Uganda street food is frankly iconic, so to say I was a little excited to try it would be a very big understatement. Yet while I had excitement in abundance, time I did not.
And that was what led me to checking out the street food Ggaba scene in the Makindye Division rather than heading for a more renowned spot like Taxi Stand, or the like. I was though not at all disappointed, even if I did miss out some key areas.
Table of Contents
What the Ggaba Beach and Road
Ggaba Beach is essentially one of Kampala’s main access points to Lake Victoria, and unlike the sanitized resort-style spots you get elsewhere, this is where the city properly meets the lake. It functions as a landing site for fishing boats, a transport point and a local hangout all rolled into one. You have people bringing in tilapia and Nile perch straight off the boats, others gutting and selling it on the spot, and a constant churn of buyers, porters and guys just hanging about doing not much.
The beach itself is less about swimming and more about industry. Boats line the shore, nets are everywhere and the whole place smells like fish and lake water. It is messy, loud and completely unpolished.
From here the road heading inland links this lakeside economy with the wider Kampala sprawl. It is effectively a feeder artery into Makindye, carrying everything from fresh fish to people heading into town. Along it you get a mix of residential pockets, informal businesses and transport stops, all stitched together in that slightly chaotic Ugandan way where nothing looks planned but everything somehow works.
Click to read about street food in Juba.
Street Food Ggaba Road
Basically the street starts down by the “beach” and market, a place the taxi drops you and one that feels pretty sketchy at night. I was told that it was safe mind, although really not a place I would cock around in alone and too late at night.
Then you go to the part of the road that connects the beach area to Ggaba Road and this is where the magic starts. I’d estimate about 1 km of continuous shops, clinics, dodgy football shirt sellers, seedy little bars and a lot and I mean a lot of street food stands. And to make things that wee bit easier they all appear at least to be almost organized into sections, sections that excel in their own little genre. And boy holy crap is it cheap.
Click to see my take on street food in Marrakech.
The street food sections on Ggaba Road
I actually started randomly with a bag of milk, but we will get to that part later. The first food I got was of the chicken variety and included a big chicken quarter BBQ’d and liver on a stick. Chicken was fabulous and the liver was smoky, gamey and hit the spot. It quit me. All in less than a dollar.
This was followed with a Ugandan sausage that shared a lot in common with a British saveloy, but again while being pretty smoky. These were weirdly served with either a green or black (as I was told) banana, although on further taste much more starchy and like a potato. No pun intended, nor dare I say needed, but I liked the big Ugandan banana, particularly with some extra salt.
Then there was the chip section. And in case there are any Yanks reading I mean a proper British chip made from fried actual potatoes and tasting like a chip. A nice settled bag of this cost about 80 cents and was up there with PNG with their serving. I guess another thing we did alright with colonially wise.
Quite surprisingly there was no real “Rolex” section, although I did find a lone wolf of a hawker making them. The one question I was asked here was did I want one or two eggs, I said one, so the lady said “better make it two”. I concurred. This was again less than a buck. Alas I did not manage to eat this until the next day, but holy wow. If this dish is that good cold I can only imagine the havoc it would wreak hot and drunk. The other dish I got was a samosa, but this was forgettable at best.
I did not get to try a spaghetti samosa, nor the bugs, the intestine sausage or a whole heap of other crap, but hey Uganda is one of those places I just know I’ll be back.
Drinking on Ggaba Street
As well as the street food Ggaba scene there is also a rich bunch of drinking options on the street and beyond, both non and with booze. The first thing I tried and something that might well get its own article on is bags of milk. Essentially there are small dairy retailers everywhere that sell milk, dairy and as I would later find tea. I purchased a bag of milk for 1000, or under 30 cents and it was almost as fresh as the shit from a cow that I got in South Sudan.
Funnily enough I later tried to do this again but due to something lost in translation ended up with a super sweet tea, but it was very good and they let me sit down to watch the world. Felt very Clockwork Orange if I am honest.
Booze wise things seemed to be a bit different and I am not sure if it is linked to the whole some people being of the Islamic persuasion, even if it was a Christian area. But basically there were no stores selling beer, but at least there were a fair old heap of bars around. I missed the ones that looked crazy busy and instead headed into a hotel bar that was apparently Ethiopian. A Tusker was purchased as the guy didn’t get that I wanted a Ugandan beer, but it was duly necked at breakneck velocity. Nice ambience and overall a good experience.
Street Food Ggaba Street
I won’t bore with details but I was supposed to spend two extra days in Uganda, but buggered up my visa. This not only meant my trip was too short, but that I missed the true big hitters of the Ugandan street food scene.
I will say this though, if Ggaba is anything to go by then Uganda and Kampala are countries I would happily come back to if nothing else for the food alone. Street food Ggaba street is a go!
Click to se our YPT tours to Uganda with YPT.