Eating out: When pizza is so good you order it twice
A serving of nyama lovers pizza at Gede Pizzeria, Hemingways, Watamu. PHOTO| WENDY WATTA
What you need to know:
- Thin crust is large enough to be split between two people who were not ravenously hungry.
- The pizza is topped with smoked beef, pulled pork, herb grilled chicken, bacon and aged cheddar.
Gede Ruins, which I checked out on a recent visit to the coast, is a 600-year-old archaeological site.
Gede was a 12th Century Swahili village and was constructed from stone and coral, the same materials used to build Gede Pizzeria at Hemingways, said to be modelled after the ruins.
Architecture
The architectural details inside this eatery are uncanny. Whether you’re a history buff or not, there’s something quite charming about dining here.
The menu is simple and primarily offers a selection of pizza such as Swahili seafood (Sh1,300), Pesto, aubergine and mozzarella (Sh950), pepperoni (Sh950) and more. The Swahili seafood pizza sounded tempting, but I had been eating nothing but seafood since I got to the Coast and my palate now craved something different.
I would have even gone with a classic margherita, but we ultimately settled on one nyama lover pizza to share (Sh1,200).
Service here is very fast and the pizza arrived piping hot, straight off the traditional masonry oven.
Although you can dine al fresco, we sat at one of the tables inside. It’s an intimate space, and we were the only ones dining there at the time, likely due to the lunch rush at the resort’s main restaurant.
What I liked about this space is that there were no doors or windows, allowing for the afternoon breeze to flow in and out, and if you struggle with the heat and humidity at the Coast like I do, this space offers much welcome respite.
Pizza
The pizza was delicious. Thin crust, large enough to be split between two people who were not ravenously hungry, and topped with smoked beef, pulled pork, herb grilled chicken, bacon and aged cheddar. It was then slathered in a homemade barbecue sauce that had more sweet than savoury undertones. This pizza was so good that we had each cleared our half portion in under 10 minutes.
Later in the evening, having worked up an appetite, we rang up Gede Pizzeria and ordered in the nyama lover pizza again. It was so good we simply had to have it twice.
Whether you’re staying at this resort or not, if you’re ever in Watamu and want a pizza, swing by this spot.
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