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

In a city of traffic, noise and air pollution, a quiet
café in a garden with fresh juice, delicious sandwiches and smooth shisha is
exactly what Cairenes need. Café De Paris is a small outdoor lounge that most
regulars visit to watch matches, enjoy shisha, snacks and cold juice. Located
conveniently close to the AUC dorms, it has also been a popular student hangout for years.

The atmosphere of the café is undoubtedly one of the
best in Cairo.
It’s full of greenery, plants and flowers. During the day, it’s usually quite
empty and thanks to its location on a quiet street off Marashly Street, the only sounds that can
be heard are of the birds in the trees. At night, especially when there’s a football
match to watch, and on weekends, it can get quite cramped.

The menu is rather limited, but Café De Paris makes up
in quality and service what they lack in variety. The chicken pané sandwich
(20LE)with cheese arrives in a fresh, long roll with the perfect balance of
bread, cheese and chicken. It’s served with French fries and a side of
vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and pickles. The salad was
a very nice touch and added just the right amount of freshness to the fried
chicken and fries.

Don’t forget to check out the menu of fresh juices and
cocktails. The lemon juice is served cold in an elegant long glass. It’s very
refreshing and great for Cairo
heat. There are several cocktails listed on the menu. Try the hazelnut cocktail
if you want something that only Café De Paris offers. It’s a combination of
hazelnut ice-cream, mango, milk and bananas. It is hands-down one of the best and
most original cocktails in Cairo.

The shisha (15LE) is one of the reasons why customers
keep on coming back to Café De Paris. It’s clean, smooth and there are enough
flavours to satisfy a shisha connoisseur. The peach shisha is aromatic, strong
and seems to last a bit longer than the regular apple shisha. The lemon and
mint shisha is super refreshing and a great fusion of the two flavours.

The service at Café De Paris is wonderful; we have absolutely
no complaints. The waiter was attentive, friendly and made good
recommendations. The only thing that is a bit disappointing is the price tag. A
couple of sandwiches, juices and shishas for two can cost 150LE with 12% tax
and 10% service charge. Although the location and atmosphere are great, it’s a
bit overpriced for what it is.

The restaurant next door, Versailles, belongs to the same owners. The
menu is a bit more extensive, but the laid-back atmosphere and good shisha are
still there.