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

Located just around the
corner from Hardee’s in Zamalek, Karfficho’s deep navy exterior stands out on the
dark Mansour Mohamed street. The chain has two popular cafés in Hurghada, and
so it was only a matter of time before it hit Cairo.

Outdoor
seating is available at the café, where a few tables and chairs are cramped on
a surface of stones that look like pieces of limestone. Inside, you’ll find
higher tables and chairs, as well as booths to slide into.

The basic coffees at Karfficho are
generally as good as you’d find at other big chain competitors. The latté
(13.95LE) was strong and sharp – just how we like it. At 14.95LE, the hot apple
cider was worth every piaster. The tall piping hot glass of brown apple and
cinnamon sweetness was downed in no time. Although it lacked the spice promised
by the menu, it was the perfect balance of sweet and bitter, and the thick
cinnamon sticks rounded off the taste.

The fruit fusa looked like one of the more
interesting drinks on a menu that is actually quite imaginative. The tiered
drink rests on a layer of espresso and is topped with a tower of whipped
yoghurt, which is interrupted by slices of banana, strawberry, kiwi or orange, and finished off with a heavy spewing of syrup. The whipped
yoghurt actually tasted suspiciously like whipped cream, but there was a little
kick to it; so we’re choosing to give Kafficho the benefit of the doubt and
assume that it is indeed yoghurt. The single shot of espresso at the bottom is
strong and rich, the kiwi and banana slices tasted fresh and we were treated to
a healthy helping of strawberry syrup to make up for the fact that there were
no strawberries. You can also opt for the chocolate or caramel fusa.

The cranberry smoothie (20.95LE) was filled
to the rim with ice and tasted more like a slightly rich slush puppy. Other
notable flavours include coconut, kiwi and white peach.

Much was expected of the tuna and pasta
salad (23.95LE), which began to disappoint from the moment the bowl touched the
table. Even for a salad it looked a little messy, and was overall pretty
tasteless – the tuna in particular. There was little seasoning or dressing to
talk of, and there was no ruccola as stated on the menu. Other salads on
offer include the chicken Mexicana, the classic Caesar salad, the Kafficho
Greek and the crab salad. 

For reasons beyond our understanding, the
grilled three-cheese Panini (15.95LE) was served not grilled. The three-layered
sandwich was pretty delicious, though; and is served with a big portion of
crisps. Out of the cheddar, Gouda and blue cheeses used to make the sandwich,
the latter particularly stood out. We did have one complaint, though; the bottom
layer of the white bread became soggy and fell apart, presumably from wet lettuce and tomato.

Despite everything that Kafficho seems to
do right, it offers very little that can transcend it in amongst the growing
number of big coffee houses in Zamalek, and will function more as a convenient
spot rather than a desirable one.