Food & Drinks
Jib’s Cafe Bistro: Ideal pub for people seeking romance of the mountain
Friday July 14 2023
Everybody says nice things about Jib’s Cafe Bistro in Nanyuki. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK
Everybody says nice things about this place in Nanyuki. Early this week I met some cool Nanyuki cats there. One had a well-groomed beard, the other was tall and drove a rugged Land Rover 110 and the girl was a slim, whippy and hip sommelier.
Their average age — 30 — idealistic, courageous and wielding hope and beauty. They suggested we meet at Jib’s Cafe Bistro. Walk up, the first floor, which opens into a long balcony with lovely space.
I didn’t meet the owner, Jibran, but his wife, a lovely oriental lady, came to our table to say hello. The couple, I was told, is also in their early 30s.
When you walk into Jib’s you see why it’s hyped. The decor is seductive.
The menu was exciting— skewers, southeastern Asian plates, spicy bitings, gourmet burgers, pizzas, smoothies and cocktails, and steak.
Faced with an exciting menu, I simply revert to my boring self and order a burger. They should rename their Chicken burger to Jib’s Excellent Burger.
We held court at a big table on the balcony. The place hummed with lunchtime hubbub — cutlery against plates, laughter, waiters shuffling back and forth, someone saying, ‘Can I get a Mojito?” (That someone was me).
The three told us about how they relocated to Nanyuki and how wholesome their lives were— the intimacy of the community, the clarity of their lives, and the lack of cloud of angst that constantly hung over their lives in Nairobi.
“What about you,” Mr Lovely Beard turned to me, “are you ever going to move out of Nairobi?” I said I’ll abandon Nairobi at the drop of a hat.
“But not now, maybe in five or so years. But not to a small town like this where the Bohemians gather. The village. A place that hasn’t been corrupted by TikTok.”
Mellisa, the sommelier, chuckled; her facial bone structure resembled something from a Greek museum. Nanyuki is constantly changing and evolving, with new eateries like these sprouting up, attracting a legion of people seeking the romance of the mountain.
