Popular coastal Sunday buffet

Sarova Whitesands is big, and they do everything big. One of Kenya’s first beach hotels, it can accommodate over a thousand guests, and its entrance and dining areas demonstrate this capacity. With tall stately ceilings, and Greek-style open walls, it is evocative of Greek or Mediterranean architecture. There is no need for air conditioning thanks to this elegant and practical open architecture. You are guaranteed to stay cool and enjoy the ocean view during all seasons of the year.

Once you are seated, everything is self-service aside from drinks. Due to the sheer scale, you have to strategise and plan your attack before you get up to serve yourself. Otherwise, you may get confused by the mountains of food laid out as far as the eye can see. These folks have buffet stations upon stations, behind stations, beyond stations and in opposite stations.

SWAHILI CORNER

You can see why the entire Mombasa middle class, local tourists from Nairobi and scores of Chinese converge here on Sunday evenings. It is hugely popular with families. The live band and lotus flower fishpond are just a couple of the attractions. They offer several types of international cuisine. I skipped the soup and went straight to their abundant salad station including a huge refrigerated sub-section.  They had everything from avocado salad to mixed olives to crisp lettuce and rocket leaves. I was impressed that they had such a wide selection of fresh salads here in Mombasa in spite of the difficulty of sourcing for fresh produce at the coast (most of it comes from central and eastern Kenya and Nairobi).

A highlight was the Swahili corner, including a live station where a coastal woman makes fresh chapattis. If you prefer naan, they have those too at the Indian food station. The second major highlight was the live Chinese food section. I enjoyed their stir-fried chicken with crunchy vegetables, and the stir-fried beef too. The Thai style chicken skewers from this section were a favourite with the kids – tenderised pieces of marinated chicken breast gently grilled and served on a single stick. Kids love anything on a stick – popsicles, lollipops, and this chicken. It was not spicy at all, but came with an optional peanut sauce dip.

I highly recommend the grilled sea fish. Eating fish in Mombasa is always a big win; you simply cannot compare the rich natural flavour and tender succulence of freshly caught fish with the fish served in Nairobi. A few veggies, some butter and a hint of seasoning was all this fish had, and it was enough to keep me going back for seconds and thirds. The dessert stations are another story in their own right. I have three words for you – eggless panna cotta. Creamy, light and sweet with a hint of Indian spice to balance the palate. Absolutely divine!

RATINGS

Service – 3.5/5

Food – 4/5

Ambiance- 4/5

Hygiene – 3.5/5

Family Friendly – 4/5

Value – 4.5