Kampala's food scene runs from street-food stalls selling rolex (an omelette wrapped in chapatti — Uganda's great contribution to fast food) to upmarket restaurants in Kololo and Nakasero. The local staples are worth seeking out: matooke (steamed plantain mashed with groundnut stew or beef luwumbo), fresh tilapia from Lake Victoria, nyama choma (grilled goat or beef), and kikomando (chapatti and beans, the city's workhorse lunch).
For the full local experience, try one of the traditional buffet joints along Kampala Road, where you pay a flat rate and choose from a range of boiled staples — cassava, sweet potato, millet, nakati (spinach) — plus whatever stew is on. For fresh tilapia, the stalls at Gaba on the lake shore are outstanding: whole fish fried in chilli and served with bread, eaten outside with a view of Lake Victoria.