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

Since Zamalek
is an island, and thus surrounded by water, you’d think it would be easy to
find a restaurant or café located directly by the Nile. For a while, the only
options seemed to be Sequoia and the restaurant boats. Rejoice; Coffee Shop
Company is the latest addition to Zamalek’s Corniche with seating right by the
Nile.

Coffee Shop
Company offers various seating options on its multi-levelled outdoor space. Some
tables are right by the Nile and others a bit higher up near the street.
Between the levels are little fountains and plants. The red, white and black
decor is very trendy and the comfortable white couches near the water make this café a perfect place to chill out in. A tent-like cabana will keep
you sheltered from the sun during the day, as well as a few umbrellas over
other tables and fans that provide a breeze. Flat-screen TVs around the venue
screen music videos, while the background music is a mixture of Amr Diab and
Latin pop.

Coffee Shop
Company offers regular coffees (12LE), chai lattés (16.50LE) and white and milk
hot chocolates (16.50LE). You can request extra toppings like nuts (6LE) and
chocolate or caramel sauce (6LE). An average cup of tea will set you back 10LE.
Of course you can get all of these drinks iced as well, starting at 16.50LE.

At the
time of this reviewer’s visit, all juice flavours were available from mango to
kiwi. Prices start at 11.80LE for lemon juice, and reach 15.80LE for watermelon
juice. There are a few fruit cocktails as well, such as the Florida (18.50LE)
or the baby love, which is made of pineapple, coconut and mango (18.50LE).

The cafe’s
food menu includes salads starting at 18LE, soups at 16LE and sandwiches at
20LE. Pizzas start at 22LE and main courses start at 39LE. There are various
ice cream options available such as spaghetti ice cream (32LE) and banana split
(32LE). A special kids’ menu is available, consisting of a cheeseburger and
fries for 20LE.

This
reviewer tried the berry smoothie (22LE), which was served in a plastic takeaway
cup. The drink was very sweet and came with a heavy portion of cream on top; so
make sure to request that the cream be removed if you prefer your smoothie
light.

Shisha
is also available at Coffee Shop Company, with several flavours such as apple, cantaloupe and cinnamon. This
reviewer sampled the watermelon shisha. Since we were sitting on low lounge chairs,
we were given a very cute, small and table-sized shisha. Regular-sized shishas are also available. Coals were changed
regularly and the shisha tasted good. However, at 23LE for a shisha and 5LE for
a lay, a total of 28LE is outrageous.

While
its shisha prices are too high for its standard flavours and taste, Coffee Shop
Company is a nice option for a chilled evening by the Nile with a cold smoothie
and warm shisha.