I really love this restaurant cafe, not because it’s fancy, it’s not, but the genuine warm vibes you get when you arrive separates it from a chain restaurant with a big advertising budget where the staff hate their jobs and couldn’t care less if you have a good time. They are getting paid anyway.

Okapi is the complete opposite, you are guaranteed a warm welcome from staff building a family business so everyone is on it. You’ll be asked a million times if everything is OK. This is a place you know they value your business and want to make sure you want to come back.

I went this week after not going for quite some time. I’d just returned from travelling and needed a hearty healthy home cooked breakfast and a cup of builders tea.

I was welcomed back like a prodigal returning, it feels so nice to be acknowledged and remembered.

My food was exactly as I remembered and no issues customising my order, swapping scrambled eggs for extra mushrooms and adding a couple of extra things on the side too. The hash browns are delicious and I always ask for an extra one.

This is an absolutely wonderful local business. They’ve been open 2 maybe 3 years. And just as they start to really build their customer base and reputation the local council, Blaby District Council, decide to take a property development deal for the Blaby Golf Course and all the businesses on the site have to close.

I am not sure if there is anything we can do to help other than share and comment on this snoop. Let your local councillor know you love Okapi Kitchen and really don’t want it to close.

I had to share the love. These guys have worked so hard to build something lovely for the neighbourhood that honestly doesn’t have many alternatives.

If you are vegetarian or plant based it is one of the only places locally that offers a good selection of choices.

I heard on the grape vine, Cafe Clo in Flannels, Fosse Park, Leicester is also set to close at the end of this month, Jan, 2025.

All the more reason we need Okapi to stay open.