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

When you talk about Mediterranean cuisine, you immediately think of big flavours and even bigger portions – or at least among Cairo restaurants. While Located inside Galleria40 Mall in Sheikh Zayed, however, Cachimba adds a certain level of finesse and elegance to the cuisine.

It’s something that’s reflected in its appearance, too; Cachimba boasts a modern classy aesthetic, with touches of orange and red in the interior, a large wooden display filled with Mediterranean shisha flavours and a comfortable outdoorsy area.

After the cheerful staff escorted us to a table outdoors, we were promptly served with delicious and refreshing complimentary detox water, infused with slices of lemon, cucumbers and mint leaves.

Cachimba has a dazzling variety of Mediterranean dishes – think hot and cold tapas and paellas amongst other things— not to mention an enticing selection of seafood grills, chicken and meat platters.  

Deciding to go for some dishes from the Eastern side of the Mediterranean, we opted for a grilled chicken tawook wrap (55LE) and kofta Andalus wrap (45LE).

Served with some side vegetables and enveloped in pita bread the chicken tawook was well-seasoned and infused with a lemon paste which gave it a nice sour punch and perfectly complemented its overall flavour, though one side of the wrap was rather burnt.

Surrounded by Hummus and well-cooked vegetables, the kofta wrap, on the other hand, in spite of being tender and juicy, paled when it came to flavour, thanks largely to a lack of seasoning which left the meet balnd. Both wraps were served in frying pans with a side of spicy scrumptious French fries.

After devouring our wraps, it was time for dessert. Between the crisp atayef (35LE), the chocolate beet cake (35LE), the hot apple ginger cake (30LE) and the chocolate fondant (40LE), we opted for the latter, because who can say no to the feeling of cracking a fondant to find a gooey centre? Coming warm out of the oven and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the chocolate fondant was perfectly baked from the outside, though the molten chocolate filling inside was not as runny as we would have hoped; but it was nonetheless irresistible in flavour.

We washed up our meals with an expertly-made cup of Turkish coffee (20LE) and a grape-flavoured shisha (38 L.E); a perfect finale for a nice meal.

Our experience with Cachimba was overall satisfying; we enjoyed the food and the ambiance, while their diverse Mediterranean menu is likely to lure as back sooner rather than later.