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

With only a handful of restaurants in Cairo that serve it, you can’texactly call Turkish cuisine a favourite in Egypt’s capital. When we visited Osmanly some months ago, it was one of the best meals we’d had in 2016. Sadly, that wasn’t the case with Cok Güzel. 

Located at Beverly Hills in Sheikh Zayed, Cok Güzel shares the first floor with its sister venue, Cedars. From the low chandeliers above the tables with the classic buttoned purple and white chairs, to the ferforje windows and more purple and white patterns and frames on the walls, the restaurant has a very classic design that suits family gatherings.

The variety on food is quite overwhelming, but after browsing the menu, we’ve decided to go with Izgara Hellim (35LE) and Manti (35LE) for our appetisers. The Izgara Hellim is simply grilled halloumi cheese wrapped in vine leaves and then topped with a little bit of pomegranate sauce to create a rich and tangy dish that made great use of its three ingredients, though presentation was a bit of a letdown. 

The Manti, meanwhile, came as a deep plate of bite-size Turkish-style ravioli that were filled with chicken bursting with spices and flavours, all topped with yogurt sauce and thyme. It’s a simple and fun appetiser that’s full of flavours and perfect to share. 

 Things were going well till the main courses arrived. The first was the Dana Pirzola (120LE) – a dish of four grilled veal chops and mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, the veal was bland and extremely overcooked and chewy, while the mashed potatoes were also plain. Overall, the dish lacked interesting flavours and, once again, the presentations was plain in the most old school of ways, unlike the much more attractive photo in the menu.

 The same goes for our second main dish, the Mutancana (95LE), which came in form of a mixture of very, very dry chicken,dried fruits and almonds, all swimming in a watered-down pomegranate sauce. This one was a particular disappointmen, because on paper, the flavour combinations sounded, delicious, but was ruined by the dry chicken and watery sauce. On the other hand, the side of Oryantal Pilav –rice with a bold cinnamon flavour, mixed with nuts – was absolutely amazing. 

 We finished our meal with Kunefe (35LE). Despite being filled with a scant amount of cheese –  the edges had no cheese at all – we couldn’t help but enjoy the crispiness of the dessert and what cheese it did have was melted perfectly for a great Instagram #CheesePull. Pistachios added more flavours and crunch and, overall, it had the right amount of sweetness.

Our experience at Cok Güzel had its ups and downs. The ambiance was pretty unremarkable, the staff’s recommendations were uninspiring (we didn’t come to try the mixed grill or mushroom chicken) and, overall, we we had higher expectations for the food, especially after the appetisers. But the main courses were littered with problems even though we were the only table in the restaurant at the time of our visit.