Despite being in close proximity to one of the highest-paid people in the country – members of parliament – traditional meals at Afrikan Soups restaurant along Dewinton street go for a steal, with most dishes comfortably falling between Shs 10,000 and Shs 20,000.
It is no wonder that while you can easily bump into your favourite area MP, the eatery is frequented by so many prisons officers, possibly from the prisons offices also nearby.
Please set aside any expectations of heaping Ugandan-sized servings, though. At Afrikan Soups, each dish is plated with elegant restraint, just enough to fill you. As the name suggests, Afrikan Soups is all about local flavours, pushing African culinary traditions to delightful new heights.
Chief among its star offerings is the Nile perch (mpuuta) stew, a tender, fragrant dish that has achieved cult status here. The stew, rich and comforting, arrives in a swirl of tomatoes, carrots, and onions, seasoned with a whisper of curry.
Diners can pair the mpuuta with steamed matooke, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cassava, or the softly spun millet bread (kalo), crafted Tooro-style with a dreamy, velvety texture and, of course, supplemented with greens.
Fried in its own natural oils, the mpuuta still, of course, carries that dreaded fishy smell, and one must wash it down after with a tangy drink lest you end up broadcasting for everyone what you had for lunch.
Furthermore, each meal comes with a complimentary bowl of tender, boiled mushrooms to start and a plump, sweet banana to finish. Service at Afrikan Soups can be a bit of a wild card, sometimes warm and welcoming, other times distracted and aloof, depending, perhaps, on the day’s weather and staff mood.
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