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

If you’ve been to El Gouna even just the once, you’ll have noticed that the Red Sea town has a pretty bustling dining scene. In fact, some of our seasoned Gouna-visiting writers would go out on a limb and say that ut has better food than Cairo. On this particular visit by this particular reviewer, we were disappointed to find that Gouna restaurants were mostly overpriced and underwhelming.

Enter Malu’s Deli; a small and colourful newcomer to the local dining scene, offering all-day lunch, healthy shakes and salads, and a decent array of sandwiches as well as bacon, freshly imported buffalo mozzarella and homemade jams. Honestly, they had us at burrata and poached eggs.

Seated outdoors in a shaded alleyway, we ordered a brunch of poached eggs on salmon and buttery, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth toast that tasted more like cake in its sweetness and contrasted nicely with the egg and the cheese sauce on top. Poached eggs aren’t exactly a dime a dozen in Egypt; so when you find a place that does it right, you know this is a quality dining spot. We topped off our brunch with two fantastic pancakes that were perfectly toasted and drenched in syrup and powder sugar.

Even better, our coffees were actually good: the cappuccino had the most perfect froth, while the espresso was delicious yet sharp – the perfect balance. Their lists of protein shakes were so enticing, we had to try the ‘Fall in Love’ (which contained coffee and almonds for a bitter-sweet taste), and the Protein Shake, which was honestly a meal in its own and very filling.

Our bill came to 580LE for three people, working out to be 193LE per person for two brunch dishes and two drinks each. This isn’t exactly cheap, but considering the quality ingredients and the great execution, we feel it was totally worth it.

Based on our visit, we have a feeling we’ll be returning to Malu’s Deli on our next trip to El Gouna; not only for its great food and accommodating waiters, but also for the pleasant experience of eating genuinely healthy food in an outdoor, shaded deli spot. Expect to be a popular eatery this summer.