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

About halfway down Ahmed El Melehy Street, Argila is a spacious, modern café with crowded tables and the air is thick with the scent of flavoured shisha. Argila’s menus attest to the fact that it is somewhere you could literally spend all day; it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as drinks and snacks. But the food is fairly underwhelming. We ordered a motley collection of soup, sandwiches, and salad, and weren’t massively impressed by any of them.

From here, the only way was up, with the tomato basil cream soup (14LE) proving rather more satisfying.  It had a cheesy tang which came as something as a shock given that nothing of the sort had been advertised, but this wasn’t altogether a bad thing. The caramelised onions which accompanied the croutons were a nice touch, too.

The salads were probably the best culinary experience Argila had to offer. The Caesar salad with shrimp (39LE) came in a large portion; crisp, fresh leaves generously garnished with tasty dressing, parmesan, and croutons. The shrimps were fresh but also tasteless.

Whilst the food is fairly patchy, the coffees, teas and smoothies are what really stood out. If you’re feeling thrifty, they do a lovely hot cinnamon tea for 5LE. But if you’re willing to push the boat out, the latte (15LE) was tasty and beautifully presented, with swirls of colour and a little design on top. The mixed berry smoothie was fruity with a thick consistency, perfect for a hot summer’s day – or, as generally known in Cairo, a ‘day’.

These reasonably priced drinks are exactly what makes Argila a great place to work, chat and relax. However, an unfortunate decision has been taken to place televisions on every wall, beaming out second-rate American films. This meant that halfway through our meal we were forced to watch Denzel Washington being water-boarded on no fewer than four screens, as Ryan Reynolds looked on.