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

After an
exhausting day of shopping in Cairo, nothing is more rewarding than taking a
seat in a café and having a small bite while inspecting your new purchases.
Ciccio is located on the corner of Geziret El Arab Street’s intersection
with Syria Street in Mohandiseen. Its bright red colours can not to be missed.
Ciccio claims to be an Italian café; we’re not quite sure where the name
derives from but it reminds us of a certain villain from The Godfather.

Ciccio
has now expanded to include a little terrace. The terrace is literally on the
pavement and surrounded by high walls for privacy. The terrace doesn’t have
that much atmosphere and at this busy intersection sitting inside might be a
better option. Inside, the colour red hits you once again. All the couches are
red, as are the lamps and some of the wall decorations. We don’t want to go as
far as calling it Cairo’s red light district but it really does have an awful
amount of red. The couches are very comfortable and are perfect for lounging.

The best part of Ciccio is probably the available magazines and books that you
can take to your table. TVs on the wall broadcast Mazzika music videos, while
standard Arabic pop music plays in the background.

This
reviewer sampled the strawberry smoothie(17LE), which arrived at our table very
swiftly and tasted very fresh; so fresh that we suspect actual strawberries
were used. We also ordered some light snacks such as spring rolls (17LE) and mozzarella
sticks (17LE). It took a while for both
orders to arrive, but since we had about four magazines to read through, the
long wait didn’t really bother us.

When
finally served, the spring rolls came with crème fraiche to our surprise. We
are pretty sure the two shouldn’t ever meet and have absolutely nothing to do
with each other. However, after taking one bite, we understood the combination
immediately. The spring rolls were filled with green peppers and were therefore
extremely spicy. The crème fraiche cooled down the flavour a bit, but all
together it tasted very weird. Thankfully, the mozzarella sticks were as we had
expected them to be: deep-fried cheese that was not too greasy and a bit
stringy. A side serving of chilli sauce was served with them.

Although the
clientele at Ciccio is very mixed – from groups of young people to older patrons – there is a very palpable sense of overbearing machismo among the crowd. Maybe it’s one that has descended naturally from the aforementioned Godfather inspirations; whatever the reason, it made this reviewer feel uncomfortable .

You can have a shisha here as well for 20LE. While the staff is pleasant, their
service can be slow, especially when the venue is crowded. If you’re in the
Geziret El Arab area and desperately need a fresh drink to cool down with, try
Ciccio. However, if you want something to eat then give it a miss. There are
better places in the area to grab a bite at.