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

We
always get excited when a new bar opens up in Cairo. We get especially excited
when said bar is located in the Fairmont Nile City. Prior to its opening, O Bar
was already the talk of the town, not least because of its creative launch invitations;
they were so exclusive they became the most sought after invites in town. After
the grand opening, O bar launched Ladies’ Night on Tuesdays, offering free
drinks and snacks to the Cairo’s glitterati. After hearing this we couldn’t
help but go there ourselves to check it out.

O Bar is
located in the lower lobby of the hotel. 
As soon as you walk in just follow the music and you can’t go
wrong.  The huge black and white entrance
leads you in to find the electric blue bar in front of you. The first thing
that is striking about O Bar is the space. The venue is relatively big and is
made up of distinctive areas. Apart from a dance floor there is an area with
booths, the bar, as well as another room towards the back with seats for those
who want to escape the herds for a bit. We fell in love with the walls covered
with pictures of well-known celebrities interspersed with the dark purple and cream stripes. The design gives an edgy touch to the place. Above the bar is a
mirrored ceiling which we advise ladies with low-cut tops not to stand
underneath!

Tuesday
nights can get really busy and being a lady indeed paid off because it meant we
got our complimentary Cuvée mimosas.

The
resident DJ at O Bar is DJ Moody, though we’ve promised the occasional special guest.
If said guests are of the same calibre as DJ Amr Hosny who played at the opening night,
then we have nothing to complain about. Either way, the music is still generally
good with a mixture of commercial, house and r&b. The atmosphere at O Bar
can best be described as glamorous. At the time of our visit the ladies really
went all out and were dressed up in their finest outfits.

Apart
from our complimentary drinks we tried a Screwdriver (96LE) and a Long Island iced
tea (93LE). The latter was one of the best we’ve ever had in this city.
Unfortunately though, the second time round it was prepared with a little less love
and tasted considerably worse in comparison.  The Screwdriver
was mixed with fresh orange juice and had a substantial amount of Vodka in it.
Cocktail lovers will be pleased because O Bar has an extensive cocktail menu.

The club
tends to get crowded which can be a bit claustrophobic when you are stuck in
front of the bar. However, the venue is big enough to wander around when you
want to escape. Overall the atmosphere and crowd are a joyful bunch who jump
and dance around instead of sipping on their drinks with long faces and waiting for
the photographer to spot them. Tuesday nights are already legendary around town
and rumour has it that O Bar still has a lot more surprises in store.