Kelsey: Restaurant Reviews Kampala

The tourist information about Uganda available on the web is sort of lacking. Uganda is a huge place for European tourists. Tons of people come here for safaris, sight seeing, and adventure tourism (bungee jumping, white water rafting and such). There is one guide book written about Uganda, its fine. I think it is bland. I like reading people's blog posts about places they have visited. They are much more exciting and usually more helpful.

So this is my incredibly selfless gesture for all the many Uganda tourists reading this blog. Some restaurant reviews.


I <3 New York Pizza Kitchen

That is literally the name of this wonderful hidden gem. This is the perfect restaurant for the long time traveller in Uganda. The person who has been on an adventure in the village and who has eaten more matoke than any one person should. This traveler wants a taste of home! And in my opinion this is the closest you can get.

This place is inside the parking garage of the Garden City shopping mall.

It is like semi classy New York City diner. And the fact that it is in the parking garage kind of adds to the New Yorkness of it. Obviously the most amazing thing about this place is that they have cupcakes. Cupcakes.

They are kind of mediocre. But they are 100 times better than a stale crumbly Ugandan cake. Which is basically your only other option. They are mostly just very pretty to look at. That is good enough for me!

These are the bagel chips and dip that they bring for free while you wait for your food. This automatically makes this my perfect place in Kampala. They make bagels! I know how not exciting a bagel sounds to everyone in America. But it is a big deal here.

I ordered a bagel BLT which came with delicious coleslaw.

Sandwich stealer.

Sar and Frank like it too.

The funniest thing about eating in any restaurant in Uganda is the 100% lack of customer service. The waiter will act like you are a huge burden to them and they are very annoyed that you chose to come to their restaurant today. Shop owners do that too. They will move extremely slow and sort of roll their eyes like, why are you here? It cracks me up.

This place had a really creepy waiter who would linger at the table. He asked a few questions and then started pointing to his ring finger and he was like, eh? eh?

But other than him it is a great place. I recommend the pizza, the red velvet pancakes, and the bagels! If this place weren't 3 hours away I am sure we would eat there often.

The word list has lost all meaning

I have a theory that all women like lists. Its either that or the ones who don't are keeping silent because the list likers are so aggressive. I love lists. I think most people enjoy the satisfaction and the feeling of accomplishment they get when they cross something off their list. For me the standards are a bit lower. I feel accomplished and satisfied just at the mere action of writing something down on a list. I make multiple lists a week that I then immediately forget about. I think I can up my satisfaction level if I share these lists here, also maybe that will increase their likelihood of getting accomplished. And by that I mean maybe someone else will see the items on my list and accomplish them for me. Honestly I would get much more satisfaction out of doing it that way...

Denis headed to Kampala this weekend. I tried to wiggle my way into the trip but was shot down. I even got all dressed and he was all um where are you heading to? Rude. But I really only wanted to go so that I could visit a big fancy supermarket full of imported food. So I made a list.

Things I want from Kampala

- Chex! (I am dying to make homemade chex mix)
- Tortillas, corn or flour
- Tortilla chips
- Hummus
- Cheetos. I know that is kind of gross but they are cheesy!!!
- Boursin cheese. (I love this french cheese and heard a rumor you can get it in Kla)
- Brie cheese (also heard a rumor that there is decent brie to be found)
- Jalapenos (If I dont eat some salsa soon I will die, not exaggerating.)
- Zucchini, the best of all veggies.
- Apricot jam, to go with the brie
- Cream cheese
- Fancy crackers, must have fancy crackers to go with fancy cheese!
- Granola (This is a pipe dream but I can hope)

Things Denis brought home


- Inedible Brie. Was immediately thrown away, far away.
- Totally edible and yummier than remembered Boursin cheese! This was ten dollars and was consumed within 3 minutes of arrival. So worth it.
- Zucchini. This is waiting for me to cook it for dinner tonight! Yum!
- Apricot jam. Does not taste like I remember, tastes very weird.
- An order of Tortilla wrapped chicken with chips (fries).  Also the tortilla was a chapatti. So close...
- A wooden gazelle named Moses.

Although I basically would have fainted if he had found tortilla chips and jalapenos, I did appreciate the creativity shown with the list. I also appreciated the heck out of that ten dollar cheese!

Feel free to share a list.

- Kels