Service at Levels Lounge is unpredictable; sometimes they are nice, at times cold. Photo by Lawrence Ogwal
We should start by saying we are not really sure this place is in Kitante. The school is right there and refers to themselves as Kitante, yet other establishments in the area, for example, Uganda Wildlife Authority offices and Hilton Suites are said to be in Kamwokya or Kira Road, some claim Arcadia Suites is in Mulago, Acacia Mall is Kisementi and the Uganda Museum is well, just the museum.
It is probably the reason why Levels Lounge is rarely described with an actual location name, no one will say it is Kamwokya or Kitante thus many would simply say opposite the museum.
Let’s tell ourselves that it is Kitante.
The place
One of the first things that hit you when you arrive at Levels Lounge is the fact that it presents itself as a posh restaurant; the décor, couches and a number of raised seats.
And we cannot blame anyone for thinking about food while at Levels — it occupies that space that was Seascallop Restaurant, an eatery that had become furniture on Kira Road. But Levels Lounge is not really a restaurant, yes they have food but that service is not really their stronghold, in fact, they could be priding in mostly being a bar.
The service
There are two ways services at Levels Lounge can be rated; during the day, the place comes off as a restaurant but later at night, it is a bar.
There is little to nothing that can be written home about the service during daytime, the girls seemed drastically slow, slow to notice a customer and slow to deliver a service.
The place is proof that a restaurant should never be judged by the appearance of food on their social media pages; of course, theirs is enticing but not as good when ordered. Not the chips, not the salad or even the presentation — the staff on this particular day were probably tired or never felt like breaking their backs. Yet when I visited the same place on a Friday night, they seemed to be in a comfort zone; a full house, busy waiters; one even helped us locate a free table and seats.
Then our orders were taken on arrival, a different feel from what I had experienced during the daytime.
Of course, the drinks come at the needed speed but either being new or some of their staff being inefficient, the billing is not as fast. For instance, when we asked for the bill, we only got one for the second round and not the first.
If we were not that high, I doubt we would have advised ourselves to pay for the first round — but as people say, Levels Lounge is lit at night with two DJs and different parties in all corners; kasiki, employee sendoff and a baby shower.
The crowd
The Levels Lounge crowd is very suspect. Most are potential socialites, corporates and unlike most hangout places in the area, this one is not a hub of expatriates.
On a good day, you will walk into a drunken TV star, a musician trying to resurrect their career or some fashion designer in the loos. Others are just ordinary people like me screaming at the DJ to play a rock song when others are listening and enjoying John Blaq.
akaggwa@ug.nationmedia.com
