Food & Cuisine in Mombasa
Food info sections | Eating locally
While you tour Kenya and visit its many tourist sites, you can soak in the local culture by sampling its fabled cuisine in the numerous restaurants and bars that dot the country. Kenyan cuisine is a melange of several food cultures - you have the traditional African dishes including the tribal delicacies, and you can also witness the influence of Arabian and European cuisines. The various communities that constitute the cultural diversity of the land contribute their unique skills to the gourmet delight that is Kenyan cuisine.
Mombasa is legendary for its fresh seafood with lobster, crab and fish as the usual favourite items on most menus.
This Mombasa Restaurants Guide lists some of the dining options available to you during your visit. General information about the cuisine in Kenya can be found by going to our Kenya Restaurants Guide. As well, don't forget to check out some of the souvenirs and other items available to purchase in some of the Mombasa shopping areas.
Food & Cuisine in Mombasa
The staple food of Kenya is maize and cereal-based (millet and sorghum), and is enriched with meat and vegetables. Ugali is the famous national dish and nyama choma (barbequed meat) also ranks high on the list of all-time favourite food of the locals. Bread, beef, goat, chicken and fish also form a part of the Kenyan diet. Vegetable curries are also immensely popular with potatoes being a perennial favourite. Chicken Tikka and Kuku Na Nazi are popular chicken-based dishes as is the fish delight, Mtuza Wa Samaki. Maharagwe, a dish with red beans, coconut milk and pepper sauce is a traditional dish much preferred by the locals. On festive occasions, Pilau rice with beef stew is the preferred choice for the locals. Tourists usually love the Sukuma Wiki, a Kenyan speciality made of collard greens.
Fresh fruits and salads form part of the food and cuisine in Kenya. Avocado and papaya are regular favourites that blend well with any kind of cuisine on offer. In the rural areas, roasted corn is another preferred meal choice. Of course Mandaazi, a sweet concoction of fried pancakes made of flour and eggs remains the most-loved dessert of choice for all Kenyans.
Mombasa offers a wide spectrum of dining choices, from fine dining speciality Mombasa restaurants, regular cafés or bistros to takeout joints. As a multicultural society, Kenya offers a variety of local and international cuisine for the gourmet. So while you do have Mombasa restaurants offering Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Italian cuisine, you are urged to taste the distinctive Swahili cuisine, infused with the local flavour and often laced with spices, especially the Coastal dishes.
The Kenya Utalii College holds a one-day food festival called the "Uhondo Africa" every July. The culinary delights of every participating country are on display, including the authentic dishes from every region of Kenya. This festival is open to the public and is a huge favourite with its visitors.
Apart from these conventional food exhibitions, Kenyan restaurants hold regular food festivals dedicated to showcasing the culinary delights of a particular region - local or international. These restaurants often tie up with major public and private organisations to organise these food festivals, which are extremely popular with the discerning local and touring food lovers.
Drinks in Mombasa
Kenyan coffee, the main export product of the country, is world-renowned for its flavour; surprisingly, many Mombasa hotels serve only instant coffee. Another favourite beverage is tea or chai which is available in many forms and flavours. Tea also constitutes a key export item for Kenya.
The national beer brand is Tusker, a brew much in demand with the locals and the tourists who carry home the standard Tusker t-shirt as a souvenir. As most beverages, including beer and soft drinks are served at room temperature (with Kenya experiencing a tropical climate through the year, the temperature is generally warm), do make a note to ask for your beverages to be served cold. While Kenya is not really known for its wine or liquor, the rum that is produced locally is quite popular.
