Ahwak Salon de Thé: Elegant New Hangout in Zamalek

Restaurants

Ahwak Salon de Thé

- 31/10/2011

Ahwak Salon de Thé: Elegant New Hangout in Zamalek

10 Zakareya Rizk Street
0227359509

reviewed by

Anne de Groot

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Ahwak Salon de Thé: Elegant New Hangout in Zamalek

Every
once in a blue moon you step into a restaurant, where everything about it
immediately feels right. The staff is friendly, the decor is perfect and the
ambiance is delightful. Ahwak Salon de Thé is located just across the back
entrance of the Cairo Marriot Hotel in Zamalek. As soon as you step through the
entrance on the right side of the building, you will feel like you’re walking
into a Parisian garden.

The
terrace is filled with plants, and the chandeliers hanging from the glass ceiling give the
place its well-deserved allure. There are some small tables where you can have
a cup of coffee or tea, and the small steps on the left side lead into the
indoor restaurant. Little clutches hang on the walls underneath paintings, while
an elaborately designed mirrored wall imposes on the area. Other touches include a cute hat
stand with tarbouches, a Dutch corner with windmills and clogs, and giant
Chinese vases. The restaurant has two
levels with a large painting of King Farouk hanging between the two floors.

From the
small menu, we decided to try the shrimp salad (45LE), the steak with red grape
sauce (70LE) and the dish of the day, roz ma’ammar with chicken (50LE). The
shrimp salad was presented in a bread basket with peppers, mushrooms and
lettuce. It was topped with a creamy yet very light dressing. The shrimp were
delicious and generous. We also loved the accompanying black and green tapenade,
though some more bread would have been welcome.

The
steak was cooked a bit more well-done than we liked, but it was nonetheless tasty
and easy to slice through. It had exactly the right amount of red grape sauce,
which was sweet with a little hint of sour. The roz ma’ammar, made with rice,
eggs and cheese, was absolutely delicious. The dish came piping hot and was
creamy. The roumi cheese gave the dish just that little bit of spice that it
needed. The chicken was cooked well and we loved rediscovering the Egyptian
kitchen.

That’s
why for dessert we ordered the fiteer with black honey and tehina (25LE). The fiteer
was delicious and not very greasy. The honey was half-warm and served in a
generous portion. We also had the homemade pumpkin pie topped with meringue
(19LE). The combination of the two was just right; sweet with a savoury undertone.

We ended
our dinner with Arabic coffee (35LE), which was presented in the cutest little
cups and had a strong hint of cardamom. We ordered the kashmash shisha (fruit
mix) and the berries and mint shisha, both for 20LE. The shishas were good and
strong in flavour, and the shisha man regularly changes the coals. The staff is
incredibly friendly and swift. At the time of our visit, the restaurant played
classic songs ranging from ‘La Vie en Rose’ to ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and classic
Egyptian songs.

Ahwak
brings a new flavour to the Cairo dining scene and is definitely worth a visit
with its complete package of grand decor, terrific service and good food.

360 Tip

High tea starts at 16LE (tea and a collection of homemade cookies) make sure to have it on the terrace.

Best Bit

The ambiance is perfect.

Worst Bit

Plastic menus? A venue like this deserves better.

User reviews
facebook comments

orefaie98

I was there on the 5th day of Ramadan 2017 the place is nice but overpriced with 150 LE per person (WE were ONLY 3 people) which is not worth it as the food is bad and even the ice cream is bad the shisha is not even worth anything. the staff were late at every order and the minimum charge made people leave the place immediately and we payed 450 LE for tea,shisha,ice cream and was not worth the money as we stayed 45 mins due to the inconvenience. Guests left as soon as they heard the way the manager or staff welcomed guests with "minimum is 150" people left as soon as they heard the news. The food quality isnt worth the money and surely the place isnt worth a stay in Ramadan. Also, the manager had a talk with us about the minimum as we argued that minimum charge is OFF and REMOVED from every place in Cairo, he repeated the word its not my problem and didnt even bother taking any action as i told him i will write a review about the place and how they made us pay and got me a receipt stating 450 LE and the real price of the (ice cream,shisha,tea) 133 LE which is a huge difference, i would not recommend the place to any age or group as the tables arent even organized and everything is stacked up together it was a very bad experience i would never repeat

orefaie98

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2 thoughts on “Ahwak Salon de Thé: Elegant New Hangout in Zamalek”

orefaie98 says:

June 1, 2017 at 4:31 pm

I was there on the 5th day of Ramadan 2017 the place is nice but overpriced with 150 LE per person (WE were ONLY 3 people) which is not worth it as the food is bad and even the ice cream is bad the shisha is not even worth anything. the staff were late at every order and the minimum charge made people leave the place immediately and we payed 450 LE for tea,shisha,ice cream and was not worth the money as we stayed 45 mins due to the inconvenience. Guests left as soon as they heard the way the manager or staff welcomed guests with “minimum is 150” people left as soon as they heard the news. The food quality isnt worth the money and surely the place isnt worth a stay in Ramadan. Also, the manager had a talk with us about the minimum as we argued that minimum charge is OFF and REMOVED from every place in Cairo, he repeated the word its not my problem and didnt even bother taking any action as i told him i will write a review about the place and how they made us pay and got me a receipt stating 450 LE and the real price of the (ice cream,shisha,tea) 133 LE which is a huge difference, i would not recommend the place to any age or group as the tables arent even organized and everything is stacked up together it was a very bad experience i would never repeat.
orefaie98 says:

June 1, 2017 at 4:32 pm

I was there on the 5th day of Ramadan 2017 the place is nice but overpriced with 150 LE per person (WE were ONLY 3 people) which is not worth it as the food is bad and even the ice cream is bad the shisha is not even worth anything. the staff were late at every order and the minimum charge made people leave the place immediately and we payed 450 LE for tea,shisha,ice cream and was not worth the money as we stayed 45 mins due to the inconvenience. Guests left as soon as they heard the way the manager or staff welcomed guests with “minimum is 150” people left as soon as they heard the news. The food quality isnt worth the money and surely the place isnt worth a stay in Ramadan. Also, the manager had a talk with us about the minimum as we argued that minimum charge is OFF and REMOVED from every place in Cairo, he repeated the word its not my problem and didnt even bother taking any action as i told him i will write a review about the place and how they made us pay and got me a receipt stating 450 LE and the real price of the (ice cream,shisha,tea) 133 LE which is a huge difference, i would not recommend the place to any age or group as the tables arent even organized and everything is stacked up together it was a very bad experience i would never repeat