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

Restaurants
Pesto

Pesto: Quick & Unfussy Meals in Heliopolis

reviewed by
Jessica Noble
rate it
review it
Pesto: Quick & Unfussy Meals in Heliopolis

With the Cairo restaurant scene becoming increasingly varied, it’s often difficult to keep up with the high turnover of venues, and finding authentic, affordable Italian food in the city is almost impossible. Newly opened Pesto in Heliopolis tries its hand at exactly that, whilst claiming to serve up food with ‘the best Italian taste’.

Competing for custom right next door to local favourite, Wild Burger, Pesto is difficult to miss with its garish, bright green and red colour scheme, and with just two indoor tables, the majority of Pesto’s seating is outside. Even though the small eatery is laid out like a fast food restaurant – with luminous menus displayed above a large glass counter – table service is readily offered and friendly.

Their slogan’s claims of Italian authenticity is misleading to say the least; other than pizza (20.99LE-64.99LE) and pasta (14.99LE-39.99LE), the menu boasts a large range of international dishes including fried appetisers (7LE-15LE) sandwiches (14.99LE-29.99LE) and salads (4.99LE-10.99LE), as well as chicken (34.99LE-44.99LE) and beef dishes (37.99LE-57.99LE). There’s nothing unusual about the selection of hot (5.99LE-9.99LE) and cold drinks (4.99LE-9.99LE) or fresh juices (9.99LE); the sodas are served chilled, along with a glass of cute, flower shaped ice cubes.

For our starter, we ordered one mysterious mixed appetiser (15LE) which transpired to be an assortment of juicy chicken wings, incredibly gooey mozzarella sticks, simple but delectable onion rings and nachos with a small amount of melted cheese. The whole dish was effortlessly tasty, complete with a sprinkle of paprika and perfect for sharing.

In a test of the restaurant’s Italian aspirations, the lasagne (24.99LE) took our fancy for a main, as did the fried chicken (34.99LE) and a Greek salad (10.99LE). Verging on fast-food timing, all the dishes arrived much quicker than we were expecting. Unfortunately, far from the Italian masterpiece we’d envisaged, the pasta sheets in the lasagne were over-cooked, while the meat filing was under-marinated which left us with an unfortunate aftertaste. The fried chicken dish fared a little better; fried to a golden brown with a topping of half melted cheese slices, it was served alongside our choice of a well-cooked pasta in a creamy white sauce. The Greek salad was our favourite, though; crisp and fresh with an abundance of deliciously soft, creamy goat’s cheese and tangy vinaigrette.

Out of a list of desserts, the only two available were chocolate (9.99LE) or vanilla cheesecake (11.99LE). Opting for the latter, we were satisfied, but not bowled over by what was a run-of-the-mill dessert; though it was pleasingly sweet, it was distinctly average and lacked any kind of element that could elevate it.

Still fairly new to the restaurant scene, Pesto’s execution is what lets down its theoretically excellent concept. But if you need a quick-fix to suppress any hunger pangs, Pesto may be the place to visit.

360 Tip

Pesto will begin its home delivery service in the next few weeks. Call 01156100056.

Best Bit

The food was ready in no time.

Worst Bit

The lasagne was a huge disappointment.

Write your review

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

recommended