Walk through the doors of Cafesserie Kampala, on the ground floor of Acacia Mall, and the first thing you’ll notice is a beautiful cake display, filled with gooey chocolate brownies, blueberry cheese cake, amaretto toffee pastries and Belgian waffles. This small chain – the original branch is in Mombasa, Kenya – certainly knows how to entice customers through its doors; it’s impossible to leave after spotting the cakes.
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The interior is chic, with low lighting and magazine racks brimming with fashion and politics titles. You’d be forgiven for thinking you were in a posh café in Brussels or London. Outside on the terrace, there’s more of a relaxed feel. Each table is shielded from the Kampala sun by a huge khaki umbrella.
We ate outside, among a mixed crowd of NGO workers, Ugandan couples and American tourists. It was too late for breakfast – a shame, since the eggs Benedict is rumored to be fantastic here – so we perused the sandwich menu. There was a choice of creative options, including roast beef with rocket, aioli, mustard and pickles. The ginger, salmon and avocado bread looked good, but in the end we opted for a caprese and avocado salad, which arrived with two portions of tasty flute bread. We’re told that the pastas and pizzas are also pretty good.
For dessert, there was a choice of everything in that stunning cake display, as well as cinnamon and apple Danish pastries and ice cream sundaes: the caramel and pecan nut option looked great. There’s also the usual range of decent coffees, including mocha and latte macchiato. Herbal teas, African spiced tea, mango lassis and granita are also on the menu.
And, if you can’t bear to leave empty handed, all of the breads are available to buy in a little shop just adjacent to the main entrance. Cookies and packaged biscuits – which make great gifts – can also be bought here.
