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

After last year’s curfew and restrictions, many places were back in full throttle this Ramadan, with precautions and regulations, of course. One of those places is the famous Taghmisa tent, which started back in 2016 and has since become a yearly tradition for the 5^th settlement and nearby residents.

Located conveniently in Arabella Country Club, the Taghmisa pop-up tent is exceptionally spacious. You can instantly feel the Ramadan vibes all around, from the decorations and lights to the seating and live entertainment. You can find folkloric live music, street-style beverage vendors, and performers going from table to table all night long for Suhoor. We got to our table and got settled; as soon as we started to look at the menu, we found two staff members with folkloric attire handing us Sobia and Hibiscus the old-fashioned way – street vendor style, through a jug!

After we ordered, we waited for quite sometime because the place was packed, and we wanted all the food to arrive at once. We ordered the Alexandrian Fava (46 LE), Taghmisa with Hummus (55 LE), and Kiri Cheese with Pastrami (65 LE). The quality of the fava itself tasted fresh and creamy, making all the Fool dishes great, but the Alexandrian ingredients took the prize. It had spicy green chili harissa on top that elevated the taste. As for the Taghmisa with hummus, the hummus wasn’t a lot, so the dish tasted a bit bland in a way. Lastly, the pastrami was of good quality in the Kiri Cheese with Pastrami – but the mix of flavours didn’t work for us.

We also got one plate of Pastrami Omelet (63 LE), Ghee Medhrag Eggs (35 LE), and Sunnyside ups (35 LE) – all of which were of good portion. We could tell straight away the fantastic quality of the eggs; they were rich and creamy especially in the sunnyside-up dish – we didn’t even have to put salt and pepper. The Medhrag eggs were three boiled eggs fried in ghee; they tasted delicious – but needed more frying time for sure.

The next stop featured the side dishes. We mixed it up with Fries (35 LE), Falafel Kiri (46 LE), Fried Halloumi (68 LE), Fried Eggplant with Taghmisa Harissa (25 LE), Hummus (35 LE), and Cheese with Tomatoes (68 LE). The fries weren’t homemade, which was a disaoppointment. However, the eggplant and Halloumi both tasted delicious, perfectly fried with the right amount of saltiness. The Falafel was light and tasty, but the addition of Kiri inside didn’t upraise it in any way, especially that it didn’t melt at all – it was still a block. Conversely, the hummus was perfectly creamy and spiced, but the cheese with tomatoes wasn’t unique; it was subpar and could have used more flavor and seasoning. We saved the best for last to mention their signature Taghmisa bread; it is a hybrid between bread, Indian chapatti bread, and feteer. Served so incredibly fresh that you could eat it on its own!

After this incredible Sohour, we decided to try a few of their desserts and call it a night. We got Eshta with Pistachio (89 LE), Melted Halva with Eshta (97 LE), and their signature Zalabya Taghmisa with Nutella and Lotus (90 LE). The Eshta with pistachio was heavenly; the eshta wasn’t heavy, and the sugar was perfectly balanced. Contrariwise, the melted halva was extremely rich and heavy but would work well with halva lovers. The surprise here is the Zalabeya, because it’s not our traditional mini fried balls; it seemed more of a deep-fried feteer dough. It a new take on deep-fried desserts for sure, but perhaps it tasted a bit too oily for our taste.

Taghmisa is definitely an experience, not just a place to get Sohour; once you’ve entered the tent, you’ll feel that distinctive Ramadan nostalgia all around, which is why people love Taghmisa. The vibe was on-point, the staff had their facemasks on 24/7, and the food was generally innovative and tasty. The prices are high for sure, but it is worth going a couple of times during Ramadan.