Been a strong believer in this notion of “good food always produces a good mood. ” So, in case you come across me one of these days and I seem too jolly; this place I happened to check out over the weekend is the reason why.
In the later days of this year that I did add “foodie” to my social media bio. Basically, a foodie is a someone who is passionate about food (good food obviously), with an ardent and refined interest in food and eats food not only out of hunger but due to their interests or hobby. A more sophisticated word you would use to describe one is a “gastronome” or a “gourmet”, same as a person who enjoys food for pleasure.
This past week wasn’t any different. Though this time, the place to try out some unapologetically appetizing meal was the Riders Lounge in Entebbe, situated at about 24 kilometers out of the city. Just a perfect escape from the hustles and bustles of the week.
Being a new place to my ears I definitely did not know the directions to their Entebbe branch, since the only one branch of theirs I knew was the one on the Acacia Avenue, I needed to use some assistance. This is the point in life where we appreciate Google Maps.
With the aid of this service, all I had to do was key in the name of the place, turn on directions so they would guide on my journey there. I think my favorite time of using the Maps service was when the navigator would tell me, in about 400 meters turn left you’ll have reached so and so street, and it went on and on till I got to Imperial Mall in Entebbe and it told me, you have safely reached your destination. And for the case where I would go off track, the navigator would make a warning alert and that I should instead take a given alternative route. Kudos to Google for this one. But that’s not what we are here for. I am here to share with you about my experience at the Brunch Sunday at Riders Lounge Entebbe.
This all in one restaurant, bar, and lounge is located just adjacent to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre on Imperial Mall, which is commonly referred to as the zoo by many. So, on my way there I of course got to see so many monkeys, hoping from one tree to another, playing about on the roads in the area of the lower terrace which was good for my eyes’ viewership, and besides in so long a time does one get a chance to see these little ‘hommies” in real life, except on television, in magazines/ newspapers and online.
So, upon arriving, I was first of all amazed by the cool breeze of fresh air nearing the place (keeping in mind that Imperial Mall is located in the areas near Lake Victoria), welcomed by soothing sounds of Happy K’s saxophone, my oh my, and the passion he put in as he held onto it, as he played soothing music to set the ambient atmosphere for the attendees. So, I was handed my voucher that had a summary of the amazing food package I was there to destroy. Initially, I was seated on the inside part of the Lounge since it has ample seating space but my love for fresh air couldn’t let me resist shifting from the inside most corner to one of the tables to outside but still in the lounge’s premises.
So, having made myself comfortable, I laid back a little bit and moments later two smartly dressed waitresses who were on standby approached me, welcomed me and later moved onto to inquire about what I would wish to have, and I was like “I think the goat ribs, pork skewers, beef brochettes, chicken wings, and potato wedges would do for me. ” I know you are thinking to yourself like isn’t that too much for one individual? And the answer is Yes. But you see, Riders isn’t just an ordinary place. It is a great bar, with a modern and stylish reasonably priced food and drinks menu, great offers, and did I mention the great customer care in the place. Unlike most restaurants where you would place an order and wait for so long in that you even lose your hunger, the folks here know the value of a customer and never fail to satisfy and perform beyond expectations. So, I was still narrating to you. My order was quite time consuming to put together so I knew this would take me some time as I waited. A one Doreen, must be one of the top coordinators at the place kept checking on me with “Hey Sir, has someone worked on you?” statements. For the mean time I ordered for a glass of passion fruit juice, which was perfectly blended, and cold just to quench the thirst of an individual who travelled 32Km to experience the extraordinary.
Sipping on my juice, as I watched an Emirates rugby game finale on Supersport, on one of the many flat screen television sets in the place, with soothing jazz music being played, I was lost in the moment.
Fifteen to twenty minutes later, one of the waitresses came up to me with a warm towel for me to dry clean my hands and the foodie in me just couldn’t wait to show this food what am made of. I then watched in awe as my long awaited sumptuous looking platter of barbeque, potato wedges, pork and greens plus veggies was being delivered to my table. The very first thing I did was push the fancy cutlery so far away from me on my eating table, there was no way I was going to disrespect food by using cutlery yet I had my God given hands I mean. With all that said and done, I begun gobbling my potato wedges down my throat, and the waitress too couldn’t help but wonder how I would be able to savor all this much meat on my own. To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of barbeque and all but I had to give it a try for this once at least. Before I could let her go, I inquired if they had a takeaway package as well because I knew this thing was definitely going to defeat, hence I had to be sure if packing was allowed.
In the middle of my food enjoyments, their social media manager passed by and asked me if I found the food good and was having a good time while at it. I obviously replied Yes. And he was like sure? You’re being honest? You’re being real, not because this is a courtesy partnership thing? And of course, yes, I was. Don’t know if this happens to everybody but I think this is one of the many reasons I was hooked onto this place, like any other business, asking for customer feedback is always key. Kudos to the management of Riders.
Like I earlier told you guys, I am not good with roasted meat of any form with exception of liver. So, having rounded up my chicken wings and Irish potato wedges, I then requested that they pack the rest as takeaway as I had been defeated hands down. So, as they carried my platter to go pack for me, I excused myself to go for a short one. The lavatories at Riders Entebbe are one of a kind. Here’s why. In most of the washrooms of different hangouts you’ll visit, most times your worry would be finding them in state that you most often than not will leave you questioning the civilization extent of the former user. The ones here are unique in a way that the flush toilet seats have special soft tissue on them so even if God forbid the person who used them before messed up on top of the toilet, you’ll find it as good as it has not been used yet. The rest is as normal as in other corporate washrooms.
So, if you are looking for a place with a convenient place, a wonderful setup, amazing set of unique services, an attentive standby staff,with great offers on coffer, burgers, and a picturesque view for a venue for any event, look no further than the Riders Lounge; the place to unwind and have some fun with a fully stocked bar, manned by professional bar tenders and a terrace lounge and a lovely interior as well.
In case you are not able to visit the Entebbe branch, well they do happen to have several other locations like Riders Lounge Kololo, Village Mall Bugolobi, Kigali and two other ones.
In my simple words, “Riders Is a Place worth a visit!” That’s it. I said it.
A blessed day to you. Am out.
