CARLO’S: DINNER ON A FORMERLY ABANDONED STEAMBOAT ON THE NILE RIVER IN CAIRO
The Cost -$13 per person
The Atmosphere –Located on the Le Pacha 1901, a formerly abandoned steamboat sitting along the bank of the Nile River that has since been refurbished and turned into a venue housing eight restaurants, Carlo’s offers open-air dining and serves a variety of different cuisines, including Oriental food. The casual and relaxed Cairo restaurant is nothing to write home about in terms of décor as it comes off as a bit dated and has quite a few televisions placed around its perimeter. Reservations are generally not needed.
The Order – Mohamara, Hawawshy, Falafel, and Kofta.
The Great – The Falafel was the best dish of the evening. Egyptian falafel is different than the more typically found Israeli falafel in that Egyptian falafel is made of fava beans instead of chickpeas and is shaped more like a small disc rather than a spherical ball. However, like the Israeli version, the falafel are fried and served with tahini sauce. Carlo’s falafel was absolutely delicious, and I really loved the taste of the fried fava beans with sesame seeds as well as the tahini and the Syrian bread it came with. The dish also came with some sliced tomatoes and was a great value at less than $4.
Served with a small salad, some rice, and the same tahini sauce that came with the falafel, the Kofta was the second-best dish of the night. The entrée came with four long and skinny pieces of lamb kofta that were very nicely done and the meat was flavorful and very enjoyable to eat.
The Good – It isn’t easy to find spicy food in Egypt, but Carlo’s Mohamara had a very nice kick to it. The restaurant’s take on mohamara (also spelled muhammara), a dip appetizer made of red peppers, walnuts, breadcrumbs, and pomegranate molasses that originated in Syria, was very good. The dip is thicker than other traditional middle eastern or Mediterranean dips because of the use of breadcrumbs and spicier because of the use of Aleppo pepper flakes. Carlo’s version of the traditional dish was solid and I loved the spice level and the walnut pieces added on top.
Hawawshi is one of the most well-known Egyptian dishes. It is basically cooked pita bread slices that are stuffed with minced, spiced meat (like kofta). It’s a very popular appetizer and is generally easy to share among friends and family. Carlo’s version of hawawshi followed form and came with four slices which seemed to be about one pita in total. It was a tasty version of the traditional Egyptian dish but I’d probably try other things on the menu if I were to return.
The Verdict – The food at Carlo’s was solid and the restaurant offers a good value at its price point. While the food isn’t mind-blowing or earth-shattering, the restaurant prepares good versions of traditional Egyptian dishes which can often be hard to find in the Cairo food scene if you are sticking mainly to hotel restaurants. If it had a view of the Nile from the dining area, it would be recommended higher, but it was interesting to go to Le Pacha 1901 and learn a little about the history of the boat.
Carlo’s
lepacha.com/restaurants/carlos/
Saray El Gezirah Street، El-Khalig, Zamalek, Cairo Governorate, Egypt