Restaurateur Bill Taibe, who is behind Westport’s acclaimed Kawa Ni, is opening the much-anticipated hi’Amba Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Described as a café and hummus shop, on the eatery’s website, hi’Amba features the flavors from the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and Southwest Asia. Located at 33 Jessup Road it offers “hummus, mezze and sandwiches through the day; roasted chicken, kebabs and spritzers after 4,” its website reads. And the vibe is casual, according to the website: “No white tablecloths, no fuss. Come in for ten minutes or stay for the evening.”
Included on the menu at hi’Amba is half and whole harissa roast chicken with bread salad, makanek sausage in chard, dry-aged duck kebab with cherry amba and wood-roasted fish with “great olive oil,” according to the website. Coffees, teas, lattes and Arabic iced coffee with cardamom and orange blossom foam and sharbat – a sweet flavored non-alcoholic drink from the Middle East and South Asia, are among the beverages served.
House-made hummus – labne with harissa, baba ganoush with brown butter and pomegranate – is also a specialty at hi’ Amba, according to the website.
Taibe opened the now-closed LeFarm in Westport in 2009, followed by The Whelk, a Westport seafood restaurant and oyster bar, and Kawa Ni, an izakaya-inspired Japanese pub that opened in Westport in 2014. Kawa Ni expanded to Denver in 2023 and was included in the Michelin Guide’s list of recommended restaurants in 2024. In 2020, he opened Don Memo, a restaurant inspired by Mexican culture and cuisine, in Westport’s historic town hall; however, it closed in 2025.
The bakery, cafe and restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday starting at 8 a.m. for coffee, beverages and pastries; serving meals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner hours starting at 4 p.m. will be coming soon, according to its website.
Dining and Cooking