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

As per every Ramadan in Cairo, tents – or kheyam ­– have popped up all over Egypt’s capital, all offering fetar and sohour options, sprinkled with entertainment and other quirks. One such place is one of oldest tents around, Ramadana, which this year is taking place at Riverside in Zamalek. Having started in the earl nineties, Ramadana can rightly be considered a trailblazer of sorts when it comes to the modernised kheima culture.

Naturally, with such a popular tent, reservations are an absolute must – and the sooner, the better. When reserving, we were told that fetar is served a la carte, though we arrived to find set menus. Misinformation aside, we arrived to find the venue fairly empty, but there was still a generally amiable Ramadan atmosphere thanks to the decor – colourful wooden ahwa chairs and table tops adorned with modern adaptations of traditional Islamic designs.

The set menu price is 205LE per person, before tax and service, and includes soup, Ramadan drinks, appetiser dishes, as well as mains and desserts.

Firstly, the service is outstanding; water and Ramadan drinks were delivered to our table a suitable fifteen minutes before the call to prayer, while the other dishes arrived five minutes beforehand. Beginning our meal with a cream of chicken soup, the opening dish was a perfect fast-breaker, so to speak; the pieces of chicken were plentiful and the soup as a whole was full of flavour and well-seasoned, while our Ramadan drink, karkade, was chilled to perfection and not too sweet as is so often the case.

The appetiser dishes, meanwhile, were a mixed bag, despite coming in hearty servings; the hummus and the vine leaves were excellent, though the tehina and baba ghanough were, unfortunately, not. Both suffered from a lack of balance with the ingredients, with the baba ghanough particularly suffering from the roasted aubergine element dominating the dish.

The set menu also included pasta with white sauce, minced meat and sprinkled, peculiarly, with grated carrot, served in a tagine bowl; the penne pasta used was cooked well and the sauce was creamy and tasty; the surprise element, however, was the carrot, which gave the dish an interesting textural contrast, but if there is to be one criticism, it’s that it all very heavy. The real star of the show was the main course; grilled chicken and kofta. The dish affords the diner a half-chicken portion, which was marinated with onions and tomatoes amongst various seasonings and spices. The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and retained all of its juices. The kofta was equally as pleasing, if less complex in flavour; cooked and seasoned well, it was also surprisingly light and came in a huge portion.

Moving on to the dessert, we were expecting classic Egyptian dish, Om Ali, as per stated in the menu. Unfortunately, it was unavailable and we were instead given the option of mahalabeya, rice pudding or a plate of Oriental sweets. We went for the latter two, with the rice pudding being incredibly creamy and, again, not overly sweet. The Oriental sweets, meanwhile, offered an eclectic variation, but was overall unspectacular, though in no way offensive, either – maybe forgettable is the best word to describe it.

With all that in mind, Ramadana’s fetar is very much geared towards the idea that Egyptians love to feast at dawn; the set menu offers a pleasing array of dishes, each served in typically large Egyptian portions. Though it was far from perfect, it certainly offers value for money, and the highlights are much more memorable than the downfalls.