The cuisine of Uganda is delicious and must be tried. The luwombo has an appetising aroma and consists of meat cooked in green leaves. Try the succulent fried fish cooked mostly on the beaches. Other traditional dishes worth trying are binyebwa, which is a groundnut sauce, chapatti, matooke, and meat stew. If you prefer more familiar fare, toasted sandwiches are available in certain places. A healthier and far more interesting option is to buy fresh vegetables and fruits from the markets or roadside stands. Produce is abundant and cheap. Roasted chicken and roasted mealies are available at similar places.
The Ugandan dish, Matoke, is thought to be one of the oldest dishes in the world.
Our Uganda Restaurant Guide below will tell you all you need to know about food and cuisine in Uganda. Get acquainted with the local produce by shopping in the local markets before heading out to taste the authentic flavours fused together to perfection in one of the many great restaurants in Uganda.
You can also get familiar with the Ugandan local restaurant scene in Jinja, Kampala and Entebbe, and Western Uganda.
Uganda Restaurant Guide
Eating out in Kampala
There are a variety of dining options in Kampala, and street vendors are as popular an option as are the expensive restaurants in Kampala. Depending on your budget, taste and the occasion, you can spend as little as $0.60 for a meal or go berserk and empty your wallet! Foreign travellers usually find restaurants to be quite reasonably priced. Other than the ubiquitous Ugandan restaurants, visitors can choose from Belgian, Chinese, French, Goan, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean and Turkish restaurants.
Ugandan Cuisine
The local cuisine is strongly influenced by Arab, Asian (primarily Indian) and English cuisines. The dishes vary from the very basic starch component accompanied by a sauce of meat or beans, to the elaborate many-course meals usually served in affluent homes and expensive restaurants in Uganda.
Meals normally centre on a stew or sauce made of meat, groundnuts or beans. In south Uganda, ugali (maize meal) or matooke (boiled and mashed plantain) is traditionally served as the starch component. Ugali made from millet serves the same purpose in north Uganda. African sweet potato, cassava and yam are other common elements of a Ugandan meal. The affluent are known to add rice and white or Irish potato to their meals. Breakfast usually includes ugali cooked as a thick porridge. The main meals also include ugali but with the addition of white flour, which firms up the consistency of the porridge. The firm ugali is then sliced into individual portions and served.
The 1970s saw the promotion of soybean as a healthy staple food and it is still consumed quite widely, especially at breakfast. The Ugandan local cuisine also includes the Indian flatbread called chapatti.
Fresh and dry fish, chicken, mutton and beef are all part of the local Ugandan cuisine. The poor in the rural areas do not eat nyama (meat) everyday, as they would have to have a very good reason for killing a large useful animal such as a cow or goat.
Green leafy vegetables are grown in abundance in Uganda and they are either boiled and eaten in stews, or cooked as a side dish in the more affluent homes. Amaranth or dodo, borr, and nakati are a few common greens. Fruits too are available in plenty. They are usually eaten as dessert or snacks. Cake was introduced to Uganda by the Europeans and it is a popular dessert now.
Beverages
The coffee in Uganda is of excellent quality. Coffee houses in Bugunda Road in Kampala come well recommended.
The British introduced tea to Ugandans, and they got addicted! The best chai/tea is available in the rural areas near tea plantations. You cannot miss the signs posted on the kiosks and shops selling the beverage.
Low-end wine produced in South Africa is available in certain restaurants though it is best to stick to beer. All the four major brands are available.