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

Sometimes, all you need in Cairo is a quick and cheap bite to eat. Seeing as how Zamalek is already short on
traditional foul and taameya stands, this is a nice alternative when you’re
on-the-go and in need of a little something to fill your tummy.

Located on 26th of July between Shagaret El Dor Street and El
Saleh Ayoub Street, El Gomhoria is a Zamalek staple and has been around for
decades.  It isn’t anything fancy to say
the least. It’s essentially a small hole-in-the-wall with the fish cart parked directly in front
of it. Loudly labelled ‘Fish Cart’, keep an eye out and you won’t miss it.

From the look of things, the kitchen itself, although a little rusted,
seemed clean and rather well organized.

Their menus are abounded – both printed for takeaway and on the wall
above the doors. Whether you’re on the go or seated, it’ll only take a few
minutes for your food to arrive; there’s no lollygagging around and we
appreciated that greatly.  A small table
with chairs is located on the pavement if you’d prefer to stay and enjoy your
meal there.

For starters, soups and salads are available. Soups, including gandolfi
(Egyptian clams), range from 15LE to 18LE. Salads (1LE-10LE) include pickled
eggplant, calamari and a standard green salad with lettuce, tomato and
onion. 

If you’re looking for larger portions or a meal for many, El Gomhoria
serves meal platters (15LE-30LE) and fish by the kilo (40LE-85LE).  Meal platters come with rice, pickles, salad
and your choice of fish, while a kilo of grilled white fish fillet will cost
you a reasonable 40LE.

The sandwiches though, are by far the easiest and most popular; you
are given a choice of bread (baladi or French) and fish (fried or grilled – calamari,
shrimp, fillet and a few lesser known others).

Medium and large are the only sizes available – a medium shrimp sandwich
in baladi bread is 7LE and includes a cup of lightly fried shrimp and tehina.
We also enjoyed the fish fillet on French bread; flavoured well, a dose of
lemon and tehina finish it off quite nicely.

While El Gomhoria also
delivers, taking a load off and having a sandwich on-site is usually enjoyable:
the friendly guys behind the counter might even encourage it.