Kampala used to be described as a city built on seven hills, however with the massive expansion in recent decades I understand that the count is more like thirty hills today. On the south side of Kampala some of the hills overlook an inlet of Lake Victoria. About halfway up one of the hills is a hotel called Cassia Lodge which seems to be frequented by westerners working for NGOs.
There is also a restaurant and bar boasting "the best view in Kampala". Part of the restaurant has open windows with the view (below) while next to the bar there is a platform for truly alfresco dining.
Having been on my first trip to Kampala I have no idea whether the claim of "best view" has merit; but the view from the Lodge is definitely outstanding.
Food seems very much geared to western tastes with a variety of steaks, kebabs and fish dishes on the menu. While there was nothing wrong with the food, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it either. Typical Ugandan fare such as matooke (starchy bananas), goat or posho (maize mash) were not on offer when I visited; the main concession to Uganda was the "East African mixed grill". Dishes were priced from about 15,000 Ugandan shillings for a sandwich (large portion with salad and chips) to about 22,0000 shillings for a steak or fish dish. This means about £5-7 for a main course so hardly burning a hole in the pocked if you have a British salary. The staff were courteous and friendly, the restaurant was pleasantly furnished.
While the food was not the most interesting I tried in Kampala - for example I enjoyed the food at the Fasika Ethiopian restaurant on Gaba Road more - the view is worth the trip. The equatorial sun sets very rapidly and so the views to the Kampala suburbs and to Lake Victoria change rapidly.
As the sun sets the shadows and colours change rapidly.
Also it is possible to see a fair amount of wildlife. While sitting on the platform - the same evening as shown above - I saw a harrier hawk, rollers, brown parrots, falcons and some strange insects of roughly dragonfly size.
Once it gets dark the view of Kampala by night is good - sorry my camera is not good for night photos - there is not the dull sodium glow that you see in British cities due to streetlights so although you see some lights on the hills you can see the night sky too. Being close to the equator you see both Northern and Southern Hemisphere stars. So after seeing Orion 'sideways' I was able to make out the Southern Cross well to the south. We also saw a lot of lightning very far to the East.
So I would not recommend going out of the way to Cassia just for the food, the view is definitely worth the trip. A very enjoyable evening was had seeing the light fade and the night views.
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