The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The burger market sure is a competitive one. With no short supply of restaurants in Cairo, scattered throughout the different tiers of dining experience, new players must bring something distinguishable to the market, or fade into obscurity.

Maadi, as always, greets new restaurants very warmly. Located on the quiet Road 6, Burgerque is the latest addition to an arsenal of gourmet burger options distinctly different from the ones closer to the city, particularly in Zamalek.

The eatery boasts a chic, indoor area with light wooden walls, an open kitchen separated from the dining area with glass and an outdoor area. The waiters eagerly greet you when you walk in, find you a seat and hand you the menu.

Burgerque isn’t exactly the place to go for a light meal. It’s more like a hub for comfort food – and we love comfort food. With gourmet patties and unusual toppings – ranging from raspberry and brie to avocadoes with eggs and bacon – and complimented by sides like Buffalo wings and cheese fries, plus salads, including an interesting burger salad and a ricotta salmon salad.

So with a pleasant atmosphere set, we dove into the menu. From the appetisers, we opted for Buffalo wings (27LE), cheese fries (19LE) and ‘The Works Fries’ (33LE).

Each very decent in portion, the Buffalo wings came in a rectangular white plate, accompanied by blue cheese ranch and celery sticks. While the chicken itself tasted quite fresh and tasty, the buffalo sauce could have been slightly spicier; otherwise it was very messy and enjoyable – the good kind of messy, of course.

The cheese fries, fresh and thick cut, came in a large metal cup, soaked in homemade cheddar sauce. While we do love our fries cheesy, be warned: they are also quite heavy.

The Works Fries, cut in a sort of swivel, are topped with sour cream and tasty fried beef bacon, and accompanied with more sour cream dip and ketchup. Both fries succeed mainly because the potatoes themselves are done extremely well.

From the burgers, we opted for something conventional, the BGQ (45LE), and something with lots of toppings to test the creativity, The Brit (64LE).

The BGQ comes with lots of cheddar; literally overflowing. Complimented by the classic lettuce, tomatoes and pickles toppings, the patty was cooked well and retained the patty’s juices, which, with the cheddar, worked great and proved that, sometimes, simplicity is the best way.

The Brit, on the other hand, which is topped with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, plus avocadoes, eggs and beef bacon, is bursting with flavour, to say the least. While eggs and bacon compliment burgers well, the tomatoes felt a little redundant and created too much moisture within the burger. Additionally the avocadoes weren’t cooked or particularly ripe, and they may have been spiced, which was a bit too much for the flavour.

When it comes to burgers, most diners have their favourites and will stick with them. Burgerque, however, is worth breaking out of the cycle for.