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

This Ramadan, there has been no shortage of restaurants, cafes and kheimas providing unique fetar and sohour experiences – one of which is JW Marriott’s tent, Welad El Zawaat.

Located in the open-air area right outside the hotel, Welad El Zawaat boasts a spacious seating comprised of comfy chairs and sofas, colorful decorations and a perfectly chilling ambiance thanks to a playlist that features the likes of Abdel Halim Hafez and Warda.

The buffet (230LE per person) is divided to eight stations offering Ramadan drinks, salads, a bread station, mains, an omelet station, yoghurt, desserts and hot drinks.

We kicked off our sohour with some hummus, taboula and green beans from the salad bar, which had other colorful and rich choices and sides including fried potato, labneh, cucumber and yogurt, baba ghanoush, cheese platters, alongside a variety of sauces and vinaigrettes.

The hummus was deliciously creamy and smooth, the taboula was super fresh with quinoa seeds adding an extra kick to the flavour, while the green beans were equally delicious and tangy. The only mishap with our salads was the cucumber and yogurt salad which was a little too watery.

The main sohour station had two types of foul; one with olive oil and another with tomato sauce and chickpeas, as well as falafel, boiled eggs, shish tawook, feteer meshaltet and chicken shawerma.

Opting for foul with tomato sauce and chickpeas, the foul was thick and well-spiced and the beans were delicious and tender to the bite. The falafel, unfortunately, was hard and dry which was a little disappointing.

We then tried the tawook sandwich, which was tender, moist, tender texture and all-round well-executed, though a side of baladi bread that we had with it was unpleasantly stale.

We concluded the evening with some Om Ali and konafa which were among other Oriental desserts on offer, including basbousa, rice budding, zalabya and baklava.

With a golden exterior and a soft toothsome interior, the Om Ali was delicious flavour wise, but had a little too much milk in it. Lucky for us, the konafa was a perfect save, thanks to a crunchy crust and softly delicious inside.

One thing you learn over the years is that there’s nothing quite like having sohour at home, but for those looking for a place where they can have sohour in style, Welad El Zawaat offers a festive atmosphere and a decent variety of food.