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

Yokal is one of our favourite street food restaurants, not just due to its delicious food, but also due to its unique style. They just opened their newest branch in Degla Maadi at 19 Road 233. Yokal tells you that it’s not going to be a traditional eatery from the get-go, as it stuns you with a daring and quite different sign at the entrance.

As you take your first steps inside the small food shop, you’ll instantly realize that this industrially-designed shop is going to be as fun, as its food is going to be delicious. Their use of Coca-Cola boxes as high-chairs, the wooden high-tables, steel rods, and the visible pipes that span the entire place, all enrich this industrial/street inspired design. 

Moving on to the food, Yokal’s menu can be read in under a minute. They offer five choices of savoury sandwiches: their traditional Sogo2, Kebda, Kofta, the breakfast sandwiches, Eggs with Sogo2, and their new addition, Sogo2 Lux. This place is not really for chicken lovers or vegans. You can also finish off your meal with their sweet sandwich, Sakalans, a mixture of Halawa Spread and Fresh Cream.

As per the sides, you can choose between Fries (8 EGP), or a basic Torshy Cup (a mixture of pickled vegetables priced at 8 EGP). They also offer refillable soft drinks; they come in classic glass bottles, and you can grab as many as you like. The price range per sandwich lies between 10 and 15 EGP, making it a somewhat reasonably priced street food venue.

Our meal of choice, however, was the Kaboot (65 EGP). This is one of Yokal’s two combo meal option, with the other being the Totala (85 EGP). The Kaboot offers bottomless soft drinks, one Sakalans, fries, and three savory sandwiches of your choosing, while the Totala gives you six savory sandwiches. We added a Torshy Cup with our two Kaboot meals, and we also decided to try their Sogo2 Lux Sandwich (15 EGP).

First of all, and we have to say this first, their bread is absolutely amazing, perhaps it is one of our favourite things about this venue. As for the meat itself, the Sogo2 was definitely well-cooked, but a bit bland in flavor. The Kofta sandwich was a bit disappointing because it was more or less a repetition of the Sogo2, in terms of its bland flavour. Again, it was well-cooked, but didn’t really feel like a Kofta sandwich. Our favourite of the main three was the Kebda sandwich (cow liver cooked Alexandrian style): a true kebda feel complete with flavourful spices. 

The star of the day was definitely their newest addition, the Sogo2 Lux. Perfectly spiced with tomato sauce, the minced sogo2 meat was delicious. The sandwich was juicy, well-cooked, and flavourful. The sandwich was also home to a hint of mustard, which made the sandwich truly impeccable. 

Topped with some special spices, the fries perfectly complimented the ensemble. What’s not worthy of mentioning, nor ordering in future visits, is their Torshy Cup. It was much too tangy, and it simply didn’t work well with the meal; only order it if you’re a die-hard fan of torshy.

As per dessert, the Sakalans proved to be the perfectly sweet ending for this salty meal. You can’t walk into Yokal without having a laugh and eating a pretty delicious meal. Mind you, the seating area is small, and the seats are not that comfortable. That being said, if you’re looking for a quick fun meal, Yokal is definitely the place to go. Order the Kaboot if you’re a bit hungry, and the Totala if you’re really looking to get your munch on.