Restaurants in Northern Kenyan Coast

Watamu

If you've grown tired of the buffet spreads or simply want a change of scenery, head for Savannah (tel. 072/628-7637 or 072/184-5446; main courses Ksh500-Ksh1,000; Tues-Sat 4pm-midnight and Sun noon-midnight), where Mike Carr and Jackie Couch operate the best-loved restaurant in Watamu. It's geared toward families, with a games area, pool table, and dartboard, so you can spend a long, unhurried afternoon or evening here. The setting is very inviting, with sumptuous gardens and a laid-back, pub-style vibe. Start with the smoked sailfish, and follow with king prawns in brandy and chili sauce. There's also an excellent crab salad and plenty of comfort food -- burgers, fish and chips, pasta, steak, and chicken.

Malindi

Perhaps it's the abundance of Italians supposedly obsessed with excellent food, but Malindi has a disproportionate number of worthy places to eat. Top of everybody's list is The Old Man and the Sea (tel. 042/31-106), which is, in Malindi at least, almost as much of a classic as Hemingway's novel. Moorish arches and kikoi tablecloths set the scene, but it's the seafood, as you might suspect from the waterfront location -- it's right near the fishing boat dock and is where freshly caught game fish is weighed -- that'll make you a fan. Incidentally, it was this place that sparked Malindi's love affair with smoked sailfish, now a local specialty. Another decent choice (from the same owners) near the jetty is I Love Pizza (tel. 042/212-0672 or -0879), which is a lot better than it sounds and serves a lot more than just pasta and pizza. It's also right next door to another, even better, choice, Tangeri, Sea Front Road (tel. 042/212-0414), a Moroccan-theme restaurant with an Italian menu, hookah, and cappuccino-flavored shisha.

Baby Marrow, Silversands Road (tel. 073/380-1238), is widely exalted as the finest eatery in town, with a stunning lounge/bar in the garden adjacent the partially-open-to-the-elements restaurant. The atmosphere and cuisine are top-notch, even if the hostess is totally offputting. Try one of the seafood pasta dishes, served in the pan.

Driftwood Beach Club has a friendly, highly sociable vibe and a very eclectic menu -- it's also a great venue from which to watch the moon rising over the ocean. Start the evening at the bar, which feels like the beachside version of a bush pub, decorated with sturdy lengths of driftwood and spirit bottles arranged around the branches of a tree. They serve just about everything, from pizzas and pasta to quality seafood, including piripiri crab claws and the catch of the day, prepared to your taste.