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

Although
we are always very excited about new venues opening up around Cairo, it’s nice
to fall back on familiar and reliable places that have been around for a while. One such venue is Deals, which has existed in Cairo for more than fifteen years and
has several branches. The pub’s Zamalek branch is located on El Sayed
El Bakry St, just behind Diwan and Abu El Sid on 26th of July Street.

When you
enter the pub, make sure not to bump your head. Since Deals is on a lower level,
you have to take the stairs down and then enter at a somewhat strange angle.
Inside you can take a seat at the bar, a high table or a more comfortable low
table.

The venue’s interior seems typical pub-like with dim lightning from
baroque lamps, some paintings on the wall and an overdose of the colour brown with
the furniture, alternated with copper elements. There are televisions that usually broadcast sports or music
channels on mute. The background music is calm and not too loud; so it is
possible to hold a conversation with your friends there.

Deals
has a small section of cocktails which includes drinks such as the screwdriver,
Cuba Libre or daiquiri, all of which sell for 35LE. The most expensive is the
Long Island ice tea for 55LE. You can purchase local beers like Stella and
Sakkara for 15LE and above, and a bottle or draught of Heineken for 17LE and
above. Local wines are available and will set you back around 30LE a glass or 95LE
a bottle. Imported wines are occasionally available and start at 250LE per bottle.

The food
menu at Deals is huge. There is a large variety of mezzas like calamari, sogo’ and
sambousak. Soups and salads are also available. For a main course, you can
choose from pastas, curries, fillet steak with various sauces for 60LE, a
seafood platter for 75LE or fish and chips for 45LE.

For an
appetiser, this reviewer sampled the cheese croquettes (20LE), which came in a
generous portion but the cheese sauce was a bit too heavy. We also sampled the
chilli con carne, which we don’t see that often on menus in Cairo. The dish was
good, but it did not taste like chilli con carne should taste; it was more like an Egyptian adaptation of the dish.

For drinks, we sampled the black Russian (35LE),
which was a bit low on vodka and heavy on Tia Maria. The whiskey sour was too
sour; so we suggest that you pass on the mixed drinks and play it safe with
beer or wine.

Deals
may not be the best in concocting drinks and it may lack a high-end menu,
but it is always a safe place to go for chilled drinks and a bite with friends
in the afternoon.