Press Release: A tasteful (and tasty) alternative
December 2006
A tasteful (and tasty) alternative to the faceless and formulaic
As conformity becomes increasingly de rigeur around the world, as everything around the world looks more and more the same, being different is a more precious quality than ever before. In a town where large chain hotels are springing up with great speed, it is tremendously refreshing to find a hotel and restaurant in Kampala that is independent from corporate systems and formulaic approaches.
The Emin Pasha Hotel is small – and there are no grand plans for expansion. At only 21 rooms, every guest has a view over lush green gardens or private planted courtyards. The garden is vast, the plant life tropical, and the feeling is more of a relaxed country house than a faceless business hotel in the capital city. Set in what should be a historic landmark on the crest of one of Kampala’s seven hills, the hotel manages to offer guests all the conveniences of a modern hotel (convenient location, wireless internet, direct dial phones, small gym, outstanding restaurant) without losing the all important qualities that we seek when we are traveling far from home: comfort (all of the rooms are gorgeous), safety, service and a coterie of staff who know the true meaning of ‘welcome’. They know your name, they greet repeat guests like family returning home, they are discreet, and they are genuinely happy to be working there.
Downstairs, overlooking the garden is the Fez Brasserie and Wine Bar. The hotel dining room does double duty as one of Kampala’s best restaurants. With its arched ceilings, ochre-hued walls and deep soft sofas, guests are immediately put at ease. You walk down the stone steps, lit by flickering lanterns that evoke more of an ‘Out of Africa’ experience than an urban restaurant. On colder nights (the temperature rarely drops below 20 degrees) small fires are lit in terracotta fireplaces on the terrace. The restaurant itself is open on two sides – this is the tropics after all – and there is a seamless flow between indoors and out as diners sit either under the glowing arches of the restaurant or on the terrace under the stars unique to Equatorial Africa. (If privacy is needed, there is a private dining room adjacent to the wine bar, which can seat up to 12 people). No need for hermetically sealed rooms, the restaurant takes its cue from nature: large clumps of Jasmine, three strategically planted Indian Almond trees, a cartoon-like calliandra tree with fluffy pink pompoms and clipped hedges of ivory white scented Gardenia all conspire to lead you into the gardens. You can take your glass of wine, your G&T, your expertly mixed Martini and roam around the vast garden before sitting down to dinner. Or you can nestle into the many sofas and armchairs scattered either within the cavern-like wine bar or around the terraces. .
Peruse the wine list. The owners of the hotel regularly import wines from South Africa to ensure that their guests have a unique experience. Many of the wines are award-winning vintages and are not found anywhere else in Uganda.
You will not find a large menu at Fez, another nose-thumbing to the me-too conformity of today’s hotels. The menu is small, and it changes almost daily. The chef finds what is fresh and good that day and builds the menu around it. Examples of what have featured on the menu are:
Chilled beetroot soup with caviar and a shot of iced vodka
- Griddled Malindi squid with salsa verde
- Baby suckling pig with blue lentils
- Roasted tilapia with rhubard and ginger cream
- Warm salad of guinea fowl, pancetta and market greens
- Medallions of beef , potatoes rosti, caramelized shallots and port sauce
- Towering focaccia, griddled Mediterranean vegetables and goats cheese
- Peppers Piedmontese
Puddings strike the perfect balance between a riotous celebration of all things tropical (try an uncanny crispy-yet-chewy pavlova with mango and passionfruit or a pineapple tarte tatin with organic vanilla crème anglaise) and the more restrained classically beautiful creations like a flourless almond and tangerine cake with poached pear, or cocoa creams with coffee granita.
The Emin Pasha Hotel opened its door in April 2005 and Fez Brasserie and Wine Bar has rapidly become the place to go. It is hard to imagine what dining out in Kampala was like before then.
Open 7 days a week: Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Private functions by arrangement.
tel +256 41 236977
