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

As you walk along the beach in Almaza, you’ll notice a new restaurant has opened this year. You may even hear the Greek music playing from the speakers, giving us the Mediterranean vibe we didn’t know we needed. The venue in question is White & Blue, brought to you by the iconic Greek Club of Alexandria.

Now, as with any other place in Almaza (or, let’s be honest, the whole of Sahel), this place is definitely on the pricy side. But why don’t we start by telling you how absolutely worthwhile it is? Between the unmatched setting, quite literally on the beach and overlooking the sea, and the scrumptious food, there were no regrets about visiting White & Blue. For the Sidi Abdel Rahman goers, they also have a branch in Ghazala Bay!

The melitzanosalata

We were initially taken aback by the unfamiliarity of the names of many items. As Egyptians, we consider ourselves connoisseurs of Greek cuisine with our deep love for shared dishes like moussaka and keftedes (or kofta). However, we were very quickly humbled. For appetisers, we chose the melitzanosalata (L.E. 150), or eggplant salad, and spanakopitakia (L.E. 185), which are a feta cheese and spinach-stuffed sambousek. Both were divine! The melitzanosalata was the perfect salad to wake you up after a long day swimming, and the spanakopitakia were exceptional. They had the perfect cheese pull, and we could hardly wait for them to cool down to keep on eating them – our tongues paid the price. They were golden and crisp to perfection, and the stuffing was incredibly soft and out of this world.

The spanakopitakia

Then, it was time for our main dish. We could just as easily have relied on the appetisers for the entire meal. However, fish is their speciality, so we could not resist giving it a try. We chose their Greek-style fish (sold by weight at market price), which is cooked in the oven with a side of potatoes – spoiler alert: it was extraordinary!

Fish, the Greek Way

We also wanted to give the risotto a try, so we chose their seafood option (L.E. 395). It was incredibly creamy and delicious, a definite must-try for seafood risotto fans. But to be completely fair, the risotto paled in comparison to the fish. It was the perfect dish that would make any Mediterranean grandmother proud – be it your Egyptian Teta or Greek Yiayia. A very simple dish yet bursting with flavour from the freshly caught sea bass, or arous/qarous as we know it, it truly brought life to the word tender. The chefs know exactly what they’re doing, as they just let the flavours from the fish and vegetables shine through.

The seafood risotto

The experience at White & Blue was made complete with the view. We were extremely lucky to have gone between 6 and 7:30 pm, which meant we got to enjoy some of the best fish we’ve ever had with the sand just a few metres away and the sun setting by the sea. It truly was the perfect meal.