You could use a better menu
Anytime that one goes to dine in a high end first class restaurant in the upscale Nakasero and the waitress reads what is available reading from a skimpy note pad, this can only be construed as sloppy and egregious on the part of management and does not bode well for any would be diner.
The excuse for not having a menu, and thus the notepad, is ostensibly because they are creating a new menu; something I find a no brainer and unacceptable. And for the cost of a couple of meals, go to Nasser Road and arrange for a make shift menu to be printed and you will come out smelling like roses.
Matters were not helped by the fact that we had been to Roots Restaurant around 8pm on a previous evening and were haughtily informed that having earlier sold out their local food, the best that they could offer was chips and chicken or something along those lines. Fast food in a joint that has made its name selling and serving first rate local food! No!
This begs the question, what happens when the local food is finished by say 2pm? Not to flog a dead horse and this begs the question; how do the likes of N P Baguma and Sons or Y2K Restaurant manage to consistently serve both lunch and supper day in and day out . Local food is their forte. In the short term, the answer may well lie in serving only lunch until they find a solution to this nagging and annoying supper conundrum.
The great matooke
But, behind every cloud there is a silver lining and we can say without any hesitation whatsoever that the matooke served at Roots is unbeatable in taste, appearance, okubobezza and incredible softness all the more so bearing in mind that food should be both pleasing to the eye and the palate. I do not recall having eaten or tasted such amazing matooke and while the portion may have seemed to be niggardly, accompanied with rice and kalo it was just what the doctor ordered. I am sure many may not agree but; how much matooke, rice and kalo can one consume at lunch? However, the avocado with katunkuma was a nonstarter and out of place. I suggest they do away with it and instead offer a generous portion of good old familiar greens such as nakati, dodo, bugga or sukumawiki.
The flowers and verdict
The service was fast and efficient and we were impressed with the classy and expensive flatware which was a far cry from the tacky stuff that is common in eateries that abound in Kampala. Also, one cannot forget the proper linen serviette which they offer, something of a rarity in the industry and it certainly is classy.
Without a doubt when it comes to excellent local food, Roots restaurant can claim to be primus inter pares and once they have the menu sorted out, along with the serving of local food for dinner, it will be clear sailing and a win win situation.
