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

Located on the ground floor of the First Mall in Giza, La Gourmandise sits pretty with vibrant décor and a sense of majesty. Unfortunately, the Ramadan kheima flatters to deceive.

Once you settle down, the initial vibrancy quickly turns into gaudiness; the pink lighting in particular is somewhat tacky and poorly done

A live Oriental takht band sets a laidback vibe, though the big screens showing Ramadan shows on mute are rather distracting and makes for a confused sensory explosion.

For fetar, La Gourmandise houses an open buffet; sohour, meanwhile, is served a la carte.

From said sohour menu, we opted for a Vine Leaves (30LE), Cheese & Tomato (30LE), Taboulah Salad (30LE), Hummus (30LE), Sambousak with Cheese (42LE) and a Chicken Shawerma Sandwich (80LE.)

The waiters serve you a breadbasket with a variety of freshly baked bread to snack on while you wait for your food, which was served within a few minutes.

The stuffed Vine Leaves were rather clammy and after the first bite you feel every bit of it stuck to your teeth, while the stuffing itself was devoid of taste.

Hummus is a fairly simple food to prepare, but the one that La Gourmandise served was very bland, lacking cumin, chilli powder or even olive oil.

The Cheese & Tomato, despite its deceptive simplicity, was excellent. The cheese was rich and creamy rather than soggy, leaving you with a spicy after taste which we couldn’t get enough of.   

The Sambousak dough was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and served hot, but the white cheese and thyme filling was, sadly, sparse.

While the chicken shawerma is not a common sohour option, it was one of the better dishes we had. Served cut into four different pieces, the saj bread was perfectly toasted, light and non-greasy.  The chicken itself was well cooked with a hint of spicy marinade, some chopped grilled onions and pickled cucumbers.

Though the food was lacking, La Gourmandise does stand above the rest in terms of service; the staff are attentive and prompt. Overall, however, La Gourmandise does little to stand out.