3 Best Restaurants in Uganda

A cold beer, crisp pizza, and curling your toes in the sand are a few of life's simple pleasures. Enjoy all three simultaneously at Goretti's Beachside Pizzeria, a popular haunt for tourists and locals alike. Diners sit in plastic chairs at tables placed among swaying palms on the tiny strip of beach. The shoreline location makes up for slow and sometimes unenthusiastic service. Because of the views (and the greater possibility of insects after dusk), lunchtime is the best time to appreciate this simple restaurant shack. Grilled meat or fish is available, but wood-fired pizza is what they do best. Just be sure to allow a couple of hours to gaze out over Lake Victoria while availing yourself of their uncomplicated drinks menu: local beers, soft drinks, the usual spirits, and boxed South African wine by the glass. 

Set on the main road in mature gardens, this clever café concept directly supports mountain gorilla conservation. The extensive international-style menu includes coffee, milkshakes, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and burgers. Ugandan NGO Conservation Through Public Health sells their premium coffee here; it's great a gift, This is the perfect spot for learning about gorillas and conservation.

You can’t miss Bigodi’s only yellow and brown two-story building, perched overlooking Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. Stop for a coffee or a cold Nile Special beer on the upstairs verandah or for something more substantial, opt for the pepper steak, pumpkin and ginger soup, or Uganda’s famous “rolex” (think breakfast wrap). If you're timing is right, you may get a glimpse of snow on the distant Rwenzori Mountains. If you need a fix of modern life, play a game of pool or tune in to the satellite TV downstairs.