Don’t be fooled by the crappy and out of the way location in the Garden City carpark and the dated and grotty décor, this place is definitely a hidden gem of Kampala for those seeking a bit of home comfort. This American-style diner is Kampala’s only bagel joint, serving all manner of bagel combos including the classic smoked salmon and cream cheese (24,500 UGX) and Chicken BLT – my personal favourite (19,500 UGX) on a mixture of different bagels including onion and sesame. They also do some decent salads, pastas and every Monday and Tuesday from 6-10pm they do a special where if you buy a whole pizza can get a second at half price. My tip – go for the chicken pizza its by far the best on the menu (and do not underestimate the size of the pizzas – my PB is still only 3 slices!!)
Not only do they make killer bagels and a great mac and cheese (they pride themselves on using a traditional New York recipe) they do some kick-ass baked goods; with great multi-flavoured cupcakes, chocolate cake and a baked cheesecake. I’ve ordered the chocolate cake for a leaving do (which they personalised for us for no extra cost), and I can confirm that it’s VERY good! I’m always unsure about using this word in a culinary context, but it was seriously ‘moist’.
They also do some decent breakfasts (perfect for a post night out hangover cure) including a ‘greasy-spoon’ type breakfast which includes eggs, bacon, hash browns…and of course the signature bagel. There is the slightly stranger combo of mac and cheese accompanied by pancakes and maple syrup – sounds a bit weird but I can’t think of a better combo of 2 stodgy foods!
Pricing is pretty standard for western food in Kampala. Bagels cost between 5,500 (for plain cream cheese) – 24,500 UGX (for the smoked salmon – an unsurprisingly expensive commodity out here in Uganda!), slices of pizza between 5-6,000, burgers between 16,500-19,500 and cupcakes for 4,500 UGX.
This is the perfect spot for people who have been here a while and are missing all the fast food comforts from home. My personal recommendation? Head there after a stressful shopping trip to Uchumi, or perhaps even after a ‘treat yourself’ mani-pedi in Sparkles (men this includes you – you know you do it, too…) and order a banana milkshake (trust me) and a chicken BLT with a chocolate/vanilla cupcake to go… life doesn’t get a whole lot better!
And joy of joys, they even deliver out to Mengo – so that’s the end of my social life! On a serious note though they probably are the most professional and established of the take-away/delivery joints if you are looking to order in.
Hours: 8am (9am on Sundays)-10pm
Phone: 0414 384 585 / 0793 200 775 (deliveries)
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Lucy, thanks for the great write up (I think) although we don’t usually think of the word ‘grotty’ as a good thing but somehow you got our concept which is exactly a 1950’s style NYC diner with fantastic comfort food! By the way, if you haven’t tried the Mac & Cheese pancakes, then you surely should. It is truly a fantastical combo of an American pancake with mac and cheese inside. We like it with Maple syrup AND hot sauce! Surefire hangover remedy. Don’t forget to try our fantastic American Style Burritos, Double quesadillas and enchiladas not to mention the best burger in town aka The Juicy LUCY! A juicy burger stuffed with cheddar or gorgonzola. Glad you like our food! We work really hard on it all the time and make everything from scratch every single day! It’s great to be appreciated!