Kitgum Kitchen

Kitgum Kitchen India • East Africa • Persia • Brighton • sips • plates • tunes • 3 Hampton Place This food is a wonderful combination of East African and Gujarati cuisine.
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Our Story
In 1972, the president of Uganda, Idi Amin, announced that all Asians had 90 days to leave their homeland. Among the 60,000 exiles were my parents, and although they only took a single suitcase they brought culture and cooking from two great continents. I was raised with these recipes and now I want to share them with you.

When I moved to Brighton in 2003 the first thing I discovered was Tru Thoughts . I’d go record shopping every week and a...
19/07/2026

When I moved to Brighton in 2003 the first thing I discovered was Tru Thoughts . I’d go record shopping every week and always come home with at least one of their releases. Most of my nights out were connected to the label somehow. It became my favourite record label of all time

Robert Luis — one half of Tru Thoughts — became a DJ I really admired. I’ve watched this label grow from a local club night into one of the UK’s most respected tastemakers for eclectic, leftfield music.

Over the years going to their nights, Rob and I slowly became friends. He’d always give the regulars a wave from behind the decks; a genuine attention to detail, remembering faces, making people feel seen.

Yesterday Rob and his family came to Kitgum. The guy who introduced me to Tru Thoughts, now sitting in our room next to our own decks. Full circle moment. One of the highlights so far.

Did I ask him to DJ for us? Of course I did. Watch this space. 👀

Belated Father’s Day post because I’ve been so busy I actually missed the day. My amazing dad. Nothing I say here will e...
12/07/2026

Belated Father’s Day post because I’ve been so busy I actually missed the day. My amazing dad. Nothing I say here will ever be enough.

Born in Uganda in 1944, eldest of 6. Never got the chance to go to university like his siblings did. Studied photography but in 1972, aged just 28, newly married to mum, he was expelled from Uganda along with 80,000 other Asians. Landed in the UK with a suitcase and $50 to his name. Split from everyone he knew. Ended up cleaning fridges in Harlesden. Racism so normalised back then he barely even clocked it as that.

Worked his way up to engineer, then went out on his own with mum backing him the whole way. Never looked back. Sacrificed, saved, bought their own house. Gave me and my sister everything. Hard on us but always love.

In our culture success is measured by education, wealth and status. That’s why dad always felt he wasn’t successful enough, wasn’t good enough. I think about him every single day, and it’s because of what he went through that I’ve got the work ethic I have. Every time I want to stop, I think of him. He never had that choice.

I went against the grain. Didn’t study, left home young, rebelled against everything my community expected. And running a restaurant is about as against the grain as it gets in our culture too. Didn’t matter — he and mum backed me anyway. Always.

And funny enough — Kitgum is actually where he’s from, a real place in Uganda. So there’s a piece of him in this restaurant, whether he knows it or not.

Forever grateful dad. Best dad and grandad ever

The tune is Nothing Without You — nafik sahb . Because dad, I am nothing without you - love you so much! X

We’ve never posted about the amazing DJs who’ve played (or are about to play) at Kitgum. So here it is. At Kitgum we alw...
10/07/2026

We’ve never posted about the amazing DJs who’ve played (or are about to play) at Kitgum. So here it is. At Kitgum we always try to have a personal connection with the food, drink, space and now the DJs too. There’s always a little story to tell.

Pic 1 – , last night. Barry used to run a record label called Askew Recordings, specialising in broken beat. I remember going to see Bugzintheattic back in 2005. Barry was handing out promo CDs and I played it on repeat in my car for weeks. That CD is the reason I got so into broken beat. Thank you Barry.

Pic 2 – Danny Annaly, last Saturday. Danny runs the wonderful , once a month on a Sunday. Started in 2024 and it’s gone from strength to strength. The lineups have been heavyweight, from to Robert Luis to Patrick Forge. He’s also the father of , my first ever staff member back in 2016. Great set Danny.

Pic 3 – JD, last Friday. I met JD back in 2019, I live a few doors from his dad. JD ran all my street food for a year or so and helped launch Kitgum 1, we’ve been friends ever since. We’d talked about DJing together for years and I’m so glad it finally happened.

Pic 4 – Jo Dressler, last Thursday. I remember meeting Jo around 2018 at my street food stall. We kept bumping into each other, as you do in Brighton. Jo has a regular show on the fabulous 1BTN and her selection is next level. I was Shazamming pretty much every tune she played, felt like a music lesson. Thank you Jo.

Pic 5 – Matt (moustache Matt), last Wednesday. Moustache, as I call him, even though he hasn’t had one in years. One of my best mates. We’ve known each other and DJ’d together for years. Great vinyl DJ, and he’s helped a ton with setting up the sound too.

Pic 6 – Laroye. I met Tom a few years back at a J-Felix and Werkha gig. We got chatting because we thought we knew each other, turned out we didn’t. That night it came out that Tom’s a proper broken beat producer as well as afro, boogie and disco. Turns out I’d been buying and playing his records for years without realising.

open Thursday & Friday from 6pm and Saturday from 12pm

This time last week we weren’t even open, and weren’t sure we’d make it. It was looking dodgy right up to the wire, and ...
09/07/2026

This time last week we weren’t even open, and weren’t sure we’d make it. It was looking dodgy right up to the wire, and we got there by the skin of our teeth.

Getting here hasn’t been easy. We got the keys and felt elated, but it quickly dawned on us how much this was going to cost, and the sheer amount of work in front of us. It was overwhelming. There were moments the whole thing nearly fell apart.

Then the crowdfunder happened and our community stepped in. Tradespeople and businesses we’d never met reached out to help. You lot paid for meals you hadn’t even eaten yet. We’ve been humbled by our community. So finally opening our doors felt like such a relief.

One of the hardest things we’ve ever done. But we’re proud to be here, still smiling, with amazing people around us. This post is a shot out to every one who helped get us here 🤎💪

Slide 1 — Me and Fayaz, 10 mins before opening. Frazzled and a little bit shocked that we actually did it!
This project has reminded me just how lucky I am to have Susie Bates in my life.

Slide 2 and 3 — The building and space four months ago
This is what we walked into. Hard to believe it’s the same room now. Big thanks to the previous owners Estia Kitchen , who live above us and have been so supportive throughout.

Cont. in comments

It’s been amazing watching this place come to life. Susie and I have done some mad projects together, but nothing’s test...
25/06/2026

It’s been amazing watching this place come to life. Susie and I have done some mad projects together, but nothing’s tested us quite like this one. It’s been exhilarating, there’s been some really nice moments building it, and also a lot of stress. Three kids, no income coming in, working round bedtimes.

It’s not surprising my Crohn’s, brought on by the stress, flared up. Then on Sunday I fractured my foot. We still had a lot to do, and with that added in, it was starting to feel unrealistic to open tonight.

So we’ve taken the tough decision to push the opening back a week. We’re nearly fully booked, and we were gutted at the idea of letting everyone down. But everyone’s been so understanding. We’ve let everyone with a booking know already — now we wanted to let you all know too.

Honestly, the second we made the call, we both breathed out. A broken foot in forty-degree heat is a blessing in disguise.

Launch week is now 2nd July. Booking link in bio. x

1. kids first viewing
2. 2nd attempt exterior paint colour
3. Dj booth and levelling concrete floor
4. The bar
5. From the rooftops
6. Those tiles 💘
7. Cats by Afia age 8
8. Showpiece door by Cab
9.Knackered

18/06/2026

Good morning brighton - 6 days to open 👀

14/06/2026

Two years ago when the far right marched, I closed the restaurant and went home.

I was scared. I’d watched what was happening across the country on the news. The violence. The hatred. So I shut up shop and went home. I didn’t go to the counter protest. I felt gutted. Weak. A little ashamed. Like I’d let these racist fools dictate to me. Like I’d failed my kids.

Growing up in northwest London in the 80s, “paki” was just a word people said to us. We were never taught to challenge it. Just quietly accept it. I remember being called it getting breakfast at a holiday camp. I was 7. The man was in his 20s. I don’t think my parents even knew how offensive it was. Maybe because they came from somewhere else. Maybe they were just trying to survive. My dad wasn’t a weak man. But he took it. A lot of Ugandan Asians just took it on the chin. They had to.

Today the fascists came back to Brighton. I woke up with a migraine. Exhausted. Ten days to opening. The last thing I needed.

But I told Susie — we have to go.

Me and Ettie walked down. I was trying to explain to her why these people were marching. Why they had so much hatred toward brown people. She looked up at me and said “what, people like me and you daddy?”

Yeah baby. People like me and you.

We found the sound system. Tunes blaring. And then the people. So many people. Familiar faces and unfamiliar faces. The energy. The solidarity. The sheer love in that crowd. 4000 of us. 200 of them.

We danced. We chanted. We kept the line.

We even bumped into one of my favourite singers, , right there in the crowd. She’s on , one of my favourite labels. Of course I had to pitch her to come sing at the new Kitgum. 😏

They did not pass. They turned around. They went home. WE WON. THEY LOST. Get out of our town.

I told Afia afterwards that they couldn’t finish their march. She said “aww poor them.” How beautiful and innocent.

But yeah. Poor them.

Poor them because they’re so lost they ended up in Brighton on a Saturday thinking they’d win.

They didn’t.

Whose streets?

OUR STREETS

Fayaz X

Address

Brighton

Opening Hours

Tuesday 12pm - 11pm
Thursday 5pm - 11pm
Friday 12pm - 11pm
Saturday 12pm - 11pm
Sunday 12pm - 10pm

Telephone

+441273933660

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