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

It’s not often that we get to say that a new restaurant has opened in Mohandiseen – restaurateurs these days prefer to open in the likes of New Cairo and 6th of October City. But with a new branch of Willy’s Kitchen bringing comfort food and hefty burgers to the area, Mohandiseen has a new, welcome addition.

Located in El Narges Street, off El-Tharwa Street, Willy’s Kitchen has taken the space where Marley’s Kitchen once stood. Though the venue is mainly designed for takeouts, Willy’s Kitchen has a simple wood and brick interior with a few tables, as well as several retro touches that charm you into wanting to eat in.   

Boasting some delicious burgers – which we tried during our visit to the Nasr City branch — this time, we were keen to check out Willy’s Nachos section – a new addition to the menu that sees sandwiches enveloped in crispy deep-fried tortilla bread.

We kicked things off with the new Nacho Hickory BBQ (39.5LE) with a side of skin-on fries and a soft drink (14LE). Wrapped in crispy tortilla bread, infused with cheddar cheese and a great mixture of Louisiana sauce and Hickory BBQ, the burger patty was very thin and slightly overcooked which made it slightly dry, though the Louisiana sauce did add a pleasant spicy kick and the BBQ sauce complimented the flavour of the smoky beef bacon. The sandwich was overall pretty average, though; it needed some juiciness and another ingredient like onion rings, maybe, to cut through the other flavours. The skin-on fries were well-cooked, meanwhile, and were seasoned perfectly.

The Crispy Fried Chicken (39.5LE), on the other hand was a pleasant surprise. The tender chicken breast was coated in a scrumptious, golden crust and topped with lettuce, turkey, tomato and cheddar cheese, all served in a freshly baked burger bun. The flavours were remarkably delicious together, even though the use of garlic sauce was heavy-handed, making the bun slightly soggy. Served with Waffle Potato Fries and soft drink (18LE), the fries had a great crunch and dipping it in cheese made it all the more heavenly.

Our last stop was the Double Chili Hotdog (37.5LE) served with Chilli Cheese Fries and a soft drink (22LE). While the sandwich had the potential to be our favourite, with its delicious mixture of chilli beef, the spicy kick of jalapenos and melted cheddar cheese, the main problem was the hot dog itself being too grainy – usually an effect of poor storage or poor quality. As for the chilli cheese fries, the fries were crunchy enough to handle the melted cheddar cheese and the well-seasoned chilli without getting soggy.

Although we're happy to have a Willy's Kitchen closer to the centre of town, our dip into the Nacho wrap items at the new branch wasn't without fault. With any independent restaurant trying out new items, there's usually a bedding-in period as the kitchen perfects them. If they can, it'll build on the restaurant's already established reputation as one of the best choices when it comes to comfort food.