Jumba Ruins Monsoons Restaurant Mombasa

Visit Jumba Ruins Monsoons Restaurant Mombasa for Freshest Seafood at a Beach Restaurant.Its a Real Paradise”

As a regular member of traveller to mombasa coastal area, I had learnt of Jumba Ruins Monsoons Restaurant before I flew to Mombasa and was looking forward to the experience ... it did not disappoint me.

Monsoon is located in Mtwapa, an half hour trip from the North Coast.

Once off the Malindi road, it's a 3-4km drive on a dirt road.

I was initially concerned with the road as I had a small dinky car but the drive was very comfortable. The restaurant is located by the Jumba ruins right at the beach.

Once you arrive, a Maasai host will greet you and walk you down past the ruins to the beach restaurant.

Other Restaurants and Fast Food Outlets

What greets you is a simple slice of heaven. It's a small thatched restaurant with around 5 tables. It was very cosy, informal and the beach was superb.

We were greeted by Atillio and his wife and informed him that we hadn't reserved. He said that wasn't a problem as he had space for the 5 of us.

We first walked on to the beach and took in the lovely deserted beach and salty air.

We then went and sat down by the grill where there were 2 tables for us to enjoy a few beers before our meal.

While sipping the lovely Pilsner beers and chilled Italian white wine, I observed the chef grilling very fresh seafood. While there a local fisherman came up with 2 live octopus.

How fantastic to see a place appreciate and utlize fresh seafood. Unlike the larger seafood restaurants in Mombasa (Tamarind, La Marina, etc...) this place will serve you only fresh seafood.

They focus on fresh, not on profit. You can see it happening before your eyes!

Once our meal was ready, they moved us to our table. Nice table and chairs simply dressed.

My crab starter with mayo was outstanding. I had seen the chef picking out the fresh crab meat and knew it was fresh. Mangrove crabs are some of the finest eating in the world and my starter did not disappoint.

Steamed crab, simply dressed in it's shell with a dollop of mayo. Sweet sweet seafood.

My only comment would be that they should make their own mayo.

I felt that the store bought mayo overpowered the delicate crab meat and masked the wonderful flavour.

My sister & wife shared a fresh garden salad with a simply dressing. It was delicious. Fresh crisp Kenyan vegetables, served simply. Nice.

For mains I had a grilled garlic butter lobster. It was exquisite.

See the photos! It was a fresh lobster as I had seen it a few minutes ago swimming in their tank. It was simply grilled and served with rice and seasonal vegetables.

One suggestion to them, serve some extra garlic butter on the side as it was delicious!

At most places you go to, they ask you to order lobster per 100gms. They do here as well, but they also offer a standard Ksh 2200 price for a grilled garlic butter lobster.

The size was massive and it certainly was the cheapest lobster I've ever eaten in Kenya.

It was around 750gms. It was perfectly grilled over charcoal and tasted of sheer heaven.

One of my friends ordered the grilled octopus and it was the most tender octopus I have EVER eaten. In fact, it was the same octopus that had been brought in by the fisherman earlier.

My sister (vegetarian) dined on a pasta with mushrooms dish ( as they did not have any ravioli) and it was very good. Just as good as you would get in any Italian restaurant. The same applied to my wife's pasta bolognaise. She doesn't eat seafood.

For desserts, we all had fantastic ice creams, home made gelati. Very nice.

All in all, the place is very simple, has good service and outstanding food. The setting is amazing and the entire experience is outstanding.

I would reocmmend you go for lunch as you can enjoy the beach and the views at the same time. If you're a vegetarian or a non seafood eater, don't worry, they will have something for you but remember, this place is all about seafood, so don't expect fancy dishes.

I would not call it the best restaurant in Mombasa as there are others that provide better service & décor, but it certainly is one of the best. Seafood wise, it is the best.

Last but not least, make sure you reserve a table. It's a small place and when it's full, you might be turned away.