Pocket friendly, but need for healthy options

Tomoca Coffee

Two Rivers Mall, Limuru Road

I first learnt about Tomoca Coffee when I visited Addis Ababa...the cafe had a lot of positive reviews online and had several outlets around the city. Touted as the oldest cafe having first opened in 1953, the outlet I visited was trendy and had a lot of young people standing around, quite literally, because they had no seats hence patrons stood at cement tables chatting to friends and enjoying coffee which was still being brewed in vintage machines.

When I learnt late last year about Tomoca setting up an outlet at Two Rivers Mall, I was curious. Famed for an authentic coffee experience, this family-friendly cafe prides itself in marrying Ethiopian Coffee with the Italian technique, with signature coffees such as the Macchiato which was apparently introduced to the country by Italians. I’ve been to their Nairobi outlet twice already, mainly because the prices are so friendly and January has been quite the broke month for me.

The menu, printed on both sides of a single sheet, is very simple. You have the coffee section with Tomoca Spice, Cravate and Ethiopian Macchiato at Sh150 for a single and Sh190 for a double, coffees such as espresso and Americano all priced at Sh180 or Sh220 for a double, a non-coffee section with teas and juices, then you flip over for paninis and pastries. Both times I’ve been there, I’ve sat on the outdoor terrace looking out at the gp karting spot at the mall. There’s an indoor spot too. The service is always fast and friendly, and I always get the chocolate-orange brownie at Sh280; it’s served warm and deliciously gooey on the inside, with a rich chocolate taste and orange zest cutting through the sweetness.

I’ve always been a tad disappointed, though, at the lack of variety on the menu, there’s hardly anything to order if you’re trying to eat healthy. But perhaps I’ve just been spoilt by the various cafés in Nairobi that double up as restaurants that a traditional cafe that only does a couple of pastries and paninis catches me off guard. I’ve however loved that the bill on both occasions has hardly been Sh1,000, and that’s for two people.