Prime
Uhuru has stood the test of time
What you need to know:
Uhuru Restaurant has the distinction of being one of the few restaurants that can lay claim to having been around since 1962 and is probably the oldest eatery in Uganda
During the early 60s there were just a handful of eateries worthy of mention. At any rate, the burgeoning middle class and newly appointed public servants were not exactly the types who were into fine dining or gourmet food. In those days dining out meant going to a hotel (hence the origin of the word woteli meaning, an eatery in Luganda) such as Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe, Imperial Hotel, and Speke Hotel. Just three establishments which are still around to this day.
Admittedly, the food was of no particular distinction though the place offered a wonderful feeling of having arrived. I also fondly remember the Crested Crane Restaurant which was on Kampala Road and was more like a café with snacks such as samosas, chaps, cakes and a favourite for the middle class teenagers.
Flashback
Where Watoto Central Church is located used to be the Norman Cinema and upstairs was a night club (La Quinta) and bar cum restaurant. I also recall Christos on Kampala Road, somewhere near Downtown Forex Bureau, where we used to have the most mouthwatering confectionery and pastries. Then again, how can one forget Drapers (former Crane Bank) headquarters on Kampala Road which was Kampala’s first modern department store and there used to be an elegant coffee shop on the second floor.
I also recall a Chinese joint somewhere on Dewinton Road though there was nothing like Il Patio, or Mediterraneo much less Mama Ashanti. What was dominant at that time were the Nalongo class of woteli that were local and unsophisticated.
Origins
Uhuru Restaurant has the distinction of being one of the few restaurants that can lay claim to having been around since 1962 and is probably the oldest eatery in Uganda. Originally founded by Saad Uhuru, the father of Salim Uhuru the present proprietor, have come a long way from Kafumbe Mukasa Road to Mengo in Awab Towers where they have held fort for a few years.
Surprisingly, few people are aware that before the advent of online food hubs and the takeaway craze for food, during the early 2000s Uhuru Restaurant was the pioneer in terms of delivery of the takeaway concept. During those days, when a fiver would get you a pilao dish and a soda or mineral water, the food was packed in plastic bags known as buvera.
As a matter of fact, Salim would man the phone and see to it that deliveries were made with a dedicated team of boda boda riders. Nowadays, the man has become a leading politician and was recently elected to the lofty position of the Central Division mayor, an office that no doubts keeps him busy with civic affairs.
Our experience
Fortunately, he has good structures in place and despite his absence judging by the crowd the place remains popular. We chanced to have lunch there, last week and found the food to be of a generally high standard though with some reservations.
In my view, the idea of making a batch of pilao rice minus the meat component and then adding a piece of chicken or meat when serving and defining it as chicken pilao is really an aberration and is totally disingenuous. For a true pilao to be authentic the meat must cook in the rice.
