The posh crocodile’s café and bar
Apr 23, 2009
IF you pass on the takeaway, the Indian place and the Chinese place in the Kisementi square you will find yourself facing Crocodile’s Café and Bar and its breeze-swept verandah, which was already full of diners at 1:00pm on Tuesday.<br>
By Ernest Bazanye
IF you pass on the takeaway, the Indian place and the Chinese place in the Kisementi square you will find yourself facing Crocodile’s Café and Bar and its breeze-swept verandah, which was already full of diners at 1:00pm on Tuesday.
Inside was starkly vacant, though, and we took our pick of the several empty tables as a waiter dashed up wielding laminated menus and quick, curt greetings.
I would have expected that he would be more relaxed, since he was presiding over an empty room, but the reason for his tension would become apparent soon. In about 15 minutes, the interior of Crocodile was full to the brim.
The clientele is mostly drawn from Kampala’s expatriate community. I am guessing the consultant from Stockholm, the UN researcher, the director of that new company.
At some point two fully-suited gentlemen walked in: a man with a grey beard and an Asian gentleman. “Kofi Anan and Ban Ki Moon,†my guest quipped.
I had a steak-and-chips meal called Steak Diane. My guest had pork chops with rice and a mushroom cream. I was to later surf and learn that in outside countries, such as those on TV, Steak Diane is usually prepared at the table with great spectacle—they bring it to your table aflame.
But because ignorance is bliss, I did not know I was being disappointed at the time and I rather enjoyed the food.
My guest found her rice dry, but gave the pork her approval. We both snarled at the bread’s lack of freshness, but I accepted the waiter’s apologies.
And now, for the final judgment. The ambience is pretty nice. On a hot afternoon it was nice and cool inside. The crowd is expats and not tourists, which means clean and serious. (Just kidding tourists!)
The service? Our waiter was in a hurry, but he had a full house to take care of, so even though he wasn’t excellent, but was only sufficient, I still tipped well.
The food? Lively and filling, though you might prefer to order your pork chops with chips, not rice. As for the prices: sh20,000 should have your meal covered, generally speaking.
IF you pass on the takeaway, the Indian place and the Chinese place in the Kisementi square you will find yourself facing Crocodile’s Café and Bar and its breeze-swept verandah, which was already full of diners at 1:00pm on Tuesday.
Inside was starkly vacant, though, and we took our pick of the several empty tables as a waiter dashed up wielding laminated menus and quick, curt greetings.
I would have expected that he would be more relaxed, since he was presiding over an empty room, but the reason for his tension would become apparent soon. In about 15 minutes, the interior of Crocodile was full to the brim.
The clientele is mostly drawn from Kampala’s expatriate community. I am guessing the consultant from Stockholm, the UN researcher, the director of that new company.
At some point two fully-suited gentlemen walked in: a man with a grey beard and an Asian gentleman. “Kofi Anan and Ban Ki Moon,†my guest quipped.
I had a steak-and-chips meal called Steak Diane. My guest had pork chops with rice and a mushroom cream. I was to later surf and learn that in outside countries, such as those on TV, Steak Diane is usually prepared at the table with great spectacle—they bring it to your table aflame.
But because ignorance is bliss, I did not know I was being disappointed at the time and I rather enjoyed the food.
My guest found her rice dry, but gave the pork her approval. We both snarled at the bread’s lack of freshness, but I accepted the waiter’s apologies.
And now, for the final judgment. The ambience is pretty nice. On a hot afternoon it was nice and cool inside. The crowd is expats and not tourists, which means clean and serious. (Just kidding tourists!)
The service? Our waiter was in a hurry, but he had a full house to take care of, so even though he wasn’t excellent, but was only sufficient, I still tipped well.
The food? Lively and filling, though you might prefer to order your pork chops with chips, not rice. As for the prices: sh20,000 should have your meal covered, generally speaking.