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

New hangout spots can be hard to find in, especially when Cairo seems to love to copy-paste concepts. Finding a low-key venue that offers a different kind of atmosphere than your everyday cafe and a different ambiance is no easy task.

Hidden in the middle of New Cairo, however, Station Lounge has a large outdoor venue, with an accompanying stage for live music and DJs to perform. They also have several different seating arrangements according to the guest’s request like dining, or lounging around or even something close to the stage for a better view.

With a dominantly chilled atmosphere, the mood is usually relaxed when there is no band playing. A mix of Arabic and English music is played through the speakers to give an overall lounge-y feel, setting up the calm before the storm.

After skimming through the large menu, we started off with a simple Cappuccino (30LE) with a hazelnut flavour (9LE). It was a bit more on the milky side than we’d like, however the hazelnut gave it an extra kick of flavour and it was still refreshing in the nice, open area. We also tried the Turkish coffee (24LE) but found it to be far too bitter and the coffee grounds to be of a noticeable poor quality.

No Egyptian hangout would be complete without Shisha (50LE each), of which we ordered two; one watermelon and the other a peculiar mix of kiwi and Red Bull. Both had mild flavours and were a bit too thick at the beginning, but that was easily fixed when we relayed our concerns to the attentive Shisha attendant.

While the place doesn’t offer the highest quality when it comes to hot drinks, it makes up for it with atmosphere. With a chilled and cosy venue, which includes an extensive menu and a waffle based bar, Station Lounge is a really nice to hang out if anyone wants to leave the more mainstream hotspots and relax in their own way.