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A VENUE FOR EVERY MOOD
BY SARAH BROBERG
For the second time in as many years, an Andrea restaurant has been resurrected as a Cairo hot spot. This time, the prime Nile-side real estate in Maadi, formerly home to Andrea-Roots, has been given the Nicha Sursock touch to open as Rio de Cairo, an eclectic group of venues for dining and unwinding. The compound of six indoor and outdoor sites, designed and landscaped by Amr Rakshi, has already proven a hit with the A-list crowd.
Rio Lounge, with its impressive avant-garde, multilayered design and plenty of room for everyone, is an indoor restaurant/lounge arranged with plush booths, sleek stools and sturdy wood tables. The stylish wood bar on the lower level is fully stocked with local and imported beers, wines and liquor. From the bar, green marble flooring leads to a hardwood, mirrored dance floor and raised platform for primo partying and live music three nights a week.
For more sophisticated tastes, the Jardin du Nil Wine Bar eschews the conventional bar setting for a refined outdoor setup. Subtle lighting highlights the fine stemware hanging from tracks above an elegant brass-accented wood bar, while several high-backed beanbag chairs and low tables are arranged in the spacious seating area on an ultra-inviting grassy area in front of the bar. The definitively upscale yet relaxed atmosphere is perfect for imbibing and the full spectrum of local and imported wines is on offer, served by attentive waiters. Sushi and seafood are served as well as specialty cheese platters for wine connoisseurs who take their epicurean passions seriously.
Located directly on the Nile are the sister restaurants of La Piazzetta and Histoire d’O, both of which offer unobstructed views of the swift-flowing Nile and its densely vegetated west bank. La Piazzetta, which serves Italian fare, is the slightly smaller of the two, located slightly downstream. Their common decor includes comfortable wood and wicker chairs surrounding large tables covered with soothing blue linen. Large wooden awnings provide shelter from the sun during the day.
For a more casual dining experience, another grassy area in the middle of the complex has been turned into Egypt’s first official beer garden. The Luxor Biergarten is a German-themed outdoor dining and drinking area where German sausages grill on an open-air barbeque and cold beer is served in Luxor beer mugs rather than traditional German steins.
Slightly farther down the Nile, Le Crocodile Café d’Orient offers both indoor and outdoor seating for those who like the best of both worlds. Comfortable chairs, large tables and a few Internet-enabled computers offer plenty of opportunity to wrap up some last minute work while unwinding with shisha and traditional oriental mezzes, salads and sandwiches.
Deciding to take advantage of the killer combination of seafood and front row seats to a gorgeous Nile sunset, we opted to dine at Histoire d’O. After perusing the menu, we began with the lobster bisque (£E 20), a thick, fragrant soup of fresh tomatoes and cream with small pieces of lobster. A pinch of fresh basil enhanced the seafood broth with a subtle garden freshness.
The sun-dried beef with blue cheese (£E 30) arrived artfully arranged on a bed of watercress and lettuce. The paper-thin beef strips, marinated in soy sauce and seasoning salt before being dried in the sun long enough to fully absorb the marinade, were undeniably tender and delicious. Served with sliced triangles of blue cheese, the mild meat balanced the strong flavor of the cheese.
The salmon steak (£E 60) turned out to be a thick steak of fresh Atlantic salmon grilled just enough to sear the surface, while maintaining the pink meat’s tenderness. Two pats of basil butter melted into the steak, which was served with a flavorful side of sautéed vegetables including broccoli, green beans and julienne carrots and zucchini, as well as a portion of white rice and, of course, a twist of lemon.
Meanwhile, the shrimp and fish fillet in creamy basil sauce (£E 90) was a mouth-watering spectacle. The plate comprised two large shrimp and a medium-sized fillet of whitefish, both smothered in a buttery, creamy basil sauce. Three large shrimp were slightly overcooked in the sauce itself, but because the shrimp were unpeeled, the basil only coated the seafood without smothering its fresh seafood taste.
The basil sauce faired better on the hearty fillet of well-grilled whitefish. A squirt of lemon really brought out the taste of the tender meat, which came with sautéed vegetables and fluffy white rice.
For dessert, Histoire d’O offers ice cream, fruit salad and a number of crepes. We settled for two scoops of Movenpick ice cream (£E 12) and a strawberry crepe (£E 12). The bow-shaped crepe was filled with tasty fresh strawberries and thinly covered with strawberry puree, but could have used a light coat of powdered sugar or whipped cream.
While we were eager to finish off the evening with some shisha at Le Crocodile and settle in for an after-dinner drink, once the sun set the mosquitoes came out in force. So opting instead to settle the check, we vowed to come back another day with bug spray for a walk in the grass and a shisha at sunset.
Rio de Cairo
Corniche Al Nil
Maadi
Tel: 528-3904/5
Open daily from 12pm to 3am |
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