On the quiet road of Mar’ashly in Zamalek, a new restaurant for Egyptian food opens its doors for those looking for a warm home cooked meal. Unfortunately, Bram fails to deliver the most basic rules of Egyptian cooking.
The interiors of the restaurant are pleasant to the eye; basic white walls mix with dark mahogany arabesque furniture. The atmosphere is warm and cozy and the live oriental music performance gives the place an authentic feel that is only found in old Cairo restaurants like Naguib Mahfouz and Fishawy Café in Hussein. That being said, a heating system is needed if they plan on leaving the door of the restaurant propped open for the rest of winter.
The restaurant was empty and the service was efficient. The lissan asfour soup was deliciously spiced. The chef added shavings of celery and carrot to the mix, giving it a fresh and unique taste. However the lentil soup wasn’t that tasty; it had too many spices and the warming taste of lentils totally disappeared.
The fattoush salad was nothing special — only lightly seasoned and terribly presented on a small plate shaded with an unnecessary purple cabbage leaf — almost entirely un-serve-able without tomato and cucumber losses on the table cloth. The fattoush was also missing dips romman (pomegranate molasses).
A tell-tale measure of good Egyptian cooking, the stuffed vine leaves were an unnecessarily salty and spicy disappointment and accompanied by a flimsy yoghurt salad.
We were impressed with the serving dishes for the main course — covered earthenware dishes, with intricate designs but the contents within were below par. Strangely enough, the moussaka was based on potato slices instead of eggplant and appeared to be a stew of green peppers, onion, minced meat, nuts and raisins. No trace of the slightest eggplant in the unsavory mix, which was so laden with black pepper it was hard to appreciate any other flavor. The white rice accompanying it was “sporting club” white rice, a little under cooked and bland.
The macaroni with béchamel, another Egyptian classic, was a little better then the moussaka but was drenched in thyme, totally ruining the calm, pleasant creamy taste of the baked pasta. The only consolation for me after one of my worst food experiences in a long time was the nice steaming cup of hot tea.
After the meal, the waiter took longer than expected to clean the table despite the fact that we were the only people in the place! The price range is on the low side. A three course meal for two people plus shisha for one costs around LE200. The range for appetizers is between LE10 and LE20. The main course is in the LE30-45 range. Tea and Pepsi are for LE10. The shisha is good and surprisingly cheap: LE15.
Overall, eating at Bram was a traumatizing experience where the taste of authentic Egyptian food was distorted in my head. The place does not rise up to the standards of well established Egyptian restaurants in town, like Abou el Sid, Set Hosneya, Taboula and Felfela. Reviewer recommendation: get a new chef!
