Okia Cafe

A few months ago, I chanced upon the page of a new Vietnamese cafe called Ôkia and made a mental note to check it out. A few days after that I saw that the proprietor of Măm Măm, the Vietnamese spot in Westlands, was also the proprietor of Ôkia Cafe and made an even more solid note to check it out because she had done such a great job at măm măm already.

Fast forward to last week, I was finally driving into 136 riverside (formerly office park) with some friends to have a late breakie at Ôkia Cafe, măm măm’s new sister restaurant.

Now if you’ve been to măm măm then you know how beautiful and vibrant it is, from the colourful furniture, to the art, to the fun crockery. Ôkia is equally just as stunning! I love how well she plays with colour and fun patterns to outfit the restaurant. She clearly knows a thing or two about design and interior design in particular (y’all know I’m a lover of interior design & decor so apologies if I geek out just a bit)…

Ôkia definitely gives more chill cafe vibes compared to the happy hour drinks vibes from măm măm. It’s cozy with seating both indoors and outdoors, and this was a Friday mid-morning and it didn’t feel too busy. As a Vietnamese spot, the menu will obviously highlight specialty Vietnamese coffee which is what we came for.

Here’s what we ordered: the cinnamon mocha latte (KSH500), the salt coffee (KSH400), the salty caramel coffee (hot-KSH450, iced-KSH550), salmon rolls (KSH950), vegetarian rolls (KSH550), chicken & mushroom ban mi (KSH1290), the beef & potato ban mi (KSH1290) and the Pandan Pistachio cake (KSH450).

Of the coffees, I enjoyed the salty caramel coffee the best, both hot and iced versions. It’s very well balanced. The cinnamon mocha was way too sweet for my already very prevalent sweet tooth and the salt coffee was too salty for me but my friends seemed to really like it.

The rolls are freshly wrapped in rice paper, the salmon one had grilled salmon, strips of cucumber, carrot and lettuce. The vegetarian one had grilled tofu, strips of mango, cucumber, carrot and lettuce and they both come with a peanut based dip so if you have a peanut allergy, just let them know beforehand. I liked the rolls, they made for a nice healthy snack.

The main course i.e. the deconstructed ban mi was a nice big plate filled with little slices of bread, small pockets of slaw, cucumbers, tomato and caramelised onions. There’s an egg made to your liking at the centre and a big serving of chicken and mushroom stir fry, all sitting on a hot serving of very tasty gravy.

That meal was so yummy! Very filling even if it wasn’t an original ban mi (a Vietnamese sandwich). I think I prefer this deconstructed version better. That plus coffee was enough to last me the day but by now you must know I gotta have something sweet thus the Pandan pistachio cake.

Pandan is a plant native to Southeast Asia, its leaves have a sweet, nutty taste that tastes like vanilla mixed with coconut so it’s commonly used to make pastries on that side of the world. I can see why because that cake was delicious! And I don’t even rate pistachio like that but that Pandan frosting is what won me over plus the cake itself being super moist and yummy.

Suffice it to say we had to force ourselves to run errands after such a filling meal because what we truly wanted was to obey the itis and take a nap 😅

Ôkia cafe is a great place to work from if you’re looking for a change of scenery. It makes for a great meeting spot for work meetings or otherwise and I feel it could also work well for casual coffee dates if you’re not ready for a super serious first date yet.

Ratings

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ambience: ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Halal: ❌

Menu

• nairobieats
• restaurant review
• okai cafe menu
• vietnamese coffee in nairobi
• nairobi coffee shops
• restaurants in riverside
• Vietnamese Food