A Day Out in Zamalek 3

We have both heard amazing things about Nawab, an Indian restaurant on Baghat Aly St.  However, when we got there the waiter informed us that they do not actually open until 6pm.  Lunch at Nawab was out.

We slowly walked up the street to Didos, the Italian restaurant that we passed on the way to Nawab, but one look inside told me it was not the place for me.  Nonetheless, all was not lost.  Didos sits on the intersection of Baghat Aly St and Taha Hussein St.  Taha Hussein is the home of Munchies Bagels and I do love a good bagel.

Munchies is charming and quite small.  We have been there twice and both times the staff have been lovely.  The bagel selection is smaller than at Jared’s Bagels in Maadi, but just as delicious.  I do wish that they had sweet bagels, too.  They only had plain, sesame black seed, and cheese when we went.  I got a sesame bagel with cream cheese while my husband went for both a grilled chicken sandwich on a sesame bagel and a club sandwich on the black seed bagel.  All three were delicious.

I only have two minor quibbles with Munchies.  The first one is that our salad didn’t come before we finished our bagels, so we canceled it.  The second is that there is no public restroom.  Instead they send you to the mall across the street.  The mall is currently being renovated and the bathroom has no soap, no towels, and no toilet paper.  Not very nice.  The nice man behind the counter handled my annoyance with a free cookie, though.  We got four bagels to go and I know we will be back again.

Now lunch was taken care of, but dessert still needed seeing to.  I recently found out via Twitter that Cairo has a cupcake bakery also in Zamalek.  That would be our next stop.

A short walk brought us to NOLA Cupcakes on Brazil St.  The first thing you notice about NOLA is the décor.  It’s so very very.  We went down a few steps into the crowded bakery and perused the selection.  The cupcakes are arranged in rows beneath a glass case.  The available cupcakes are listed on a chalkboard opposite this.  They had chocolate peanut butter, tiramisu, lemon meringue, red velvet, pumpkin, blueberry, and vanilla, at least that’s what I can remember.

My husband and I both decided on the chocolate peanut butter cupcake and waited to order.  The staff here were not as courteous as at Munchies.  We were the second of three groups waiting, but the guy behind the counter skipped us and went to the group behind us as if we were invisible.  Three groups is not a crowd that’s difficult to keep track of, so that was really unacceptable to me.

The cupcakes themselves were delicious.  The cake part was moist and the icing was the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter.  The service there doesn’t really tempt me to go back though.

We weren’t satisfied with just cupcakes.  My husband has a weakness for cheesecake, so we went up the street and around the corner to Sugar ‘n Spice Bistro.

I want to love Sugar ‘n Spice, but this was our third try and I really think that’s it for me.  Previously we had tried to get cheesecakes and both times we were disappointed.  The cake itself is tasty, but the toppings always disappoint.  You pay extra for maybe 8-10 of your chosen fruit to be haphazardly thrown atop a plain cheesecake.  The presentation is awful.  It doesn’t help that the first cake I ordered was for my husband’s birthday and they forgot the order.  I went there to pick it up and was told my order didn’t even exist.  The second time my husband went to get one and his order wasn’t ready.  You shouldn’t have to wait for something you order days in advance.

We still went back though.  Downstairs my husband got a slice of cherry cheesecake and I ordered a brownie and an iced coffee.  The service here was also lacking though.  The gentleman behind the counter spoke faultless English, but whenever I asked a question he answered my husband and usually in Arabic, too.  This annoyed both of us.

We went upstairs to their new seating area and were happy to find ourselves the only people there.  It’s quite small and perhaps too intimate.

The cheesecake was still fantastic, but the coffee and the brownie didn’t quite hit the spot.  The iced coffee was entirely too strong and while the inside of the brownie was moist, the outside had a rather unpleasant graininess and strange aftertaste.   I wouldn’t order either again.

All in all, the cheesecake at the Bistro is a winner, but it’s much better to order a plain one and decorate it yourself.

After Sugar ‘n Spice we were done eating, but not done shopping.  Another ten minute walk landed us at Alpha Market.  This branch was bigger than its counterparts in Dokki and Maadi and just as expensive.   It’s three stories high with an amazing selection of everything.  If only we had more to spend there!

Our money spent and arms laden with groceries and bagels, we grabbed a taxi back to Giza.  It was a nice day out and I can’t wait to do it again.  In Zamalek you really are spoilt for choice.