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Kampala’s Dynamic Duo: Villa Kololo and Meditteraneo
Unless you’re talking about the W Hotel and BLT Steak, few places get the restaurant + hotel mix all the way right. Usually you feel like you’re paying entirely too much for one, the other, or both and you end up wondering if the convenience of having the two under one roof is ever really there. Kampala’s Villa Kololo hotel and it’s restaurant Meditteraneo manage to do both really well and equally stand on their own as solid establishments.
The hotel is located just 5 minutes from central Kampala and 45 minutes from the airport. It’s the latest from restauranteur Stefano Giannetti who began his 20 year career in the Westlands neighborhood in Nairobi and the first hotel. The 10-room boutique hotel blends contemporary styling with a bit of old world charm. The lobby and rooms are appointed with plush velvets, rich apestries, and deep mahogany and somehow manages not to feel medieval. Hand-carved furniture and traditional Ugandan textiles let you know that you are still in Kampala after all.
After checking in and getting settled, be sure to call down and make your reservation at Meditteraneo. In just two years this has fast become the a restaurant of choice for Kampala’s high-end loving crowd. A hotel reservation may help you snag a table, but with the demand for this place so high on weekends — it isn’t guaranteed. The Italian fare is meticulously prepared and could easily be found in the middle of Florentine (the owner’s original home). For starters we suggest the Coctail di Gamberi, a light dish of juicy prawns served in a house made vodka style sauce. The potato and leek soup is a classic favorite that the restaurant does nicely. For the main, you can’t go wrong with the Costolette di Agnello impanate e fritte, four deep fried lamb chops breaded in Italian-style breadcrumbs and packed with a tender, herby flavor. With all this deliciousness you might be tempted to skip dessert but we say save one spot in your belly for the profiterole in hot chocolate or the dark chocolate mousse. Pair with an espresso or a nice, crisp dessert wine and you’ll be writing us to say thank you.
Before you leave before you stop by the Antique Shop, especially if there was something in your room you particularly admired, it’s likely sold in the hotel’s high-class version of a gift shop and it’ll be hard to match the quality elsewhere. Villa Kololo 31, John Babiha (Acacia) Ave // Central Region //Kampala // Tel: 0414 500 533
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