Savana: The Coffee Lounge

Place: Savana: The Coffee Lounge
Location: Loita Street Opp. Barclays Plaza
Ambiance: Cozy

I had one and a half hours to kill before a meeting on loita street and decided to check out this new place, Savana [Since I am still boycotting Java due to the hair in the pie incident, I needed new places to take coffee]. I was welcomed into this huge place with armchairs, which I thought gave it a pretty cozy, lets do business, kind of atmosphere. The lady serving me was pretty amiable which I thought was a breathe of fresh air since service in Nairobi borders on deplorable. I ordered a macchiato and a cheese pie. Let me mention here that I had just had a macchiato from Dormans two days prior. She brought me the Macchiato in an espresso cup. It went downhill from there. Do you know how small an espresso cup is? Think of a sake glass….. yep… that’s what they served the supposed macchiato in. I asked her if this was how they served their macchiatos and she assured me that it was. On tasting it, it was definitely NOT a macchiato. The coffee was too bitter and there was no milk in sight. What the? They gave me an espresso when I specifically asked for a macchiato. Maybe they don’t know the difference. The cheese pie was alright, really nothing to write home about. I read my book and did not touch the drink and waited for the time to pass by.

When it was time to pay the bill, I asked her what coffee brand they used to brew and she informed me that it was Sasini [I was later to learn that the company is behind the lounge]. I informed her that I was not satisfied with what they called a macchiato [which cost Kshs. 150, the cheese pie was Kshs. 200]. She offered her apologies which I thought was pretty decent and she allowed me to write my complaints to the General Manager. I had to mention that they needed to learn how to brew whatever it was they had in their menu. Going to Dormans would be a good idea as well.

Do I recommend it? No. I think the prices are way too high and my experience was too negative to even fathom a repeat visit. I believe that if a place is going to charge such exorbitant prices, the least they could do is hire or train staff to know the difference between an espresso and a macchiato.

Later during the day, I went to Pasara and enjoyed a Café Vanilla.