Decent, affordable local food

When travelling up country, the best way to deal with meals other than breakfast is to find a nearby joint where one is bound to save a considerable sum while at the same time satisfying this vital need.
From our discoveries during our recent sojourn to Masaka, good eating joints serving local and non-local food, are notably conspicuous by their absence. Nevertheless, one cannot fail to find food in any of the several hotels that are to be found but then again, the challenge in this case would be the prices and invariably a not terribly inspiring menu compilation. Predictably there would be steak, chicken and whole tilapia all served with chips or boiled potatoes. A for the damage, at the very least Shs 20,000 each plus an exorbitant amount for the drinks.

Spot a joint
When travelling up country, the best way to deal with meals other than breakfast (normally this would be included in the price of board) is to find a nearby joint where one is bound to save a considerable sum while at the same time satisfying this vital need.
As we soon discovered in Masaka this proved to be a daunting undertaking made all the more difficult due to the fact that it was night time. There are no street lights whatsoever leaving one to rely on instinct and the fact that we were told that Kevin was on the main street in Nyendo. Proceeding backwards towards Kampala away from Masaka, I was fortunate to have fellow trencherman (a lady) in the navigator’s seat. Since we had been advised that it was on our left she concentrated on navigation while I drove with as much care as I could muster.

Ambience
Within a short time, we spotted the signpost and were lucky to find parking in front and wasted no time dashing in and much to our surprise, despite the relatively late hour, the place was full of diners. Now forewarned Kevin’s is by no means a purposely built eating joint; rather it is more of a makeshift roadside diner (must have been a shop) and has a couple of blaring televisions while the seating inside is small and cramped. Inside being a bit crowded, we decided to sit on the veranda and within no time a young waiter came to our table so as to take our order.
In short order, he delivered a litany of the available items and whatever was mentioned was indeed available. We learnt that their sauces were boiled and they also did an acclaimed beef in groundnut sauce. I opted for the chicken and rice while she chose the fresh fish with matooke.

Price and portions
Within no time the orders were delivered and for sure the matooke and rice proved to be more than satisfactory with the fish being equally good but the chicken proved to be tough and never should have been served in that state.
On another note, we thought that the portions were modest by Ugandan standards, still the overall standard of the food was way above average and the service was caring without being overly subservient. Suffice it to say that we would have spent at least twice for what we consumed had we eaten at Haj and Haj in Nakulabye opposite Nicodemus pork joint.
They claim to be open until 2am and are open seven days a week throughout the year. Should you happen to be in Masaka passing through and you need to have a meal, Kevin is definitely the place to visit.

THE DETAIL

Our rating: Worth a visit
The place: Kevin Restaurant, Nyendo-Masaka
Address: Nyendo Masaka on the main street
The space: Small but cozy and efficient
The crowd: Middle class Masaka dwellers along with out of towners
The menu: Decent and affordable local food viz all manner of food such as sweet potatoes, gonja, matooke and pumpkin. Fish stew, beef stew, chicken stew and the like. The sauces are boiled.
Beverages: Water, juice and soda
Recommended dishes: Meat in ground nut sauce
The damage: We paid
Shs 18,000 for two meals comprising chicken, fish and two medium size glasses of juice
Sound level: Not bad
Parking: On the street
Smoke free zone:
If you go: They open daily and close around 2am