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

Though it works out in varying success, many restaurants and cafes in Cairo largeley rely on a great location to send them to success. This would seem to be the case at Golio’s newest branch.

Located on recently built glorified food-court, the Platform, along the Maadi Corniche, Golio’s, claims to be a Sicilian café and restaurant offering everything from beverages and shisha to main courses.

The Platform itself is very aesthetically pleasing, so to speak; black stone tiles with tinted lights, it’s definitely a classy looking place that gets the best of the weather during this time of the year. It’s unfortunate, however, that the Platform’s aesthetics are the best thing about this review.

Golio’s is on the far left side of the Platform, with an indoor area themed with their white, pink and yellow colours, and an outdoor area for what would seem to be the biggest attraction of the Platform itself; the weather and Nile view.

Our waiters showed us to a table and handed us our menus; we opted for a Crema Di Funghi Soup (27LE) – a cream of mushroom soup – and Antipasto Sciliano (47LE) – an assorted appetiser platter.

Lacking any flavour, barely lukewarm and with raw tasteless chopped up mushrooms, the soup was a complete miss.

The Antipasto Sciliano contained three pizzettas, fried mozzarella, bruschetta and parmigiana di melanzane; fried eggplant covered in cheese and tomato sauce. The pizzettas were tasty, the mozzarella wasn’t too heavy, the bruschetta – made with garlic bread – was actually a nice twist and the parmigiana had so much cheese and tomato sauce you could barely taste the eggplant. It was, overall, an average platter, but generous in portion.

Moving on to the main courses, we opted for Grilled Sea Bass (73LE) cooked with lemon butter sauce and Golio’s signature Filetta Shalimar (100LE); a beef fillet topped with mushrooms, tomatoes and a light cream.

There’s a story, apparently, that goes with the Filetta Shalimar; unfortunately that story is only worth mentioning if the dish was any good, and it really wasn’t. The raw mushrooms and tomatoes were unappetising and the cream tasted like a sweet gravy.

The side of red sauce penne pasta was forgettable at best, which is pretty unacceptable for a venue labelling itself as being Sicilian. To top it all off, the food was cold – another miss.

The Sea Bass, served with a side of rice and sautéed vegetables, was mild-tasting, but much better than the beef. A sauce was provided that tasted a lot like the soup, but no taste of either butter or lemon stood out. The vegetables were cooked and seasoned well and, overall, the Sea Bass dish did a lot better than the Shalimar, although the food was slightly cold again.

Aside from drinks and a shisha to compliment the great setting, we suggest you skip the main courses at Golio’s, or try one of the other venues at the Platform.

Shisha and beverages in a great setting like the Platform automatically makes Golio’s a nice place to hang out. But when it comes to dining, there are better options steps away.