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

In the few and far moments when Cairo’s weather is both sunny and breezy, there’s nothing better than dining outside. One of most popular spots to do exactly that in also happens to have an excellent Nile view; Maadi’s the Platform.

Having worked our way through almost all of the cafes and restaurants there, La Pietra was beckoning. While enjoying good weather and a great view is a plus that all the Platform venues enjoy, it also brings a lot of traffic and, more often than not, the Platform is packed. Service time is generally slow and you may end up changing which restaurant you’re going to eat at rather than wait for a table to clear up.

The outdoor decor in the Platform is almost universal across the venues. At La Pietra, simple yet elegant dark cushioned chairs and glass-top tables suit the general ambiance of the Platform quite well.

We browsed through the menu and opted for the Mushroom Soup (22LE), Chicken with Honey and Mustard (56LE) and Beef Escalope (75LE) – all of which we were really made to wait for.

It took thirty minutes to serve the soup and it arrived cold – cold enough, in fact, to send back. In fairness, however, once re-heated, the soup was actually better than most efforts across Cairo’s restaurants, being extremely dense in ground mushrooms rather than just cream.

About fifteen minutes later, our main courses were served. The Chicken with Honey and Mustard is a dish we’ve previously tried before, and thankfully, they didn’t shatter our good memory of it. The dish was hot, the chicken was tender and the sauce was brilliant and deep in flavour. The fluffy side of rice was particular tasty with the sauce and the smooth mashed potatoes with sharp spring onions completed the ensemble.

The Beef Escalope, served with a creamy mushroom sauce and sides of pasta with tomato sauce and French fries, was equally as successful and this reviewer would have no qualms in recommending it to anyone. The generous strip of beef was well marinated, cooked right and coated with a crunchy breading. Dipping it in the rich sauce was the cherry on top. The side of farfalle pasta with red sauce was without fault but unspectacular, almost forgettable and futile, and the French fries were pleasingly crispy.

Cold soup and slow service aside, La Pietra’s food is as good as any other’s at the Platform and manages to do something that few restaurants around Cairo do – keep things simple.