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

Taking up two
floors in the residential area of Maadi Degla, adjacent to the Maadi Grand Mall
is the newly opened Prosperos Café and Restaurant. At first glance, it seems that the venue’s owner wanted to make sure that there was a
little something for everyone, which is evident in Prosperos’ eclectic atmosphere.

While most of the café/restaurant is
covered in elegant stone panelling, the rest of the walls are covered in obnoxiously loud custom
wallpaper. However, one thing that
impressed this reviewer was the closed non-smoking section, where half of the
restaurant on the second floor is surrounded by a thick glass with its own
air-conditioning system. For clients that hate swallowing second-hand smoke
along with their food, this is a much welcomed sight.

The menu is
diverse but hard to pin down. Prosperos seems
to be trying to present itself as a Mexican restaurant, yet only a handful of items
on the menu would be recognisable to Mexican food lovers. The menu offers
everything from soups and salads to pasta and pizza, but there are a few
Mexican-themed dishes as well.

Our waiter was polite and quick, and our nacho appetiser
(20.95LE) was on our table in less than ten minutes. The nachos were colourful
and came with three accompanying condiments, one of which was the Thai chilli
sauce that typically comes with spring rolls. We found that the two
complement each other surprisingly well.

As a main course, we had the burger with
onion rings (25.95LE) and the Tex-Mex Chicken (45.95LE). This reviewer had expected a typical Mexican dish with strips of bell peppers and chunks of
onions. Instead, the order was more of a Mexican Chicken Stroganoff fusion; but it turned out to be a very hearty and tasty meal. The accompanying sautéed
vegetables were perfectly cooked and doused with a light pesto sauce, adding
just the right kick to what is typically the least creative part of the plate.

Portions at
Prosperos are quite large; even the burger takes up almost a third of the plate
and is joined by a side of crispy fries. This reviewer would have liked to
see more onion rings on the burger– it only comes with two– but it was
comforting to find that the burger seemed to be made in-house, rather than
frozen and store-bought.

Food aside, not
only does Prosperos provide shisha; but they also have a Playstation section in
the downstairs section, where the large windows lining the side of the
restaurant peer onto a small garden.

As decent as
the food was, this reviewer would prefer to stress the café part of the
Prosperos equation, as that seemed to be the more popular aspect. The shisha
came chilled by an ice-filled cup around the its stem, which was pretty
innovative.

Prosperos’ general
atmosphere, its Playstation section and the shisha make this place perfect for
a casual hangout with your friends.