SUNDAY CUISINE: Kampala eateries to visit this year

Chinese Restaurants

Place: Fang Fang Chinese Restaurant
Food: By any standard it is most delectable and definitely in a class of its own. Inclined towards Cantonese and a bit of Peking and Shanghai.
Ambience: Absolutely tops with the added benefit of six wonderful private dining rooms that come in handy when privacy is required.
Service: Commendable
Prices: You can go First Class, Club Class though you would be somewhat hard pressed to find Steerage Class in this classy joint
Parking: Restricted
Location: Communication House, Plot 1 Colville Street, Roof Terrace
Open: Lunch and supper, 365 days of the year

Place: Shanghai Restaurant
Food: Highly innovative and unusually authentic for Kampala with inspiration from Hunan Province also referred to as the “country of rice and fish” and by the way this is where the legendary Chairman Mao was born.
Ambience: Greatly improved with a much-needed refurbishment.
Service: No complaints
Parking: Ample, enclosed and safe
Location: Sezibwa Road, Ternan Avenue, Kampala Club
Open: Lunch and supper they never close
Prices: Not unreasonable

Café
All too often the word café is ill-advisedly used in Kampala and thus turns out to be a misnomer. One would be forgiven if one were to turn up at Victoria Café at Entebbe and expect to be served a cappuccino con panna!

Place: Café Javas
Food: Excellent coffee (in fact the coffee alone would surely merit four stars) along with coffee cakes and superb soups, the steaks are never beaten while the genre of food is global and high quality.
Ambience: From the warm colour scheme of the café, not to speak of uniforms for the staff, to the thoughtful layout and design that exists, one marvels at the wonderful symbiotic relationship and symmetry that exists at any of the Café Javas outlets in such almost perfect harmony and grace. The combination is scintillating.
Open: Every day until around 10pm
Service: Always on the money
Location: Kampala Road, Oasis Mall, Victoria Mall, Entebbe, Jinja
Road, Bombo Road etc.
Prices: Not unreasonable and, Parking: Available

Continental Restaurants

Place: La Patisserie
Food: Good wholesome Belgian and continental with very inspired salads
Open: Open daily
Ambience: Pleasant
Location: Acacia Mall
Service: Good
Parking: Ample and indoors and very secure
Prices: Par for the course

Place: Prunes
Food: Famous for their Sunday brunch and wonderful diverse food. Great place to meet friends
Open: 7 days a week until late
Ambience: Can’t complain
Service: When it gets hectic things can get haywire
Parking: Available
Location: Wampewo Avenue
Prices: Affordable for all types of pockets.

Hotels
Place: Nyanja Lake Terrace
Food: Good Continental cuisine as well as excellent Indian fare
Open: Everyday
Ambience: Relaxed and seductive
Service: Always exemplary
Parking: In plenty
Location: Speke Resort Munyonyo
Prices: Not cheap

Place: The Lakes Restaurant
Food: The best and most eclectic buffet offering in town. The Lakes Restaurant is the perfect place to entertain friends and family, in an atmosphere that is unrivalled.
Ambience: Exquisite
Parking: Always available and very secure
Location: Serena Kampala Hotel
Prices: Prix fixe Shs 75,000 for all that you can eat until you drop

Italian restaurants

Place: Medditeraneo
Food: A tough act to follow, eclectic and quality regional Italian fare.
Ambience: Always stunning Service: Never a disappointment
Parking: Ample and very secure
Location: Off Acacia Avenue, Kololo
Open: Closed on Sundays and Public holidays
Prices: Not as bad as one would have expected

Indian restaurants

Place: Khana Khazana, the original tandoori restaurant
Food: We find their Dal Maharani to be a rare treat and as for the tandoori bhavran they are guaranteed to convert even those of you are so jaded by spuds to the point of distraction.
Ambience: Super alfresco setting right in the prime Kololo area.
Service: The very best
Parking: Limited inside but very secure outdoors with guards
Location: Acacia Avenue
Open: Closed on Monday’s but open for lunch and dinner
Prices: Not for the faint hearted

Local restaurants

Place: 2K Restaurant
Food: A very splendid and eclectic offering of the best food Buganda has to offer. The matooke is never a let down
Open: Seven days a week, day in and day out
Ambience: Good
Service: Exemplary
Parking: Available and secure
Location: Hoima Road, opposite Club Ambience
Prices: Reasonable starting at a tenner for beans and matooke with a cap of Shs 30,000 for the excellent buffet

Place: Shaka Zulu
Food: Very good and consistent well-prepared local food. They were the winner of the Kampala Restaurant Award for the best local food joint in 2015.
Ambience: Never a point to write home about
Service: Always a cinch
Location: Kiswa, Bugolobi
Prices: Reasonable