Gipsy is is one of three bars and a restaurant located in the same building in the heart of Kenya’s capital city. This bar has a Spanish flair and an endless Sangria supply. Boxer Bar is for sports buffs, with plasma screens and more than 50 cocktails. The Crimson Lounge promotes itself as “Shisha pipes, Morocco, India, and a hint of Parisian chic” (Gipsybar.com). Finally, Barfly Restaurant takes itself seriously with prime meats and gourmet burgers.
For a fat Cuban cigar and a mojito in East Africa, go to Havana Bar in Westlands and take some swigs of what some call the best mojito in this region of Africa. A large expat crowd mixes with locals, especially on Thursday nights when there’s a DJ spinning. A full restaurant offers seafood, Kenyan specialties, and a buffet of cigars.
On the banks of Lake Victoria, this bar has a reputation for being inexpensive with delicious food. Specializing in sunset views with chilled wine and chicken avocado salads from the kitchen, it’s situated up the staircase from the Duke of Breeze Hotel. It also has an inside sports bar, the “Heineken Lounge,” with TVs and green stuff everywhere to represent its patron saint, Heineken beer.
About 20 kilometers north of Mombasa is the coastal town of Mtwapa, swarming with expats and famous for its hedonistic goings-on. Casuarina is the most packed joint around, and DJs spin ’80s hits until 11 p.m., when more African dance music (and apparently Rihanna galore) starts to play. Also famous for the old white man-letching-at-younger-Kenyan-woman kind of place, it’s definitely worth checking out, but be careful of those creepers!
In an unassuming shopping complex across the street from Nakumatt City Mall, that’s where Bob’s is. Under a series of tents in the parking lot, Bob’s is two large bars that also host an into-the-wee-hours dance club after midnight. Nicknamed the “Quench Bench,” It also features Kenya’s first “ice bar,” which looks like it means tons of air conditioning and cold drinks. Some say clubbing is better in Mombasa than Nairobi.
Nest is a rooftop bar located on the fourth floor of a Condé Nast hot-listed luxury hotel, and it has dawa flowing. Dawa is the cocktail you need to try when you go Kenya. Basically, it’s vodka, sugar, limes, ice, and honey, but crafted in a special way. Nest is an early closer, though. Have a few lemongrass martinis before venturing out to the other clubs in the city.
Said to be a popular nightlife spot for the large Indian population of Bamburi Beach in Mombasa, Il Covo is also a very Italian experience. Located on the shores of the Indian Ocean this family-style restaurant is reputed to have the best spaghetti in town. The upstairs is a dance club that looks like a living room in Sicily. The bar consists of a few beer refrigerators in the corner. Next to the fridges is the DJ booth, which churns out mostly techno and features a new local or international spinner every week.
They decided to go the literal route with this champagne bar, said to be the first of its kind in East Africa. That’s because they serve champagne and cocktails in giant fishbowls with straws at every table. Champagne & Fishbowls is located above the famous, trendy Seven restaurant. You’ll sip your cocktails out of a fishbowl. Some choices include De-fish-ency (a scuba dive into vodka, pineapple juice, and blue curaçao), or Seven’s Tsunami (Heineken and tequila, a beer margarita).
Pavement in Nairobi has been incredibly well received, perhaps because it has two bars serving a plethora of cocktails, beer, and shots. At this club located in Westlands, there are feature nights such as Thursday night salsa. On Friday nights the downstairs club is pumping.
Open 24-7, and located right in the center of Mombasa, this two-floor club has four bars and a separate cocktail lounge serving “exotic” selections and shooters. There’s also a TV lounge for sports watching and beer.
