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

With so many restaurants in Cairo offering a standard cheeseburger option, and with no short supply of new contenders coming into the market, how does one decide where to go for a good burger?

In this particular case, you don’t. It comes to you.

Burger House is the product of multiple and seasoned attempts to create a kitchen/delivery system that serves the Maadi area. The locals may recognize the staff and chefs from their previous work in Master Burger and Lucille’s, and if either of those names rings a bell, you should know you’re in for a great burger.

While we encourage you to eat and live in a healthy fashion, let’s be serious; who doesn’t crave large servings of comfort food? We believe a good burger falls right at the top of that category.

To get a taste of all the appetisers, we opted for a Starter Platter (115LE) that includes chicken strips, cheese quesadillas, onion rings, fried mushrooms, mozzarella sticks and potato skins. It’s served in separate boxes with barbeque sauce and garlic yoghurt.

Of the six different options – which amount to a meal on their own – our favourites were the chicken strips and potato skins. What usually happens with chicken strips is that the grease factor ultimately overpowers the crunchiness. This was not the case. Tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and very decent in size, it’s a must for fried chicken lovers. The potato skins – baked and covered in cheese, bacon bits and a dash of green onions – tasted delicious with the garlic yoghurt dip.

From the burger department, we opted for the BBQ Bacon Burger (43LE). Delivered in a cardboard box with fries, the 200g patty comes with the lettuce, tomatoes and onions wrapped separately.

So, what constitutes a good burger? The patty, for starters, is the essential ingredient; firstly, it must be juicy – if it doesn’t drip on your hands it’s too dry. Secondly, the bun must be relative to the size of the patty – too much bread means you’re hiding second grade ingredients. A variety of toppings and extras aside from the basic lettuce, tomatoes and onions is also must; mushrooms, relish, onion rings etc. Use real cheese – don’t serve processed plastic cheese, it stands out. As a great burger snob once said, “If I don’t want to package the juice and sell it on eBay, you don’t want to read my review.”

The BBQ Bacon Burger was all the above. The patty juices the bottom bun just enough to give it a burger gravy flavour, the crispy bacon and onion rings infuse with the cheese to create a delightful contrast to the beef, creating an overall immensely satisfying burger. Plus, the fries are pretty decent and not soggy.

So, next time you have a hankering for a burger but can’t stand the thought of putting shoes on, pick up the phone.