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

The simple sandwich is brilliant food, but is often complained about by discerning Cairenes. Think of how many disappointing sandwiches with limp, low quality bread, too much lettuce and too little everything else you’ve had in your life. But Maadi newcomer, Bistro No. 10, is championing the cause for sandwiches and doing it in style.

As a venue, BN10 invites you through a black gate surrounded by flowers and greens , which leads you to a path with tables on either side. There’s an outdoor area which is super cosy and quiet, and an even cosier indoor area with all-white everything; but what we loved the most about both areas is the layered white tables that had a space filled with gravel and small plant pots and a transparent surface to give your food the cutest background.

When it comes to food, the menu offers salads and sandwiches, plus a dessert and a few simple drinks, but it’s the sandwiches that draw the eye most.

The first of four sandwiches we tried was the Raspberry Roast Beef (88LE) in fresh brown panini bread – yes, you get to choose the bread. The sandwich consists of thin layers of tender, raspberry-glazed roast beef with crumbled blue cheese, caramelised onions and fresh arugula which create a remarkable combination that boasts very bold yet perfectly balanced sweet, salty and nutty flavours. We loved blue cheese kicked in with the caramelised onions to create the perfect roast beef bite.

Our second choice was the Thai Satai Chicken (62LE), the main ingredient of which is tender chicken cubes smothered in peanut sauce, which has a hint of coconut milk flavour, and actually tastes like peanut. Sun-dried tomato added the occasional intense kick, roasted peanuts bits added a great crunch and arugula added a freshness to the tortilla wrap. This was certainly a very unique sandwich and had generous amount of chicken.

The Cafe De Paris (92LE) is a sandwich based on a French steak dish and is one of the best sandwiches we’ve tried in a long time. Like the dish, the sandwich is filled with slices of good quality steak smothered in a herb butter-based sauce. It’s a perfect buttery steak sandwich – how could you go wrong with that?

Sadly, the Chia Seeds Pudding wasn’t available at the time of our visit, but our fourth sandwich, the Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich (58LE), kind-of worked as a dessert. White toast was filled with mild, creamy, buttery brie cheese, which is complimented by apricot jam, beef bacon and a hint of balsamic reduction, then toasted perfectly to a slightly crunchy exterior. Despite the bacon needing to be a little bit crisper, we once again couldn’t help but be impressed with the bold and creative, but balanced, flavours.

As you might have noticed, the word ‘flavours’ has been used a lot in this review; but that’s what it’s all about at Bistro No. 10. Every sandwich we tried had one or more ingredients that made us question its inclusion – but every single one worked. The place is simple, cute at most, but the food was flawless and delivered in terms of offering unique combinations. The service was fantastic, too – one of the co-owners was taking the orders at the time of our visit and you could see his passion as he enthusiastically described the sandwiches. Residents of Maadi should be very grateful for this gem of an eatery – especially that it offers home delivery, too.