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

History often leaves its mark within the streets of towns. Downtown Cairo’s streets are no exception to this historical rule. Any street in Downtown is memory lane. Take Adly Street, for example, where the Jewish Synagogue stands as a relic of times changed, and where Eish & Malh also stands: a restaurant that bridges the gap between old times and modern ones.

Indeed, everything about this venue proves to be infused with the things we love most about history, and the elements we favour from our present. Take for example, the venue’s classic flooring and vintage wallpaper, appearing in juxtaposition with modern industrial styling. 

The seating area is open and rectangular, with two-stories. It possesses factory-like grey columns and a spiraling red staircase. While Eish & Malh is officially labeled as a restaurant, locals treat it more like a hang-out spot. We saw a lot of Egyptians and foreigners working on their laptops, and/or casually enjoying a drink with friends. 

Moving on to the main attraction, i.e. the menu. It was clear from the get go that the menu was quite diverse. A mix of soups and unique salads count as starters, and main courses include risottos, as well as chicken, beef, and seafood platters. There is also a variety of pizzas and pastas. The kitchen, if not busy, is ready to fulfill your custom needs, with its offerings of vegan dishes, and gluten-free pasta. 

After a little deliberation, we decided what our feast would entail. For our choice of starters, we opted for the Mixed Bruschetta (27 EGP) and the Chicken Rucola Salad (45 EGP). The Mixed Bruschetta dish contained five pieces of crunchy bruschetta: three of the pieces were topped with diced tomatoes, the fourth piece was topped with a blend of cheese and olives, and the final piece was topped with a blend of cheese and anchovies. While the initial three pieces contained nothing special, the latter cheesy pieces were quite special. The cheese was perfectly melted, and the olives/anchovies complimented it very well. We were, however, disappointed by the overall lack of pesto taste, that one would normally expect when ordering a bruschetta dish. 

The Chicken Rucola Salad was a risky, but nonetheless, rewarding choice. It’s a simple salad containing rucola, chicken, grated cheese, mushroom, a mustard dressing, and strawberries – yup, strawberries. While the chicken was a bit dry, everything else was a home-run. The mustard and cheese uplifted the taste and the strawberry addition was genius, adding sweetness that worked wonders. Maybe we should remember that the next time we run out of tomatoes. They’re both fruits after all, right?

As for the main course, we selected the Fillet Pepe Verde (135 EGP) and the Risotto Seafood (89 EGP). While a lot of sauces are often described as creamy and buttery, the sauce in which the Risotto Seafood was cooked truly embodies these adjectives. The flavor was not too powerful and, with its hints of lemon, we were always left wanting more and more of that dish. Perhaps we were a bit disappointed with the seafood portion.

The Fillet Pepe Verde, however, was this dinner meal’s true star. The fillet was served with pepper sauce and sides of grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes. Unlike any pepper sauce we’ve tasted, this one contained strong hints of mustard, and was seasoned with – nope, not pepper – capers. The tiny capers pop with flavor in your mouth, and mix so elegantly with the pepper sauce, creating a perfect dressing for the fillet.

If we were to nitpick though, we’d have to say that it may feel a bit too oily or a tad too salty for some people. We would also like to mention that the presentation of all dishes was not the most appetising.

To conclude this exquisite meal, we opted for a classic Strawberry Cheesecake (35 LE) for dessert. The cheesecake arrived covered in strawberry sauce, and filled with creamy cheese. The mixture between the sauce and the cheese provided the perfect balance between sweetness and sourness. 

All in all, although Eish & Malh is not the place one would go to when seeking to try out novel creations per say, it is definitely the place one should go to when one misses classic dishes or, more specifically, when one wants to enjoy classic dishes executed well, and with small twists.