Dines Out: Kitgum confidential

Once in a while you stray upon a hidden gem. This time I have to thank my friend Mr F for inviting me along to one of my old haunts, The Sir Charles Napier in Southover Street. I had been a regular Sunday night quizzer for longer than I care to remember but recently they ditched the quiz and we stopped going. Now I have good reason to return and that reason is some very interesting food.

I love spice, love heat and I love to try new things so it was with high hopes that I invited Mr F for a pre-dinner Caesar at my place before a bracing yomp over muesli mountain for a spot of supper.

The kitchen has been taken over by a rather unassuming young man who is recreating the dishes of his childhood as cooked by his mother and family, a family exiled from Uganda in the terrifying reign of the despot Idi Amin. It’s an unusual cuisine that grew out of an immigrant Indian community in that country before they were cruelly turfed out. History is a terrible tale for the most part, but the arrival of this interesting food is certainly to be welcomed.

The menu is very short, but the kitchen is very small so that is a good thing. We started by ordering the chicken samosas, the meat balls and the cassava chips. I love a good meatball and these were not only very tasty but very generous. I wouldn’t want to do the chef out of business but you will definitely want to share these tender treats. The chicken samosa were piping hot, but after being instructed to poke a hole into the top and squeeze fresh lemon into their heart, they were truly exceptional, again share a portion. I have had bad experiences of cassava, it can be dry, floury and flavourless – not here. These chips were steamy hot, sweet, creamy even and when dipped in the superb chutneys and tamarind sauce they had us both agreeing that this was something of a find.

Full marks to the landlord for what must be a well-kept cellar

For our main courses we chose the lamb dish and the chicken thighs. The lamb was very tasty, very tender and succulent and the spicing was judiciously balanced so that we could actually taste the meat’s own characteristics, a factor so often lost with badly and over-spiced food. What is it about food so hot that it wrecks your mouth on eating and make its presence know the next morning – not for me. I liked the chicken dish but not as much, it was good but not as strikingly delicious as the lamb.

The side dishes however were another story and the rice was perfect, the kichidi, forgive my phonetic spelling, a triumphant delight, creamy and sweet soft lentils and rice wallowing in a shed load of butter, what’s not to like, well except that lentils do my gout no good. But for a dish as good as this I was prepared to suffer. And the parathas very good indeed, very good.

Two other things make this a great find, first great beers and well kept beers too. We really enjoyed the two pints that we each quaffed and full marks to the landlord for what must be a well-kept cellar. Secondly, and by no means least, the sensibly affordable pricing policy, this is great food at slender prices, and in good sized portions too. Thirdly, how nice is it to see a packed pub on a Tuesday night, full of people chatting to each other, drinking good beer and enjoying great food. In other words I really liked this mix of East African Street food and Gujarati dishes and I hope to return very soon.

Kitgum Kitchen at the Sir Charles Napier, 50 Southover Street, Brighton
Open Tuesday to Saturday evenings
07415 927230