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

Latin American cuisine specialist, Tabla Luna, is one of those restaurants that many know of but few have actually tried – maybe there’s an intimidation factor. One thing that certainly didn’t help was the old chalkboard menu, for example, which didn’t explain any of the dishes – but they FINALLY have printed menus, which is all the excuse we needed to pay it a visit.

Located at Westown Hub, Tabla Luna’s ambiance is fun and energetic. As soon as you step inside the restaurant, you’ll find the kitchen/work station on the left and the cheerful red and yellow chairs and wooden tables on the right, with two big tables at the end for bigger groups. They’re still keeping the chalkboard menu on the walls and there’s also an outdoor area that’s just as cheerful.

We kicked things off with a Chili Nacho (64LE) and Empanadas (33LE) as appetisers. The chilli nacho was simply corn tortilla chips topped with a chilli corn carne that was bursting with spices flavours and a spot-on amount of rich cheese sauce which was perfect without overpowering the other components, as well as sour cream, tomatoes and black olives. Appetisers don’t get any better than this.

The same goes for the Argentinean Empanadas De Queso, which is a beautiful golden brown pastry with a flaky texture that held the filling perfectly. Said filling is made of gooey cheese and corn salad that had a slight heat to it and an amazing herby flavour. There’s also a side of mouth-watering chimichurri sauce, but the empanadas were just flawless on its own and didn’t need it.

Moving to the mains, we opted for the Duck au Papaya (120LE), which came in the form of slightly sweet glazed roasted duck slices served with mini circular cuts of tortilla bread, a green apple salad and papaya reduction. The dish was essentially deconstructed duck tacos that were pretty fun to assemble. Despite the duck was a bit tough, the overall flavours were excellent; the green apple salad added a great tart flavour to the tacos and its zesty and tangy dressing worked well with the sweet papaya reduction.

We also tried what was a show-stopping 600g Steak y Huancaina Fillet (350LE), which is served with a bowl of arugula and lettuce salad tossed in tangy vinaigrette, perfectly roasted baby potatoes with Huancaina sauce and chimichurri sauce. The well steak was bursting with flavours and was cooked as a perfect medium-well. The Huancaina sauce was very rich, creamy and cheesy with an exquisite smokiness to it which complimented the roasted potatoes perfectly, while the chimichurri – a parsley and garlic sauce – was the perfect match for the steak. Obviously the portion is huge and can easily feed two diners. Or not. We don’t judge.

We finished the astonishing meal with a Torta De Tres Leches (45LE), which is a simple sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk, with the condensed milk flavour being the strongest, and topped with soft torched meringue that hid the sogginess of the cake. This dessert was worth every single calorie – no regrets.

From the fantastic service and the cheerful ambiance, to the perfectly executed food and the decent variety on the menu, we couldn’t we couldn’t have asked for more. It’s been three years since Tabla Luna first opened – but the quality and consistency remains the same.