The Floating Pub and Restaurant in Lamu Island is one of the few spots where tourists can drink because in the old town, there is no clubbing or having wild parties.
Located about one kilometre from Shela and Lamu towns, the bar offers locals and visitors a unique experience.
John Morage, 34, who cooks for guests at sea says you get to catch your own fish and he whips up a delicious meal that comes with lobsters and calamari.
A bar floats precariously deep in the waters for those who would love to drink whisky or beer on the Indian Ocean as they watch the sunset.
The Floating Pub and Restaurant in Lamu Island is one of the few spots where tourists can drink because in the old town, there is no clubbing or having wild parties.
Located about one kilometre from Shela and Lamu towns, the bar offers locals and visitors a unique experience.
“Lamu is a Muslim-dominated area and taking alcohol is not welcomed. So this is one of the few spots that sell beer and whisky with a view of the ocean,” says Fridah Njogu, the owner of the floating pub and restaurant.
Ms Njogu bought the pub, made from basic traditional makuti and coconut timber and lined with Swahili mats, from a Briton, Gerard Johnson. In 2007, Mr Johnson copied the architecture from India.
“It took quite some time to build the pontoon since Gerard had to travel to India and for local constructors in Kenya to conceptualise the architecture,” Mr Njogu says. When tourism was booming in Lamu, Mr Johnson used to make direct bookings from Europe for tourists who would come to drink at the floating bar.
However, in 2011 when Al-Shabaab abducted a French tourist at Ras Kitau, arrivals dropped leading to very few guests visiting the pub.
Two years later, he closed down the pub.
“He wanted to demolish the structure and build another in Kilifi or Mombasa or any other place outside Lamu where security was not a challenge. I was among the frequent visitors at the pub and because of the good experience I had had here, I asked him to sell the structure,” says Ms Njogu.
After months of renovations, the bar was reopened.
“ Since Lamu was not attracting many international tourists, I decided to focus more on local customers including the who-is-who within the county and other parts of the country. They now make up to 70 per cent of the Lamu Floating Bar clientele,” says Ms Njogu, who also organises birthday parties and dinners at sea.
Many of those coming into Lamu for festivals such as the annual Cultural Festival, Maulid, Food and Expo Festival among others always wind up at the floating bar.
John Morage, 34, who cooks for guests at sea says you get to catch your own fish and he whips up a delicious meal that comes with lobsters and calamari.
“We are attracting local tourists by preparing more local Swahili delicacies,” he says.
Karisa Dau Sirya, 60, who has worked at the pub for the past two years says ‘’I treat this place as a paradise.”
At the back of the bar, there is a place where you can sit and swing your feet in the water while watching the fish swim and at the same time view the sun as it goes down.
The Lamu Floating Bar, rivalling Tamarind in Mombasa, is a perfect getaway for visitors, especially the fun seekers in the midst of a culturally confined island.
