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

A few years back, Boulevard was known as a hangout café in Brazil Street, Zamalek. Opening with a vast food menu and shisha at the time where Zamalek cafes were the place to be; yet, it seems like it came a long way from that hazy memory. Boulevard is now open in New Cairo, Heliopolis, and finally Sheikh Zayed.

The location Boulevard chose in Majarrah is satisfyingly intimate; with spacious outdoor and indoor areas. It was rather chilly to sit outside the time we dropped by for dinner, so we opted for a cosy table in front of the TV where the Food Network channel was showing. We were greeted with a smile and handed the menus, so we began to look at the appetisers and salads to choose our starter. After some debate, we opted for the Halloumi Quinoa Salad (100LE) – organic quinoa, halloumi cheese, arugula, mint, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, and a balsamic olive oil dressing. The salad came straight away, and was presented quite beautifully, just like how it tasted; the mint added a unique flavour while the walnuts and halloumi put in different textures in this delightfully fresh dish.

We then went on to pick our mains. Our first dish was the Beef and Grits (220LE) – South African beef, pesto infused freek seeds, cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion and mushrooms. We ordered the steak medium, and thankfully that is how it was served; impeccably pink and moist in the middle with a tasty caramelisation on the outside. However, the freek part of the dish was quite controversial for us. Even though all the elements were perfectly cooked, the oil was quite overpowering, and the amount used was too much for the dish, leaving it with a mono-toned oily taste.

The second main we went for was the pasta; we got the Farfalle Salmon(120LE) – Seared Atlantic salmon, chimichurri, smoked salmon, salsa rossa, and parmesan. This dish was not as impressive as the others. Even though the smoked salmon itself tasted fresh, the seared salmon bits did not. The Atlantic salmon had that fishy taste that covered the whole pasta dish and made it somehow distasteful – had this not been the case, the pasta would have been heavenly. The staff were appreciative about our comments and wanted to replace it, but returning it sufficed for us – they said they’d take it off our bill.

Finally, on to dessert. We were quite hesitant about it because everything seemed tempting. The staff recommended the Lotus French Toast (80LE)- caramelised brioche toast, lotus spread, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream. Again, the dish came wonderfully presented and quite tasty. The brioche was cooked to perfection, and the vanilla ice-cream tasted pleasingly distinct, the only comment we had was the lack of lotus spread. We couldn’t really taste the lotus, even though it was supposed to be the star flavour of the dish, so we ordered extra spread on this side. 

Our entire experience was delightful, despite the minor pasta incident. The staff were smiley and helpful, the presentation of the dishes was professional, and the quality of the food was superb. Mistakes can happen anywhere, and Boulevard’s over-all service overshadows those slight misfortunes.