing is the waiter said this is the popular of the two veggie burger options… wow, I guess we all have different taste buds.

Now the Souq It To Me burger wasn’t as disappointing. This is a lamb burger with grilled eggplant, dark fruit chutney, caramelised onions, rocket leaves and shata mayo - another nice combo. This burger was good but something distracted me a bit with the taste - and I think it was the eggplant. Eggplant is such an acquired taste and if your taste buds don’t agree with it they just don’t, you can’t force it. So I took out the eggplant and enjoyed the burger much better that way, rich in flavour and the caramelised onions added a nice kick to the lamb. The chutney may be a bit sweet for those who don’t like sweet things but that’s not me so y’all stay safe🙃

Now for the crème de la crème of burgers (this is just my opinion, I’m not saying the rest are trash lol). The Mother of them all - The Sweet Mother! This is a beef burger that is layered with bacon, cheddar cheese, pan fried rocket leaves, drizzled with only the brave hot sauce and their A1 sweet potato sauce. You guys know my must haves on a burger are bacon and cheese so they’ve already won me there. The combination of all these flavours results in a burst of yumminess in your mouth.

It’s the sweetness of the sweet potato sauce + the spice of the hot sauce paired with the crunch of the bacon + the creaminess of the cheese + the slight tartness of the rocket leaves and of course the perfect beef patty and that toasted bun for me… glorious! I had this burger a month ago and I can recall the taste so vividly as if I had it yesterday, it just goes to show how much I love it.

Of course after three burgers we had no room for dessert but they have a nice array of options for dessert + fun milkshakes too.

I have no complaints about the service, we had an attentive server and it was a weekday so the place wasn’t super packed. The restaurant is colourful, vibrant, giving off chill and fun vibes. They have events every other weekend and it’s a great place for happy hour or to escape traffic on a busy weekday given its location. It also makes for a nice chill date spot if you don’t wanna do something too fancy, the cozy couches are perfect for that itis cuddling😉 (keep it PG though, please don’t be kicked out).

Fun fact: Mama Rocks debut into the market resulted in my very first Forbes Africa article back in 2016 and I’m so glad they’re still in operation now and have grown so much since then.