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

A lot of restaurants try to target this niche, but somehow, we just can’t get enough of it. Akla Khana offers a host of different items on its menu, leaving you spoilt for choice when picking out your meal.

Taking a look at their menu, you’ll instantly see a lot of choices. Akla Khana offers main dishes in three categories:  sandwiches, pastas, and ghomous (dips). They have traditional Egyptian dishes such as liver, sogo2 (oriental sausages), kofta, and even herring fish. You can complement your meal with a few sides including fries, sambousak, and sogo2 or chicken wrapped in konafa strings. Akla Khana also offers Western sandwiches such as burgers and fried/grilled chicken. At the end of a very savoury meal, you can balance things out with a choice from their dessert menu.

While prices are generally reasonable, you can go for broke at this shack with their all-you-can-eat offer: pay 99 EGP and get access to all their sandwiches in any number you’d like. However, we decided to test out their ghomous and pastas to make sure they keep quality high on all fronts. We opted for the Sogo2 Pasta (38 EGP), as well as ghomous of Grilled Liver (33 EGP), Sogo2 with Cola Sauce (41 EGP), Liver with Cola Sauce (38 EGP), Sogo2 with Pomegranate Molasses (38 EGP), Chicken Liver with Balsamic Sauce (39 EGP), and Kofta Dawood Basha (38 EGP), plus some drinks, and salads, or tahabish as they call them.

They took their time prepping the order, but it was worth the wait. The chef insisted on serving all the dishes together at once, all the salads first, then all the main dishes shortly afterwards. While we were impressed by the taste of every dish, there were definitely some highlights. They have a special tahbisha that we wish came in some magical bottomless pot; yes, it is that delicious. As for the ghomous, we were especially fond of the Sogo2 and Liver with Cola Sauce. As for the Sogo2 with Pomegranate Molasses, we are glad to say that it was perfectly executed. 

However, we did experience some disappointment when it came to the Chicken Liver with Balsamic Sauce. Yet, the Kofta Dawood Basha came to save the day, with its powerful sauce which elegantly spiced up this dish.  

If you’re looking for reasonably priced Egyptian food that tastes distinctively well, do not miss out on Akla Khana. As you can see, their prices are quite low, service is excellent, and the food is truly delicious.