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

Walking into the basement shop of Fino Bakery in Maadi, the smell of fresh pastry will hit you like a warm friendly slap in the face and proceed to seduce you into buying pretty much everything edible on display.

To any carb junkie, this bakery is heaven on earth: the 13 types of breads on offer, including wholegrain, sunflower, green tea and pumpernickel, sell for 19LE a loaf, while jelly doughnuts, pretzels, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, cheesecakes, éclairs and croissants are enough to send the healthiest heart into a sugary cardiac arrest.

Ok, we exaggerate a little. The shop’s cakes are fresh, made-to-order and almost always perfect. We say almost because the lemon meringue pie seems to have a Goldilocks complex: sometimes too sweet, other times too lemony and sometimes just right.  And no matter how often we stare longingly at the cheesecake, its hefty 250LE price tag for a whole cake has regularly stopped us from losing our sanity and handing over the credit card.

Although the bakery has a restaurant seating area on the second floor, its quietness and bleak lack of atmosphere makes us prefer pickups and ordering delivery. The delivery service is fast, efficient and perfect for office lunch breaks; especially since the bakery’s selection of hot and cold sandwiches come in freshly baked bread of your choice: multigrain, whole wheat or focaccia.

The Philly Cheese Steak Panini comes piping hot with generous servings of steak and melted cheese, while the Cold Tuna sandwich with tomato and cucumber is a little bland and creamy thanks to copious amounts of mayonnaise. The Pasta Bean Soup is perfect for a cold winter’s day with just the right amount of spices and beans to fill you up, and if these offerings haven’t whet your appetite the menu also offers quiches, pastas, salads and a bread basket for the more simple-minded carb aficionados. Some prices are a little high, but it’s understandable considering this shop caters to the CAC community and foreigners nostalgic for a taste of of homestyle bread. Once exclusive to Maadi, Fino Bakery now has a branch in Zamalek that will surely give popular bakery TBS (The Bakery Shop) a run for its money.