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

The food scene in Alexandria might seem a bit behind that of Cairo, but there have always been some hidden gems in the seaside city like Holmes and Alban Swissra – places Cairenes wish would open in the capital. But the biggest tease over the years would have to be dessert specialist, Brew & Chew, which opened its first branch in Cairo last March.

Located inside The Courtyard in Maadi, Brew & Chew’s interior is very busy on the eye, starting from the triangular mirrors on the ceiling, the mirror above the pickup bar and the use of traditional panelled walls next to grey brick walls, to the huge sign of Brew & Chew and the wall of artificial IKEA plants. If it’s a little too much on the eye, you can escape to the outdoor area which overlooks Courtyard’s mini-stage –  plus the weather is usually nice.

Before we get to the sweets, we ordered the New York Steak (130LE) with peanut butter sauce (15LE) – but only because chocolate sauce wasn’t available at the time of our visit. Served with fries and mashed potatoes and topped with perfectly seasoned gravy, the steak was cooked medium-well, but came dry and tough. The peanut butter sauce, meanwhile, was creamy with a thick consistency similar to béchamel, and had mini bits of peanut in it. It’s an interesting concept, but flavour-wise, it didn’t quite work, while its consistency did little to help the dryness of the steak.

After wondering what to pick from the endless variety of desserts, we ordered the Melting Chocolate Field (58LE), Nutella Peanut Butter Molten Cake (48LE) and Fried Banana (34LE). The waiter noted that desserts take some time to make because everything is served as fresh as possible – and we had no problem waiting.

The Melting Chocolate Field consists of Belgian chocolate topped with a giant cakey-yet-chewy textured chocolate chip cookie, a scoop of vanilla ice cream to lighten things up and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Once you start digging into the dish, you won’t be able to stop and using a jar filled with liquid nitrogen in the presentation was really fun.

As for the Nutella peanut butter molten cake, which was also served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the cake itself was very moist and chocolaty, while the centre had a bold peanut butter flavour that will please every PB fan. But it overshadowed the Nutella flavour and the dessert as a whole just needed gooier filling.

Served in a cocktail glass, meanwhile, the three huge pieces of fried banana are coated with a cinnamon-infused batter that creates a scrumptious sugary crust then drizzled with caramel sauce. Coming with yet more vanilla ice cream, the diversity of textures in this one was great and the flavours were a perfect match.

While the savoury menu has some interesting items, Brew & Chew’s desserts will always be top dog; there’s an amusement factor with the way the desserts are put together and it all adds to a fun ambiance that’s perfect sharing with friends. In this reviewer’s opinion, Brew & Chew makes the best desserts in town.