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

On a neat and pretty square on Al Zaharaa Street in Dokki, sits Sugar Rush. Children play in the street and kittens frolic in the grass, and on a fine sunny Cairo afternoon, the temptations of this house of waffles, cupcakes, ice cream and crepes draw in many a sweet-toothed customer. But once inside, Sugar Rush cranks it up a notch, rocking an urban design which is far from sweet. ‘Angry Birds’ and images of ‘youth culture’ are spray-painted on all the walls, bringing a little bit of ‘the streets’ into this quiet Dokki suburb.

The menu is simple: they offer waffles and crepes with sweet or savory toppings, as well as a chocolate or cheese fondues. However, the choices narrowed when it transpired that Sugar Rush’s cupboards were even sparser than their menu. We were eager to try a fondue but were disappointed to find that none was available. We were instead teased with the promise of chocolate fondues in white, milk and dark for 30LE or 70LE, or a Swiss cheese fondue for 55LE.

We attempted to select a few toppings for our waffle, but were forced to settle for our third choice of Ferrero Rocher (24LE). The waffle was doughy and dry, despite the lashings of chocolate and sugary toppings that it languished under. Half way through the snack we suffered a carb overload, which cancelled out the gluttonous sugar hit we were hoping for. On top of the thick waffle, several Ferrero Rocher chocolates had been crumbled up, their crispy shells combined with gooey Nutella filling and whole hazelnuts making for a sophisticated topping.

The ‘Forest Lust’ crepe (26LE) – which comes with apple slices, sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup and roasted almonds – was a far better creation, offering some genuine culinary penash. The pancake was soft and chewy, neither the crispy French style nor the thick American type, but somewhere in between, which gave plenty of substance without being over-filling. All the flavours were well balanced, with enough juicy chunks of apple infused with the sweet syrup and rich cinnamon.

For drinks we were also told that frappés and most of the milkshake flavours were out. So we ordered a chocolate milkshake and a peach smoothie. The peach smoothie was sweet and delicious, as if a peach sorbet had been blended into a smooth, cold drink. The chocolate milkshake was too heavy on the cocoa and lost its sweet side; it was also very thick, meaning a spoon was necessary to take it on.

Outside, Sugar Rush boasts having Wi-Fi, cupcakes and Häagen-Dazs ice cream: in fact, only one of these statements is true – a small tub of Häagen-Dazs ice cream can be purchased for 21LE, but there was no trace of the other two.

Sugar Rush talks the talk, but unless they actually follow through with what they promise this place can only disappoint.