Best Restaurants In Lamu With An Affordable Prices

Discover The Best Restaurants In Lamu
Lamu is a tranquil island celebrated for its vibrant Swahili heritage, beautiful beaches, and historic allure. The absence of cars contributes to its distinctive, relaxed atmosphere, characterized by narrow streets, donkeys, and dhow boats.

Savor fresh seafood and traditional Swahili dishes at seaside eateries and charming local cafés. With options ranging from grilled lobster to coconut-flavored curries, Lamu offers a delightful culinary experience for food enthusiasts.

1. Majlis Restaurants
The Majlis Restaurant stands out as a central feature of the hotel, renowned for its distinctive architecture and superb cuisine, which includes International, Italian (specializing in seafood, pasta, wood-fired pizzas, and homemade ice cream), and Swahili dishes. It welcomes both hotel guests and visitors from outside.

Best Restaurants In Lamu

The restaurant’s ceiling rises to 14 meters and is constructed in the local style using casuarinas and mangrove poles, with long palm leaves (‘makuti’ in Swahili) as its covering. It features an open-plan veranda on the ground level and a terrace/bar on the first floor, offering breathtaking views of Ras Kitau bay.

As the premier dining spot in the Lamu archipelago, The Majlis Restaurant emphasizes the use of local products and fresh seasonal ingredients. They buy seafood every morning from local fishermen returning from their catches before heading to market. The restaurant’s menu artfully blends international dishes with high-quality local ingredients.

Best Restaurants In Lamu

Breakfast is served in the morning in the open dining area, where in-house guests can choose from an à-la-carte menu that offers fresh fruits, homemade breads and pastries, cereals, eggs, and a full English breakfast.

During lunch and dinner, the restaurant provides an à-la-carte menu featuring a variety of cold and warm starters, soups, pastas and risottos, fish, meat, vegetarian options, and desserts.

The offerings include vegetarian dishes, fresh seafood caught daily, wood-fired pizzas, and a diverse range of international cuisines. Additionally, we provide a romantic candlelit dining experience outdoors beneath the stars.
Contact number
+254 773 777 066
Fax
+254 20 712 3303

Best Restaurants In Lamu

2. Banana House Kitchen
The kitchen at Banana House is highly regarded! We offer a variety of exceptional seafood dishes each day, including ginger crab, barbecued snapper, tuna carpaccio, and delicious prawn curries, among others. We prioritize using only organic, fresh ingredients sourced from local farmers and fishermen, and we also maintain our own organic farm. Our food is crafted with great love and care. Additionally, our chefs have completed an Ayurvedic cooking course and excel in preparing tasty vegetarian meals. We invite our guests to join us in cooking and enhancing their culinary skills. Banana, who has a deep passion for cooking, may treat you to a delightful fish curry or tuna ceviche.
Contact number
+254 721 275538

Best Restaurants In Lamu

3. Blue Moon Bar
This is a funky new area in which to relax, have pre dinner drinks and watch the sunset with a bowl of plantain crisps.
With locally made sofas and low chairs to large comfortable bar stools, everywhere you look there is the perfect spot to chill out with one of Kombo’s famous Caphrinias and catch up on the day with pre dinner drinks. We have a fully stocked bar from Vodka to Tusker – the local lager served chilled – to white wine Spritzas and Bloody Marys brimming with ice. Fresh juices like tamarind or passion go down well in the heat of the day under the large thatched roof.
The stone bake pizza oven is a big hit. Fantastic wood baked pizza’s with a variety of ingredients are served on wooden boards with chili oil. Every Saturday Diamond has ‘Pizza and film night’ It’s a favored gathering spot for both locals and tourists. The seafood pizza is a standout favorite, as well as the Diamond topped with salami, mushrooms, olives, and onions.
Contact number
+254 720 915001

Best Restaurants In Lamu

4. Kijani Restaurants
We make our own bread and create marmalade and yogurt using fresh ingredients from our small island farm, which also supplies eggs and honey.
Guests can also enjoy dinner from our daily a la carte menu, featuring delectable pasta and freshly grilled fish.
Contact number
+254 725 545264
Mobile phone
+254 733 545264

5. Peponi Hotel Restaurant
The hotel features some amazing dining options on its premises. You can have lunch on the rooftop terrace, enjoy a meal under the stars, or opt for the more elegant dining room. Peponi’s renowned bar is a popular spot for both guests and residents of Shela village. Savor our signature cocktail, the “Old Pal,” or relax with a fresh juice on the veranda while watching the dhows pass by.
Contact number
+254 722 203082
Mobile phone
+254 703 790411

Best Restaurants In Lamu

6. Sea Front Cafe
Seafront Guesthouse features its own cafe, which offers some of the finest fresh fruit juices and Swahili-style seafood on Lamu Island.
Located right by the waterfront, our traditional cafe with a thatched ‘makuti’ roof provides a wonderful setting to enjoy Swahili cuisine while observing the lively surroundings.
You can watch boats arriving and departing, delivering passengers, goods, or even goats, as life in Lamu unfolds before you. You’ll see donkeys passing by, veiled women heading to the market, and men chatting, all while you relax under our cool thatched roof, enjoying refreshing fruit juices made from locally sourced tropical fruits.
The Seafront Cafe welcomes the public from breakfast until around 10 PM, but guests of the Seafront Guesthouse enjoy a complimentary breakfast each morning.
Contact number
+254 770 270350
Mobile phone
+254 728 711832

Best Restaurants In Lamu

7. Kizingo Restaurant
We come from a long lineage of food enthusiasts, and if you share our passion for dining, you’ll appreciate our fresh fish options like red snapper, crab, and lobster, all accompanied by locally sourced vegetables and salads, crafted by our chef Kanchora. Each morning, we bake our bread fresh in a clay oven. Our meals are served silver-style, complete with a starter, main course, and dessert. We’re also happy to accommodate special dietary needs, whether for vegetarians or meat lovers.

Your stay includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and afternoon tea. We offer a variety of wines from South Africa, Chile, and Italy. Be sure to ask Alex or Tom to prepare a Dawa or a Naughty Tom for a good night’s sleep
Contact number
+254 733 954770

Best Restaurants In Lamu

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8. Red Pepper House
The Red Pepper House, a luxurious boutique beach hotel on Lamu Island, offers guests a perfect blend of relaxation and indulgence. Just a short distance from the historic town of Lamu, it combines authentic African culture with a relaxed coastal atmosphere.
Lamu Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, lies within an archipelago off Kenya’s coast and has preserved centuries of Swahili heritage, thanks to its remote and pristine environment.

The Red Pepper House is ideally situated between a stunning beach and a captivating forest, providing visitors with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the beauty and diverse sounds of Africa.
Contact number
+254 721 230521
Mobile phone
+254 729 406582

9. Karkadeh Restaurant
At Karkadeh Restaurant, the dishes are prepared with attention to detail using locally sourced ingredients and fresh seafood, all while maintaining a healthy focus.
Contact number
+254 726 916686

Best Restaurants In Lamu

10. Diamond Beach Village Restaurant
The dining area of the restaurant is sheltered from the sun by large palm thatched umbrellas, offering a stunning view of the Indian Ocean.
Our skilled chef, Kazungu, creates a diverse menu that includes traditional Swahili dishes, classic Western meals, and vegetarian options.

For breakfast, you can’t miss the banana pancakes served with fruit salad and paired with fresh Kenyan coffee or chai tea made from local spices, or toast and eggs complemented by homemade papaya jam. Lamu’s hidden gem is its fresh seafood, featuring items like lobster, king prawns, mangrove crab, red snapper, tuna, squid, and more.
Each morning, the blackboard menu updates based on the local catch brought in by fishermen.

Best Restaurants In Lamu

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Red and white snapper often appears on the menu, simply pan-fried with a range of spices, served alongside coconut rice and local spinach. A popular lunchtime choice is the Diamond Beach Mangrove Crab sandwich, served with homemade tomato chutney. Our wood-fired pizza oven produces the best pizzas in the archipelago.
For dinner, you might enjoy tempura jumbo prawns with dips for starters, followed by yellow lentil dhal, barracuda steak with rice, and if you have room, a pineapple crumble with custard or a refreshing fruit salad for dessert.
Contact number
+254 720 915001