Pili Pili - Kigali

January 19, 2024

This is my second visit to Kigali after very many years and of course I had to hit up some restaurants. First up being - Pili Pili, quite a popular bar and restaurant in Kigali. It feels like more of a lounge than a full on sit down restaurant.

The first thing I noticed was the outdoor sitting area - there’s plenty of day beds, a vast pool (that no one was in) and it opens up to a fantastic view of the city of Kigali.

The menu is vast and the place is popular for their meat dishes and platters. Unfortunately, we only found this out after our visit here. As that was my first night in Kigali, I decided on a safe option and ordered a cheeseburger and my friend had the chicken burger. I also tried the Sambaza fish as a starter - these are basically deep fried sardines, so they’re a good portion and super filling. Really enjoyed these.

The cheese burger was so not great. In fact it was bad. They didn’t even let the cheese melt properly. The fries weren’t good either. That whole meal was a waste which is sad because I was really looking forward to a good meal here. The chicken burger was so large but also just there on the taste scale.

I was excited to have Fanta citrus again though, they need to bring it back into the market in Kenya. The service was okay, the DJ though was clearly not on shift that day because why did he play the same playlist on loop like three times??😮‍ It’s giving Kenyan DJs on a Friday night lol… He eventually realised he had it on repeat and switched to an amapiano set (which I’m sure he played on repeat as well but we had left after the first round).

So my resident Rwandans tell me that this place always has great food but from what we experienced, we weren’t willing to go back to try again. Maybe if I’m ever back in Kigali I’ll go back.

I enjoyed the ambience of this place so much though. So chill, so vibey, perfect for events, parties, dates, catchup with friends etc. It fits the bill for many things and I like that versatility. The views you guys! The views are worth me sitting there despite the meh food, I can see myself spending hours there reading or journaling or just bonding with friends. I’d go back for those views and to try their meat platters.