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

When it comes to restaurants, Zamalek boasts an endless number of choices; despite there being a restaurant or café in every nook and cranny of the island, that doesn’t seem to stop new places from opening regularly. One of the latest additions to the list is a shawerma place called Shawarmaji.

Located where Mince Burger used to be on the cross section of Ahmed Heshmat Street and Marashly Street, Shawarmaji’s general setting is almost the same as the former, but for the white walls and furniture.  The pricey menu boasts a variety of sandwiches and platters, from which we opted for a beef Shawerma meal (37.95LE), Chicken Shawerma sandwich (24.95LE) and Lebanese Hawawshi (25.95LE), all of which were ready in 15 minutes.

Wrapped in fresh Saj bread, the chicken itself in the chicken shawerma was deliciously tender and juicy. However, the whole sandwich would have been flawless, had it not been for the tomeya mayonnaise sauce that had an overpowering smell of egg.

The beef Shawerma sandwich had its flaws, too; despite the freshness of both of the green salad filling and the tehina sauce, the meat itself was rubbery and unevenly cooked. Served under a heap of spices, the French fries were flavoursome and crispy, but the excessive amount of spices made them a little salty.

Things took an even sharper turn for the worse with the Hawawshi; the meat had an artificial taste, suggesting that it was of poor quality, which neither of the two side sauces – tehina and chili-tomato – could save.  

Seeking refuge in dessert, we opted for Nutella & Banana Saj (25.95LE) to end the ordeal, but to our disappointment, the whole Lebanese Saj section on the menu is not available in the Zamalek branch.

Between the execution of the food and the hefty amount of money paid for it, Shawermaji failed to impress at the time of our visit, giving us little reason to recommend it – especially when you consider the number of cheaper, better shawerma specialists around the centre of Cairo.