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

If you’re tired of the set fetar menus and
open buffets galore dominating the Cairo dining scene this Ramadan, trying an
a-la-carte menu is a refreshing experience. However, if your choice
of a venue is a popular restaurant like Steak Out, chances are you may not have
the quiet meal that you crave.

Steak Out is best known for its signature
steak dishes and is immensely popular among the younger dining crowd in Cairo.
At the time of this reviewer’s visit, the restaurant was bursting full with
young and jovial patrons waiting for fetar, and the noise level never really
abated throughout the meal; not even when the call to prayer had everyone
breaking their fast.

We were asked to reserve in advance and to
show up one hour before fetar time to guarantee that our orders would be delivered
on time. That being said, our orders of cream of chicken mushroom soup (9.99LE)
were served ten minutes early, and had to be sent back to be reheated in time
for fetar.

Apart from that minor glitch, the rest of our food arrived promptly;
a little too promptly even. Our food was
served as if it were on a conveyer belt; promptly, briskly and a little too
roughly. Having our soup bowl taken off our table before we were finished to
make room for our appetisers and main courses was a bit disconcerting, but the
harried waiter was too overwhelmed with the conveyer belt system to notice our
bleats of disapproval.

This reviewer’s order of medium-rare rib-eye steak (99.99LE) came with a side of salad greens and pepper sauce. Although
it was clearly served fresh off the grill, we found the meat to contain too
much fat, and it was most definitely cooked medium not medium-rare. Even worse,
the pepper sauce was so thick and heavy; it completely overpowered what little
taste the meat actually had.

Our companion’s order of grilled chicken
steak (99.98LE) fared better: the chicken meat was lightly grilled and
blended well with the side order of mashed potatoes drenched in a cream sauce.

After our plates were promptly whisked away,
our orders of dessert and a pot of tea with mint arrived seconds later. The
Oreo madness half-portion (19.98LE) has always been one of the most popular
items at Steak Out and we could see why: although it arrived already melting,
the delicious mix of crunchy biscuit crust with thick vanilla ice cream and
heavy caramel sauce compensated for the lacklustre main course this reviewer
had just had. The brownies and fudge (12.99LE) were equally as heavenly,
arriving hot and drenched in chocolate sauce. The desserts were heavy on the
sugar, and the mint tea was a necessary component to wash the meal down.

If you don’t mind the noise and appreciate
a speedily served meal, Steak Out is your restaurant this Ramadan. But don’t
expect gourmet food or quality steak; this restaurant focuses on large portions
of butter-heavy food for the family. Nothing more, nothing less.