3 Best Restaurants in Kenya

Floating about a mile off-shore, this traditional wooden dhow is laid back and rustic, with simple wooden furniture and woven floor mats, and it's the spot where you'll find locals and tourists downing cocktails and beers and dancing after hours. If you plan to go for lunch, the go-to meals here are fish/seafood and chips, but you can also find a few Kenyan staples, reflecting the owner's heritage. If you come in the evening, prepare to dance 'til late, and be sure to arrange for pick up or drop off with a speedboat taxi driver beforehand.

This space merges an art gallery featuring local and international artists with manicured green lawns complete with a water fountain, live music, and food. In the backyard is a coffee stand by Ethiopian brand, Tomoca coffee, and plenty of areas to sit where customers enjoy dishes like chicken satay or lamb chops with hasselback potatoes. The cocktails average $9 and are named after numbers like the Seven, which has pink gin, pink tonic, strawberry puree, lime and rose water. 

Near the fishing jetty, this stylish former Arab house built in the early 1900s is known as one of the best places in town for its fresh seafood. Try the marinated prawns wrapped in smoked sailfish, a Malindi specialty, or the red snapper with a champagne sauce. Dishes like sticky chicken wings or pepper steak will appeal to the carnivores.