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

When it comes to the Cairo restaurant scene, standing out can be a hard thing to achieve – quirky décor and a clever name just won’t cut it alone, especially in the realm of the very vague and broad ‘international cuisine’ category.

Karma isn’t new on the scene, with its first branch having opened at a prime location at Citystars next to VIP Cinema. The new branch at Point 90 Mall in New Cairo isn’t as lucky in its location, hidden away in one of the mall’s several halls, though it does have a unique design that stands out from its neighbours.

After walking inside the creatively styled décor of wall lights and mirrored ceiling, we took our seats near the bar, where we were given slightly withered menus by our friendly waiter.

The first plate to arrive was a basket of garlic bread that was soft, tender and light, with the garlic providing a delicate backdrop without being too overpowering.

Coming approximately fifteen minutes later, our appetiser the Shrimp Konafa (53.95LE) arrived in a small square pan, alongside a small bowl of sweet chilli; the four cigar-shaped shrimp were nicely wrapped with a konafa that didn’t crumble too much and was delightful and crunchy. The shrimp were well cooked and worked exceptionally well with the sweet chilli.

After another fifteen minutes, our main dishes arrived; the Crumbed Chicken (74.95LE) and the Beefy Double (109LE), though our third, the Chateaubriand (280LE), was served ten minutes later.

The Crumbed chicken came as two fried chicken breasts topped with some marinara sauce and some melted mozzarella cheese, with a side of penne pasta topped with white Alfredo sauce. The chicken had a tender, well-cooked centre with a well-seasoned yet fragile external breading that came off the chicken once we sliced into it. The mozzarella and the marinara sauce worked well with the chicken.

The Beefy Double came as a 250 gm fillet topped with our choice of sauce – we chose pepper sauce – alongside the same side dish as the chicken.

The beef itself had a great gamey taste to it and worked well with a strong pepper sauce that was bursting with flavour and gave the beef an extra kick. As for the pasta, it was cooked until tender on both dishes drenched with an abundant amount of white sauce, which made eating the pasta, a smooth and creamy experience full of flavour.

Coming in last was the 500gm behemoth Chateaubriand as a huge steak with a side of mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables; however, the gravy sauce mentioned in the menu didn’t arrive until a few minutes later and had so much pepper in it that it wasn’t easily edible and was returned to the kitchen.

However upon its return, the gravy sauce might as have been one of the best items on the whole table, working well with the mashed potatoes, which was a bit dry until smothered with the gravy making smoother and flavourful.

The sautéed vegetables were great with a mix between carrots, zucchini, and potatoes; bursting with the taste of butter, it was surprisingly another memorable element of the plate – not an easy feat with simple vegetable.

Moving onto the huge chunk of meat on the plate, it was cooked to perfection all the way through and had a great earthy taste to it; however, it was also very dry and needed the gravy to give it the juiciness it needed.

Overall Karma has a solid grasp on what it wants to be as a restaurant, but, at the time of our visit, it fell into the same holes as similar restaurants. Essentially, it is as good as any other international cuisine restaurant; it offer good food, there’s nothing particularly unique – nothing that will make you want to come back in a hurry.