Floating Bar & Restaurant — Seafood / Casual, Lamu
The Floating Bar & Restaurant is barefoot, rickety, and full of fun and flavour — a unique establishment located in the sea between Manda and Shela islands that provides one of the most distinctive dining experiences in East Africa. The combination of the floating position, the Indian Ocean surrounding it on all sides, and the food and drinks that the kitchen produces creates conditions for a meal that is specifically and memorably Lamu.
The cooking is simple and direct: fresh seafood from the waters immediately surrounding the restaurant, prepared in the Swahili tradition with the spices and coconut milk that the Indian Ocean coast has been using for centuries. The rusticity of the setting is the point; the flavour of the food honours it.
The drinks programme is coastal and unpretentious: cold beer, fresh coconut water, and the rum cocktails that the Indian Ocean setting naturally demands.
The Floating Bar is the Lamu restaurant for those who want the most unconventional and memorable dining experience on the archipelago: barefoot on a floating platform in the Indian Ocean, surrounded by the island’s ancient dhow harbour.
Best Occasion: Birthday
Barefoot on a floating platform in the Indian Ocean between two islands: the Floating Bar provides a birthday dinner that is specifically and memorably unlike anything else on the East African coast.
Best Occasion: Solo Dining
Floating on the Indian Ocean between Manda and Shela, barefoot and eating fresh seafood: the Floating Bar is one of the most genuinely joyful solo dining experiences in Africa.