Every restaurant on this page put itself here. The name, the photographs, the dishes and the price against each dish were typed in by the kitchen that cooks them. Cabana does not mark anything up, does not take a cut of the bill and does not sit between you and the counter. What you read is what you pay.
That also means the page is only as full as the kitchens on it. There are no sample restaurants padding out the grid and no borrowed catalogue from somewhere else. A quiet week looks quiet. When a kitchen adds a dish at four in the afternoon, it is on this page at four in the afternoon.
What you will find
Nyama choma over charcoal, Swahili pilau and coconut fish, biryani on a Friday, tandoor and curry, wood-fired pizza, burgers, shawarma at midnight, mandazi and chai before six in the morning. Kitchens mark their own dishes as new, as the plate their regulars always order, or as tonight's offer, and those move to the front of this page on their own.
What the time of day changes
This page knows what time it is. In the morning it puts breakfast first, at midday lunch, in the evening whatever is coming off the grill. That is all it does: it changes the order things appear in, never what is on the page. Nyama choma is still here at seven in the morning and mandazi are still here at midnight, a little further down, and one tap on another service brings them straight back to the top. Nothing is ever withheld until a permitted hour.
Ordering
Tap a dish to open the kitchen that cooks it, add what you want, and send the order from the checkout. It goes straight to the kitchen on Cabana, not to a chat. The kitchen accepts it with a time, or declines it and tells you why, usually within minutes, and you watch every step live: accepted, cooking, ready, on the way. If a kitchen does not answer in time the request lapses on its own and nothing is owed. At the door you and the rider swap four-digit codes, so you know the bag really came from the kitchen and the kitchen knows it reached you. You pay the kitchen by M-Pesa or cash when the food is in your hands.
Ordering from more than one kitchen
Your order can hold food from as many kitchens as you like. Nobody should have to choose between the biryani from one counter and the cake from another. At the checkout everything is sent in one go, each kitchen answers its own part, and you follow all of them on one screen. Your basket is kept on your device for twelve hours, so you can leave, look elsewhere and come back to it.
Running a kitchen
Putting a restaurant up takes about four minutes and costs nothing. After that the menu lives in your partner hub: add a dish, set a price, photograph the plate, mark it as a favourite, put an offer on it for the weekend and take the offer off on Monday. You keep every shilling a diner pays you.
Questions people ask
How do I order food on Cabana?
Add dishes from any kitchen's menu, then send the order from the checkout. The kitchen gets it on Cabana and accepts it with a ready time or declines it with a reason. You follow it live, and at the door you and the rider swap four-digit codes to finish. You pay the kitchen directly when the food reaches you.
Can I order from more than one restaurant at once?
Yes. Your basket can hold food from as many kitchens as you like. One tap sends each kitchen its own order, each one answers for itself, and you track them all together.
What happens if a kitchen says no?
You see the reason straight away and nothing is charged. If some dishes are finished for the day you can resend the rest in one tap, switch to collecting it yourself, or send the same order to another kitchen.
What are the codes at the door for?
Every delivery carries two four-digit codes. The rider tells you theirs and you check it in the app, which proves the bag came from your kitchen. Then you read them yours, which completes the order. Nobody can collect or deliver your food by mistake.
Does the page hide food that does not suit the time of day?
No. The page puts breakfast first in the morning and dinner first in the evening, but that only changes the order dishes appear in. Everything the kitchens are cooking stays on the page at every hour, and tapping another meal at the top brings it straight to the front.
Are the menu prices real?
Yes. Every dish and price on a restaurant page was typed in by that restaurant. Cabana adds no markup and takes no commission from what the kitchen charges.
Which restaurants are listed?
Only restaurants that have signed up and published their own menu. There are no sample or placeholder restaurants here, so if a kitchen appears it is a real kitchen you can order from.
How does a restaurant get listed?
Publish the restaurant from the Cabana partner hub, then add dishes with prices and photos from your phone. Mark a dish as new, as a favourite or as an offer and it moves to the front of this page. It is free and there is no commission.
Can I pay with M-Pesa?
Yes. Once a kitchen accepts your order its M-Pesa till appears on the order, and you pay when the food is in your hands. Many kitchens also take cash. Cabana takes no commission and never holds your money.
