The jungle-like decor at Wild Coffee is what makes it stand out. Photo by Isaac Ssejjombwe
Imagine this; a coffee place in the Industrial Area. And I am not talking Guvnor Industrial Area, but Seventh Street, a stone throw away from Namuwongo. Yes, that is the place someone dared to place a coffee shop and one that seems to take itself seriously.
Wild Coffee could be a place you have heard about or not! If you are not an ordinary Ugandan for instance, it is definitely God’s plan you will once end up in such a place, yet if you love art, it will keep calling you in.
It is a place many of us learnt about after their blockbuster kind of advert; a story-driven and that brought the action, fake CGI and humour to the fore. Call it a sequel to Who Killed Captain Alex, where Wakaliwood’s Isaac Nabwana seemed to outdo himself to deliver a message about a place and their coffee.
And months later, here I am, with a dragon appetite, my love for coffee and a pen to review it.
Wild Coffee maintains a wild feel from the very first time you get in, the designers played a lot with nature or the rudimentary things that make things truly African or in this case, Ugandan.
The green crawling plants hanged onto the ceiling to those on the balcony are meant to create a jungle feel yet the exposed baked bricks give off that simplicity you will find in many new homes.
This is even made better by the seemingly makeshift everything, the table crafted out of a log, seats that seem to have found themselves hanging from the wall, cream metallic enamel cups on display and hip hop music. Much of the things here never seem intentional.
Oh, of course when you have just walked in, be sure to bump into a hub, some sort of an open office where different people can hire space for a day or weeks.
The Wild Menu
A lion head and a melanin beauty below it are some of the banners you will find at the place. It is more or less a message of their inner wilderness. It is thus not surprising that they refer to their menu as the wild one.
The menu avails both already processed coffee and beans one can take home, but for purposes of this review, let us stick to the beverages served.
Much as there are many more items served such as juices, cocktails, beers or soft drinks, it is the coffee that makes the point; they serve hot, cold and coffee with alcohol and spirits.
The menu manages to separate coffee served with milk, that without, to that served in cold drinks.
They serve food too, for instance, is based in the Industrial Area, they let space inspire the menu; the warehouse chips — fried potato chips, yams and sweet potatoes to salads and pastry.
Budget
It is an affordable place even when the Industrial Area has of late been very upscale. The menu offers coffee in different flavours and priced even for as low as Shs9,000; on this particular day, mine was a cafe mocha, chocolate, milk and espresso themed beverage that went for Shs12,000.
Most of the meals served range between Shs15,000 to Shs40,000 or close.
The crowd
It is a mixed crowd as far as nationalities are concerned but their location next to one of Uganda’s top art galleries, Afriart to Casa de Roy, it is an affluent group of people that end up here.
Cons
Space is gifted with a parking lot, yet, for those that do not drive, it is not accessible. You will always need one of those transport applications.
akaggwa@ug.nationmedia.com