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

Though there are new restaurants opening in Cairo month-to-month, homegrown fast-food brands are difficult to come by these days – that was until Chicken Fil-A arrived. Unfortunately, it didn’t fare too well in its Cairo 360 review; but with the news of a new branch, new recipes and a new menu, we went back expecting big things from a restaurant that was also praised for its potential in the review.

As a venue, Chicken Fil-A is divided into two floors; the ground floor, where the cashier is located, has grouping of chairs that acts as a waiting area. The upper floor has a basic seating set-up with a few too many metal chairs and tables stuffed into what is quite a small area, which is made to feel all the tighter by the red brick walling.

When it comes to the new menu, it’s all a bit overwhelming. The sandwiches are divided into four sections; fried stuffed buns sandwiches, fried non-stuffed buns sandwiches, grilled stuffed buns sandwiches, and elite non-stuffed buns. The individual descriptions are vague, too; phrases like ‘elegant and creamy’ and ‘hot mixed flavours’ look great on paper, but they don’t really explain much.

After decoding the menu, we went with the Juicy Lucy (49LE), the Corn N Cream Sandwich (39LE) and the Big Bang Medium (44LE).

The Juicy Lucy came in form of a piece of cheese-stuffed fried chicken laying on a bed of shredded lettuce and ranch sauce, and topped with four pieces of fried cream cheese bites. The chicken itself was very moist and tender, but the slightly oily crust lacked crispiness and any kind of flavourful  seasoning. The bread was soft and fresh, but the sandwich overall was quite unbalanced; there was too much ranch sauce and the cream cheese bites overshadowed the chicken and its cheese filling.

Served in twisty top bun, meanwhile, the Corn N Cream sandwich consisted of two small pieces of breaded chicken laying on cream cheese spread and a scant amount of sweet-corn, which contributed little to the overall flavours, making it very similar to the Juicy Lucy but without the ranch sauce.

Despite being disappointed with the first two, the third sandwich had us licking our lips just looking at the photo on the menu. You’d be naive to expect to get it exactly as it is in the picture, but what came out of the kitchen was very, very different.

The chicken was laying on lettuce and a pinch of fries, and then topped with jalapenos and two onion rings drizzled with cheese sauce and spicy sauce. Again, there wasn’t too much to differentiate it from the other sandwiches; pretty much the same as the other sandwiches – too much sauce, not enough of anything else – plus, the crust of the onion rings was too tough and over-spiced.

This all might read like a negative review, but actually, in terms of local fast-food, there’s no doubt that it will continue to be popular. There are lots of sauces, lots of cheese, big portions and reasonable prices – this is not a restaurant for foodies, but it doesn’t try to be. But maybe with a few adjustments, it could be.