Mambo Italia

If you like to explore new restaurants/places like me, you must have heard of Mambo Italia especially if you live in Nairobi. Set on the rooftop of Lavington Curve, Their iconic location has been around for years now, and to date looks funky, fresh, and extremely welcoming. But in recent years, they’ve been expanding and are now open at both Garden City Mall and their latest location – Rivaan Centre in Brookside. Along with the new locations, they’ve also recently expanded their menu. Having heard good reviews about Mambo Italia we decided to do lunch. Mambo Italia has one entire half of the open-air, top deck of this boutique mall to themselves and they have made good use of the space. Shaded from the sometimes brutal Nairobi sun by lovely red canvassing is a kids’ sliding set, atop the sort of padding you encounter in most modern gyms. The restaurant has a generous sitting space ideal for medium to large-sized groups. There is plenty of options to choose from on the kids’ menu including the yummy kids Margherita pizza, Spaghetti with lamb meatballs, Fish goujons plus loads more! We were here during Pizza festive week and you bet we got value for every shilling we spent. Your kids will love playing with the puzzle and maze at the back of the kids’ menu as you wait for your food. Another few times we’ve been here was for lunch. At different times we’ve tried out different things, but in this review, I will be writing about their pizza and their new dessert menu that I LOVED! Thin crust is how I like my pizza and thin crust is how Mambo Italia serves it. The thing I really loved about Mambo Italia’s Pizza is how light and fresh the pizzas were, after eating them I didn’t feel like I just ate a whole loaf of highly processed bread. Plus It left me with some good room for dessert. Best of all the waiting staff was friendly, accommodating, and prompt with the service which made it an even better dining experience. For dessert, we tried one of their new servings, Vanilla soft serve ice cream served in a chocolate cone with chilli paw paw chutney. I know it sounds weird, but trust me you have to try this! The chilli paw paw is the stuff of dreams and I could just imagine it layered on a warm piece of toast with some melty cheddar! It’s sweet and spicy, and combined with the delicate sweetness of the soft serve and the hard cone – this was a really great dessert. Another winner is the cookie sandwich which is basically two soft, gooey, chocolatey cookies sandwiching a sphere of their homemade gelato (which is available in some very interesting flavours)! The cookie is basically perfect with just the right amount of give, chewiness and saccharinity. Well done Mambo Italia for bringing us a taste of Italy and would recommend you to dine with them at any of their branches. Lavington.

I love me some oven baked pizza that is incorporated with everything from scratch. You can taste the freshness and love that went into this pizza literally 😋 They have 3 branches: Westlands, Lavington and Garden city. I would say their locations are honestly not that convenient bcz you’ll need a bodaboda or cab. I frequent Westlands located on the ground floor of Rivaan centre on Muguga green Road off Brookside drive. They have such an extensive menu,some written in Italian words but thanks to their accommodating kind staff ..they will explain everything in great detail. Their operating hours are between 11.30- 9.30pm daily. They have such a beautiful interior space and I love the aesthetics…. it’s giving me train vibes, it’s like am on a safari . I also love that they are environment conscious by incorporating some recycled pieces. The prices are very pocket friendly considering what you’ll be getting is unique and out of this world. I have tried their: 1.BBQ pork pizza in large (1650/=). It has slow braised pork shoulder,mozzarella, house bbq sauce and Pineapple. Aki ni tamu sana and the toppings were generous 2. Chicken wings-with tame Buffalo sauce and BBQ sauce. 5 pieces for 600/= 10 pieces for 990/=. I really enjoyed these and I highly recommend..they really have a nice kick to them..such a banger!! If you find that you cant get the pizza you like from their menu, no worries, they have an option where you can build your own pizza. Regular is 450/= ad large 890/=. The prices of toppings varies depending on your preference and range between Ksh.100-590. They also sell DIY kits which you can make at home. Standard is 1090/= and Gluten-free is 1490/=. This place is perfect for all. I just wish they would have BOGOFs or offers.

I’ve been here a couple of times and every time I’m impressed. This Italian restaurant located in a garden city mall has a broad menu catering to different tastes. They even have a vegetarian selection. The ambiance is unique and has a rustic look and feel. We always reserve the outdoor sitting space. The staff here are very friendly. They’ll even guide you on what to eat if you ask. The last time here I got their grilled lamb skewers which were KES 790. My friends got to make their pizza plus chose all their toppings. We also got some cocktails which ranged from KES 690 to KES 900 and beer for KES 500. This place gets quite full during the weekends so I’d suggest reserving prior. We ended up paying a total of about KES 5680 which was quite fair for 3 people. There is ample parking on the site. Perfect for intimate dates.

Mambo Italia is an Italian restaurant that specializes in Italian cuisines mostly pastas and gourmet pizzas. They also have great salads too and are well known in Nairobi as one of the best places to order/ eat pizza. Mambo Italia has a Lavington, Westlands and Garden City branch. I have been to their Garden City and Lavington mall and the best part about both branches is the rustic theme and ample space both provide for the dining area. I specially love their Lavington Mall branch because of it’s marvellous view and the kids play area that makes the place a great spot for a family outing. The play area gives oke a chance to enjoy a chill outing with minimal disturbance from kids who can be quite jumpy and restless sometimes. The staff here are always friendly and helpful when it comes to choosing what to eat from their extensive menu… especially the pizzas which are sooo many to choose from. Their carnivore pizza and BBQ pizza is sooo good and must try. The best thing about their pizza is that it’s thin crusted which is my personal preference. Their large size carnivore pizza went for Ksh 1750 while their BBQ for went for 1650.l which I found pretty reasonable. They have a mini bar area inside their restaurant which has a huge wine collection to choose from. Their Lavington branch has a nice balcony sitting area with a nice view of the road and Lavington area. I’ve tried their pastas once when one of my friends ordered and it was actually really good but preffered the pizza better since I am generally not a fan of pastas.