Savour the African coffee bean steak

Samuel Maina is the new General Manager at Good African Coffee located at Lugogo Mall and by the look of things his presence has been sorely needed and his coming over was long overdue! That is not to say that the place hitherto lacked a manager, let us just say that Samuel is better (temperamentally) suited and more dynamic than his predecessor and with 12 years under his belt he is no slouch.

No sooner are you seated than a smiling attendant arrives for your order and within record time food is served at one’s table; yes the service staff are certainly inspired a far cry from before when service used to be indifferent and it is no secret that Maina’s presence is being felt all round; from the kitchen (supply chain as well) to the food and the service.

The Executive Chef is Nathan Muwonge who is in his early 30s and cut his spurs with inter alia, the Serena Hotel Group, and knows a thing or two about good standards and giving customers tasty and not over spiced food. The portions are just right and there is no such thing as using the dreaded mchuzi mix that has become the end all and be all favourite of many a Kampala eating joint.

In the mood for breakfast, then the full breakfast is to be recommended and comprises sausages, bacon, eggs toast and the like. Not into meats, then a platter of fruits is available and considerably less expensive. The soups are better than average with the cream of mushroom highly rated and for the not so famished a soup and sandwich offers the ideal solution. Speaking of sandwiches they do an excellent club sandwich as well as BLT.

Our order
A couple of us ordered pepper steak, fish fillet and combination platter of steak, chicken, pork and sausages.

What a feast! Such was the size of this carnivorous entrée (a mixed grill) that it would easily suffice for two people. The steaks are to be recommended, tender and mercifully medium turned out to be medium and not well done. It is not so often that we order for a steak in town and get what we request.

The portions are just right and the overall consensus from all of us was positive. The ambience is nice and trendy with the service staff well groomed and attired.

For dessert we had the chocolate mousse and the apple pie a la mode viz with a scoop of ice cream accompanied with an espresso while my colleague had a large cappuccino. The pie was a dream while the coffee was as expected tops.

IF YOU GO...
Good African Coffee Café
The space: Can seat more than120 and they are going to increase to 150 within the next couple of months.

The crowd: Middle class and well heeled people
The bar: Coffee, soda, juice smoothies and definitely no booze entertained
The menu: Good uncomplicated fare with careful attention to detail
Sound level: Acceptable
The cheque: Two will settle for around Shs60,000 mark or more
Parking: Available and very secure
Daily specials: Soup of the day which in our case was clear chicken soup
Smoke free zone: Proscribed indoors though one can freely smoke on the verandah
What we liked: The service staff is very professional; they try and always repeat your order after
jotting it down.
If you go: They are open seven days a week till late
Ratings: Not to be missed, worth a visit, OK/so so, don’t waste your time. These ratings are purely the reviewer’s personal reaction to food, ambience and service with price being factored into consideration. The menu listings and prices are subject to change without notice.