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

The
always vibrant neighbourhood of Mohandiseen is home to many restaurants. Some
are terrific, some are ok, and some are just awful. Despite having passed by
Solidaire a million times, it wasn’t until last week that this reviewer
actually paid the restaurant a visit.

Most of
Solidaire is an open-air area; inside you’ll find the DJ booth, a bar and a
couple of seats. The terrace is quite large, and most of the tables can easily
fit parties of four and more. There are palm trees and waterfalls on the
terrace and most decorations consist of flashing lights. The music is provided
by a DJ and is awful to say the least. Not only is it awful; it’s so loud that
having an actual conversation is impossible.

The menu
is gigantic and includes sandwiches, pizzas and pastas, as well as fish tagines
and mixed grills for up to five persons. The only thing missing on the menu is healthy
cuisine; there are only two salads on the menu. For a starter, we tried the blue
cheese farfalle (29LE) and as mains the beef fillet pepper sauce (69LE) and the
veal emince a la crème (62LE).

All the
food arrived at the same time after waiting for approximately 45 minutes. In
the meantime, while waiting for the food, we were entertained by the staff‘s
chatty banter that was a little too friendly for our comfort.

Our
order of farfalle blue cheese turned out to be fusilli, and though there were traces
of blue cheese, it was primarily Parmesan. Our pasta was supposed to contain
chicken but this was nowhere to be found. The main course of beef fillet with
pepper sauce was surprisingly good, even though the meat arrived well-done and
not medium as we had requested it to be. The pepper sauce was delicious, spicy
and creamy.

The veal
emince a la cream was probably not veal but just beef. We already suspected
some trouble with this dish because when we ordered the veal, the waiter asked
if we wanted it with chicken or meat. The meat tasted a bit sour and the
portion of sauce was very greedy. The dish arrived with a side of vegetables.

Though
it has one of the few open-air dining spots in Mohandiseen, Solidaire’s service
and food quality failed to impress this reviewer. Maybe it was bad timing or
just bad luck, but we won’t be running back for more just yet.