If I had to describe Nyama Mama's ambience, they would be 'fun' and 'comfortable'. It's got an eclectic, colourful, modern-African vibe that also translates to their food and drinks.
A Sunday night dinner location was needed, and we settled upon Nyama Mama. It was also the perfect time for a review - although this one wasn't as in depth, so I do plan to return.
While I do love their cocktails, this particular evening I opted for the fresh mint tea. It was lovely and comforting, and definitely fit the vibe of the night.
For starters, we decided to share a plate of the ugali fries. At this point, some of y'all's eyes are probably popping out of your heads. UGALI FRIES?? Yes, I can hear your thoughts. However, do give these a try without any prior conceptions of what you may be expecting! They're a nice, crispy starter, soft on the inside, and almost reminiscent of fish fingers (but vegetarian, of course).
For mains, I decided to go for the buttermilk fried chicken - but instead of mashed potatoes, I asked for their masala chips. I know, I know, I'm breaking the box, but it worked really well! The masala chips were good, although a little drier than usual. The chicken was excellent - the batter was amazing and well coated, the chicken flavour was great, and the whole dish was very homey - think comfort food revamped.
Family and friends got a variety of dishes, from the halloumi wrap with sukuma wiki (flavourful and an unexpected yet delicious blend) to the slow cooked paneer in tusker with mushroom chapatti parcel (YUM!)
For desserts, we decided to get and share two - the baked oreo cheese cake, with fresh berry coulis crisp tuille and chocolate ice cream, and the pineapple crumble with coffee ice-cream. The crumble was tangy and perfectly crumbly (heh), and the coffee ice-cream was an unexpected, yet lovely complement.
Let's talk about the oreo cheesecake, shall we? This was absolutely a foodie's DREAM! The perfect explosion of flavour and texture in your mouth, I can see myself ordering this again, and again, and again. Do you know that feeling you get when someone gives you a gift and you're not quite sure what to expect, but you open it and it turns out to be your favourite thing in the world and you're just absolutely delighted? That's this feeling. As a cheesecake.
Overall - a very happy meal indeed!