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

Beyond the city’s more high-end restaurants, it’s become quite rare to find a place in Cairo where you can enjoy a quite time while dining. Hidden in the gems of Dokki, Argila Lounge is one of those places that provide you with the quality time you seek alongside food and beverage to pass the time.

Located off Vinny Square, Argila Lounge’s spacious indoor area is divided to three sections and has a simple, modern look, with faux brick walls and ceiling spotlights being the most notable features, while sofas and chairs are the afforded seating options.

The menu boasts all kinds of dishes ranging from hot and cold appetisers, to pasta and pizza, to grills and chicken and meat dishes. Going for the Mozzarella sticks (28LE) as a starter and Chicken Mexican sandwich (30 LE) and Pasta Alfredo (35LE) for the mains, the food was served quickly, despite the staff initially being slow to take our order.

Despite being perfectly gooey on the inside, what turned out to be very thin mozzarella sticks were about five or six in number and were burnt from the outside. Served with a classic marinara sauce, which was a little watery for our taste, the appetiser was not the great start we hoped for our meal.

Nevertheless, we moved on to the mains which fared much better. Wrapped inside freshly baked Panini bread, the chicken Mexican sandwich was absolutely delicious. Mixed with bell peppers, onions and Argila’s special sauce that turned out to be chilli sauce, the chicken slices were tender and well seasoned. The only downside to sandwich was the side of burnt French fries and extremely spicy pickles.

Cooked to a nice al dente texture, the chicken Alfredo pasta was smothered in white sauce that had a spot-on consistency but lacked the proper seasoning. On the other hand, the chicken slices were perfectly moist and juicy.

With a variety of basic desserts such as cheesecake, fruit salad, tarts and ice cream, we opted for brownies with ice cream (20LE).  Once again there was an issue with the timing; after waiting a little too long for the dessert to arrive, the staff admitted to having forgot to put the order through to the kitchen in the first place.

Nicely presented, the brownies were perfect; hot, slightly buttery and with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, it was only made better with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Despite a few hiccups with the staff and some disappointing slip-ups with the food, Argila Lounge largely delivers what it promises; a relaxed time with a big menu of decent, if unremarkable food.