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

Ever since its opening in Zamalek this
Ramadan, Abdel Wahab has created quite the buzz around Cairo purely through
word of mouth. This very successful Lebanese restaurant chain has branches in
Dubai and Bahrain among others, and promises authentic Lebanese cuisine in a
charmingly traditional setting.

Although there’s no clear sign marking the
restaurant’s entrance on Abou El Feda Street, the fluorescent green
numbers 33 hang over the entrance: to your left is Ramadan shisha place Tofaha, to your
right is Abdel Wahab.

If – like this reviewer – you have been
desperate for a new Nile-side restaurant other than Sequoia; then rejoice:
Abdel Wahab is located on an elevated wooden platform smack-dab on the
Nile river. The restaurant is completely open-air; and at sunset during our
visit, it was beautifully breezy. The restaurant’s logo is emblazoned on the
wooden walls and on the paper table covers, and the wooden theme is reflected
in the colour of the couch seats and the waiters’ uniforms.

At the time of our visit, Abdel Wahab only
served a set menu for fetar at 140LE per person. The standard menu was not
available yet, so we have no idea what to expect in terms of prices and dishes
after Ramadan. We also had to hold a harried waiter down to ask about the fetar
menu, and later on to ask for napkins, salt and pepper. The waiters spent most
of the night rushing around hurriedly and had to be reminded of our requests, a common problem with service during Ramadan.

After being seated, we were served
appetiser plates of vine leaves, baba ghanough and hummus dip, as well as bowls
of lentil soup. Baskets of hot bread were brought out, and we happily lapped up
the creamy yet slightly acidic hummus and the delicious yet subtle lentil soup.
The vine leaves were appropriately drenched in lemon juice though greasy, while
the plate of mini-sogo’ contrasted nicely with the smooth but slightly bland
baba ghanough.

Our main courses consisted of long-grain
rice with cinnamon, nuts and raisins topped with mutton, and a plate of
mixed grill: kofta, meat shish tawouk and chicken shish tawouk between two
slightly toasted flat breads. If we hadn’t stuffed ourselves with bread and
dips, the mixed grill could easily have been consumed by one person. The rice tasted pleasant though not flavourful enough, while the meat and chicken shish tawouk were excellent:
freshly grilled, juicy and bursting with flavour.

Dessert was not available during our visit:
the waiter informed us that the only dessert item available was mafroukeh (a
heavenly rich dessert of clotted cream with nuts, semolina and sugar), but he
advised against it as it was a day old and the newest batch had to be flown in
from Beirut today. Yes, you heard that right, they fly in their dessert from
Beirut.

After a pleasant meal, we indulged in a
sweet cantaloupe shisha (20LE), which is available in standard and fakher
blend. Other flavours include coca cola, watermelon and lemon. The shisha
service itself was excellent and consistently attentive.   

All in all, Abdel Wahab has great potential
to become one of the most popular restaurants in Cairo as long as its
post-Ramadan service becomes smoother and less distracted, and it maintains its
quality of cuisine. We were somewhat disappointed in our bill: two bottles of
water, two sodas, a shisha and two set fetar meals added up to over 400LE, a
lot more than we’d expected to pay given their 140LE set price.