Food and Watamu go hand in hand. The best restaurants in Watamu are gifted by the gods with an abundance of seafood: creek fed crabs, giant lobsters, prawns from the lake and fish that are hauled in from the ocean in nets every morning; tuna, snapper, squid and kingfish. Cooked baked on the grill or with Swahili inspired sauces and spices the menus are imbued with coastal influences. The Portuguese pili pili, the Indian chapatis, naans and curries, the Italians who brought pasta, pizza meats in creamy sauces. And of course local vegetables and dishes: Sukuma, goat meat, ugali and Mkate Mayai. The best times in Watamu are spent in restaurants and cafes cracking open crabs legs, devouring calamari, and trying out authentic Italian pizzas.

Here is my personally selected and tried list of the best restaurants in Watamu.

The best restaurants in Watamu

Best Watamu sundowners: The Crab Shack

The sun sets in the west and Mida Creek is one of the only places in Watamu where you can see that big ball of burning fire sink into the water. Run by the Dabasco Creek Conservation group, this (literally) hidden gem is found deep within the Mida Forest, perched above the creek on a series of raised boardwalks and platforms. The unusual structure allows the Watamu restaurant to sit above the tidal creek out beyond the mangroves. The Crab Shack Watamu is famed for its mouthwatering crab samosas which are filled with freshly caught crab and deep-fried to a golden crisp. We always go in the evening for a cold beer and a plate of samosas to watch the sunset. The restaurant offers a full seafood menu, try grilled lobster and crab, veggie curries, fresh salads and their Mnaazi drink. It’s a rustic place with incredible views across Mida Creek and a feeling of peacefulness and serenity.

Best Watamu fine dining restaurant: Hemingways

Hemingway’s domination of exclusive luxury five-star hotels in Kenya is complete with the recently renovated Hemingways Watamu. There are different dining options at Hemmingways, you can eat breakfast here or a light lunch, or just coffee and cake in the Gede Cafe, but it comes into its own in the even when fine dining with a candlelit view of the ocean ticks every romantic box in the book. A white linen service a la carte menu has an emphasis on quality ingredients. You will find Karoo lamb from South Africa, imported beef, locally caught seafood with inventive Swahili twists and an excellent wine list. This is the best and only option for traditional fine dining in Watamu. A place for dinner with friends or romantic proposals, not to bring the kids.

Best Watamu restaurant for kids: Ocean Sports

Ocean Sports Restaurant has a beachfront location and bohemian vibe that makes you want to spend the entire day on their sunny deck drinking chilled rose. Situated on Turtle Bay, the cool wind, and turquoise sea filled with bobbing fishing boats are the perfect complement to their excellent menu. Ocean Sports is a great place for the kids, steps lead from the deck to the beach where your littlies can build sandcastles or play in the sea under the watchful eye of their parents. They cater well for children with pizzas and huge plates of fish n chips or calamari. But it would be wrong to say this is a restaurant just for kids, its very definitely an adult restaurant too. Ocean Sports restaurant has the fabulous Ian’s bar where locals and hotel guests carouse into the early hours and the most chilled, relaxed beachside ambience that makes you feel that anyone of any age is welcome.

The menu consists of locally caught seafood and homegrown vegetables. The fresh crab is amazing, I have it every single time. Pizzas come from a wood-fired oven and are crispy perfection. There is a traditional Ocean Sports curry buffet every Sunday which has become a local institution. One of my favourite restaurants in Watamu to take a beat and spend a lazy afternoon.

Best authentic Italian Pizza: Hosteria Romana Watamu

Accompanied by my three kids, we have spent June 2020 on a personal quest to find the best pizza in Watamu. 

Although the pizza at the gorgeous seafront Vestia restaurant came in strong second (I love the slightly larger and crustier base) the less glamorous, but arguably more authentic, Hosteria Romana Watamu won out. Tucked away in the back streets of Watamu (favourably located next to a couple of excellent antique and curio shops) this is a tiny Watamu restaurant that packs a punch. Run by an Italian husband and wife team the pizzas come with a fluffy and light dough that is baked to a satisfying crisp. The pizzas are loaded with fresh ingredients and are one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had (as evidenced by our continuing return and my 5kg weight gain). Traditional Italian dishes pepper the menu as well as fresh seafood and luxuriant bowls of pasta.

Best Kenyan Cuisine: Swahili Café

Drive down the Gede Watam Road and Swahili Café announces its presence with its distinctive red and yellow banners fluttering in the wind. Although at first an unassuming place, you only have a to take a look at Trip Advisor reviews to realise that looks aren’t everything and the food at the Swahili Café is worth a visit. Swahili Café serves local food at good prices and although it caters to the tourist crowd it is visited by Kenyan locals, which is a good indicator of the quality and authenticness of its food. The menu includes traditional stews, Sukuma, kachumbari, goat soups and meat as well as some Italian foods. Service is friendly and attentive. Add Swahili Café to your list.

Best Watamu location: Papa Remo Restaurant

Papa Remo Restaurant Watamu is located right in the centre of my favourite beach in Watamu. Sit on the deck at Papa Remo beach restaurant and take in the cupcake-shaped coral islands with their emerald green icing. Then marvel at the golden sandbars of this protected cove with its shallow translucent pools and ivory sand that stretched the entire crescent-shaped beach. Papa Remo should be at the top of your list of restaurants in Watamu for its beachfront spot. Choose from 19 different options of Italian pizzas, fried seafood, home made pasta and icy cocktails in the epicentre of all this Indian Ocean gloriousness. Another great restaurant in Watamu for kids as they can easily run and play on the beach and at low tide, the water is safe enough even for tiny children to play alone. 

There are several different seating options: a sheltered spot inside, beachfront dining and even the option to have tables on the beach. 

Papa Remo is the one restaurant I visit every single time I come to Watamu. 

Best Watamu ice cream: Non Solo Gelato

For the uninitiated gelato and ice cream are the same thing but this is a grave mistruth. Gelato is lighter, airier, packed with flavour and perfected by Italians.. and no one has perfected the art of the gelato better than Andre of Non-Solo Gelato. Watamu residents proclaim it the best ice cream in Kenya and I’m not arguing. It’s so good they have set up a cafe in Nairobi now. The ice cream shop also serves spot on cappuccinos and those little pastries that Italians do equally well. A jewel, a gem, a gift.

Best place in Watamu for cocktails: Pilipan Restaurant

Bury your feed in the white sand, watch the sun set beyond the towering palms and gaze out over Prawn Lake while sipping a cocktail. Pilipan restaurant Watamu is a gorgeous open-air restaurant facing creekside, a simple place to eat with really good food. The cuisine is Asian fusion with an emphasis on seafood. The menu includes Singapore crab, a range of authentic Indian curries, calamari in Indonesian sambal and the best camembert samosas I’ve ever had. But it’s the cocktails that swing it for me: passion and ginger mojitos, margaritas, raspberry caipirinha and pili Pedros.   

Pilipan restaurant has nailed the dream combination of location, good food and excellent drinks.

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