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

Last time we went to Boulevard, we enjoyed the cosy ambiance but not so much when it came to the food. However, with the promise of a new menu and we decided to give it a 2nd chance.

Although there’s nothing to point you to the new items in the menu, we ordered a Pineapple Cooler Lemonade (30LE) to get over the hot weather. The blue drink was too sweet for our taste due to the strong artificial syrup that overpowered the lemonade. The inner 7 year old in us enjoyed it, though.

Moving to food, we checked the appetisers but there was nothing really special so we opted for Cheese and Mushroom Ravioli (75LE) to share. Aside from the uninviting presentation (see above), it came as one very large, uneven ravioli that had touch edges and and undercooked centre. In addition to the cheese and sauteed mushroom stuffing, it was supposedly topped with truffle cream, but the sauce that it was drowned in tasted like instant powedered gravy.

Hoping for better, we also tried the Oyster Cashew Chicken (100LE). Served with basic roasted potato cubes, the dish also disappointed on several fronts. The boneless chicken was tough and dry and the oyster sauce was just very, very salty – plus, we didn’t find a single cashew nut in the dish.

We had also originally ordered the Oriental Crispy Ouzi, but it wasn’t unavailable and the waiter instead recommended the Veal Schnitzel (125LE), which didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. Keeping in line with the other dishes, though, it was also disappointed. The breaded veal escalope had very tough edges and generally unremarkable flavours, while the the wedges served with the dish were also rather oily. It’s particularly disappointing that this basic dish costs 125LE.

We were hoping for the Caramelized Chocolate Banana Bread (50LE) dessert to save the day but sadly it didn’t. The description of the dessert was ‘Warm hazelnut chocolate banana bread, topped with raisins, fresh berries and vanilla bean ice cream’. It sounded like an interesting twist on banana bread, but it wasn’t banana bread at all – it was French Toast with chocolate sauce and banana slices on top. Not only was the description highly misleading, but but the toast was undercooked with pieces of slimy cooked egg whites.

Boulevard is a great place if you just want to chill with your friends and have a good session of shisha and drinks. But when it comes to food, we’re not sure it would be the best choice in terms of flavours and value for money.