It’s amazing to think that there are starving people in Egypt, when eating is such a popular past time. There are restaurants, Cafes and supermarkets almost on every corner of every block. You even have food carts that sell foul (traditional bean dish), Falafel (deep friend bean patty), batata (sweet potato) and roasted corn (dur-rah). Hell you can even buy belady bread, fruit and vegetables from a cart. We are a nation obsessed about FOOD! Our outings are revolved around FOOD too. 

Mohendiseen Area

Mohendiseen is one of my least favorite places to go to.  I personally find it to be overly crowded and the thickest part of the concrete jungle we call Cairo. However, it is where most of the businesses are and it’s where the majority of the citizen’s of the Gulf states like to take up residents during the summer months. In the districts defense, I have to admit that they do have some restaurants that are worth battling traffic to go and enjoy.

If you want your steak cooked the way you want it, then Charwoods is the place to go and satisfy your craving. It’s a quaint and quiet restaurant located on Gam3at El Dewal Street.  Keep your eyes open for it because it’s very easy to miss. The interior is very simple but with a cozy atmosphere. The menu is on black chalk boards on the restaurant walls. So, feel free to get up and walk around to read what you might want to eat. Their Fillet Au Poivre is my favorite and their lemon sorbet ice cream is so perfect you could purr. I was taken there on a first date and I was impressed. If you plan on going with a large group of people, it’s bet to book ahead of time. 

Le Papillon (The Butterfly),  is quite an old restaurant but still serves great tasting Lebanese food. We went there for the first time a few months ago and we were so mesmerized by the Mezazas (oriental salads), that we kept ordering more. We never got to ordering a main dish or desert.

Crave is quite a hip place to eat. I believe the correct culinary word to describe it is fusion. They fuse two or three styles of cuisine together. Their Mixed Mushroom Appetizer is divine and their Chocolate fondant desert is enough to make you ‘crave’ it more.

Maison Thomas is my favorite pizzeria in Egypt. Thomas uses fresh ingredients on their thin crust pizzas and their cheese cakes are just as good. My advise is if you have the urge to have Pizza, don’t go for the fast food junk, be kind to your body and taste buds and either go their or have a deliver made. I’m so glad they have branches all over the city.

Spectra Cafe is a lot like Roastary in my opinion. It reminds me a lot of a pub that serves pub sized lunches. The times I have gone there was only one time, where I didn’t enjoy the meal and that was because it was really late at night and the oil they used to fry the onion rings in had been over used.

* I am sure there are others but those are the ones that I have been to.

Maadi reminds me of the suburbs. It is probably the greenest part of Cairo. Maadi is home to most of the Expat community in Cairo. The Ivy league schools are there too. They have a couple of clubs exclusively for expats and they also have several softball teams. I don’t mind venturing there from time to time, the only problem is it’s a maze for someone who doesn’t live there. The streets are not labeled or numbered clearly, so it’s easy to get lost if you don’t know where you are going.

Lluciel’s on road 9, has been written about. I believe a writer in a very prestigious magazine said that Lluciels has the best burger they have ever tried. I have tried their burgers and I have to admit that they are DAMN good. The food at Lluciels makes you feel like you’re at your Grandma’s and you are having a home cooked meal. Friday’s they serve all day breakfast.

Jareds Bagel’s is on the same road a Llucie’s. I don’t know about you, but some times when I’m here I have cravings for foods that are unavailable here. As the years roll by, more and moe of my cravings are being satisfied. Jared’s Bagels are an excellent supplement for the fresh Jewish bagels used to buying in Montreal. 

Cuba Cabana (road 7) is a very cool place to go to there are 3 different seating areas. You have the outside area, which is very pleasant. In the evenings it has romantic atmosphere. In the building are 2 other seating areas. The first one you come to is very hip and funky, if memory serves me correctly the furniture is purple velvet. For some strange reason reminds me of the new Alice in Wonderland movie. The thrid area is very comfortable. It has a ‘natural’ feel to it with big white soft couches and a coffee tables. The food there is very tasty too. I can’t pin point what genre of cuisine it is, I think it’s a mixture of many.

San Marino- Korean

I  had never tried korean food before going to San Marino. I have to admit that the food was delicious and fresh. A Korean woman owns the place and over sees every thing that is served. If Koreans and other Asian’s eat there, then you can rest assure that the food is good.

Fuego

Bandar Mall in Maadia, has Chili’s, a bowling alley, cinema and a fancy restaurant called Fuego. Fuego is one of the Tuesday Nighters favorite places to go for a meal in Maadi. I have to admit that it is one of mine too. The cuisine is excellent. I have never had a bad experience there. The service is sterling and the management is top-notch. I was a witness to an incident where a colleague of mine had ordered sea food soup and not only did it smell fishy but it tasted too. The manager came over and apologized for the mishap, took the item of the check and gave her complimentary desert. 

Bukhara (Indian)

Karven Hotel’s Massala restaurant, in Heliopolis is the reason why I enjoy eating Indian food. Bukhara in Maadi is another place to go to if you enjoy Indian cuisine. The ambiance of the restaurant is simple, yet comfortable. I was there after having taken Grade 5 on a school trip to the Cairo Museum. Most of the children are only exposed to fast food and oriental food, so for most of them it was a new experience. The kids devoured the food on their plates and they really enjoyed the naan bread with the selected dips. Children can be the toughest food critics, so if they eat and enjoy the food then it must be good.