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

Where does one go for a quiet evening in Zamalek when the majority of its cafes and restaurants are packed with wannabe trendsetters? Hoping to discover a hidden gem, we decided to have date night at Dishes, located on the quieter end of El Gezira Street.

At first glance, Dishes looks like Zamalek’s version of Villa 55 – the stairs leading up to the indoor dining area, a winding path to the patio seating ‘round the back, shisha and board games.

Once seated, we perused the menu and decided to order drinks – a lemon-infused sweet tea (38LE) and a soda (18LE). While waiting, we chose an appetiser to get our appetites going, however, the waiter disappeared for 30 minutes after quickly serving our drinks, and so we had to wait a bit before ordering our Chicken Quesadillas (45LE). Far past feeling peckish, we dug right in when they were served, not minding that the servings were cut just a tad too big and bits of chicken kept falling out – Mexican food is messy, right? Having tried quesadillas all over Cairo, we liked the addition of bell peppers to Dishes’ version – an ingredient you’d think would be more common. Selecting the quesadillas over the cheesy ‘Half Moon’ toast and Chicken Strips was the right choice.

Unfortunately, choosing our mains was not as easy; upon asking for the salmon plate, we were told that all seafood options were, in fact, not options that night. So we settled on the Beef Fillet (104LE) and the Chicken Toledo (85LE).

There’s plenty to do while waiting on your food at Dishes; you can play cards or Monopoly, watch TV (Inception was on that night), or listen to people in the kitchen arguing loudly.

We were soon distracted from our surroundings, however, when the food arrived. The well-tenderised steak was swimming in a rich pepper sauce and cooked to a perfect medium-rare. We did note that the cut was a bit small given the price, though. The side of carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and broccoli had a nice char, while the accompanying fries had just the right amount of seasoning.

The Chicken Toledo also had a nice char and the three chicken breasts made for a generous serving portion. We were a little disheartened to find that the fillets were not stuffed with cheese and barbeque sauce, as the menu promised, but actually blanketed in it. The mix of gooey mozzarella, cheddar and sweet yet tangy barbeque sauce was so good, it almost made up for it, though. Almost.

Our stomachs were full, but our dessert stomachs were ready for the next course. The Fried Banana (39LE) was in a crispy batter cocoon, drizzled with a delicate butterscotch sauce, served with a scoop of ice cream to complement the heat of the caramelised banana. The portion was just right, as we got a banana each, avoiding a spoon war.

Overall, Dishes wasn’t necessarily the snazziest place for date night, but it wasn’t jam packed and too noisy for decent conversation and the food was on point.