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

Located on a sleepy street in Dokki, the
aptly named Yemen Restaurant has been a cult favourite on Cairo’s casual-dining
scene for quite some time. Having closed down and renovated, we decided to check out if said cult following is still warranted. Now looking like a large cafeteria, the
shiny tiled floor, metal seating and straight-to-the-point name is by no means
a sign of laziness, but more a sign of economy – a theme that runs deep
throughout the whole dining experience. 

Small bowls of soup were rushed to the
table almost as soon as we’d sat down; bowls that would traditionally be drank
out of. Fortunately, the restaurant provides you with spoons. The meat stock
soup, though pleasantly unassuming in taste, suffered the occasional slither of
fat; a defect that is not for the weak stomached.

Ready to dig into something of more
substance, we were informed that only a handful of the dishes on the menu were
still available. Legend had warned us that we’d need to arrive early to be
privy to all the dishes, but an 8PM dinner isn’t late by any stretch of the
imagination in a city like Cairo.

We received a veritable smorgasbord of
everything that was still available. First to arrive at the table were two
large portions of Yemeni bread (3LE per one piece). Served hot, the bread isn’t
too dissimilar to feteer or naan bread but was in no way greasy and held together pretty
nicely.

Plates of liver (15LE), chopped meat
(10LE), beans with eggs (6LE), vegetables (5LE) and salta (10LE) were served up
as promptly as the soup was. Both the liver and chopped meat were cooked and/or
served with the same mix of sliced vegetables, with the meat faring better than
the liver, which was tasteless in comparison to Egyptian-made liver dishes. The
meat was a little dry, but the accompanying fried peppers, carrots and other
unidentifiable vegetables provided a much needed tenderness to the dish. The
salta – also a mix of meat and vegetables – only differed in that it was drenched
in a brown, meat stock sauce. It tasted no different.

Said vegetables also make up the mixed
vegetables dish, with the only addition being slices of soggy potato. Just for
the fact that they didn’t contain the same mix of vegetables as the other
dishes, the beans with eggs stood out as the highlight. Served sizzling hot in
a generous portion, the dish uses the beans as a mix of foul and a bean casserole.
Although basically a mush of beans, tomato and boiled egg, the hearty dish was
full of flavour and made for a great impromptu sandwich with the bread.

Though the staff members at the restaurant
are quick as bunnies, they have no clue what the dishes are and are only able
to repeat the ingredients of a dish when asked about them. The fact that there
was only one variable ingredient between three of the dishes left us feeling a
little short changed. Apart from the bread, we left the restaurant none the
wiser to what Yemeni cuisine actually is.