(Photo Sofitel Al-Gezira)
Roy’s Country Kitchen, located on the bottom floor of the Zamalek Marriot, is themed as an American-style restaurant, which is obvious when one walks in. Wooden paneling on the walls of the restaurant are covered with vintage advertisements of various American products from past decades.
Attentive employees at the restaurant wait on tables wearing jeans, and are quick to usher incoming customers to tables. The restaurant is split into smoking and non-smoking sections, for those who want to get away from Cairo’s ubiquitous cigarette smoke while having their meal.
The theme carries on to the options provided. Roy’s Country Kitchen provides the option of taking advantage of an extensive open buffet, which is offered 24 hours a day. This buffet includes a salad bar, appetizers, and main course items including lamb in a rich sauce, fish, and potato croquets.
While the main courses available at the buffet are of the quality expected at a Marriot restaurant, the items are not adequately heated at the buffet tables.
Customers can forgo the buffet and opt for a diverse menu, which includes appetisers, sandwiches, wraps, and a wide range of steaks.
Roy’s Country Kitchen’s breakfast menu offers authentic American options such as biscuits and gravy, hash browns, steak and eggs, and a “country style omelet”, which contains spinach, corn, cheese, peppers, sausage, and hash browns.
Beyond breakfast, the well-diversified options continue with large salads, buffalo wings, and different Tex-Mex dishes.
Sides for lunch and dinner include country-style American trademarks including mashed potatoes, chives, green beans, and corn on the cob.
The quesadillas were served hot with salsa and sour cream. The portions were generous and service was attentive to the needs of the customers in the restaurant.
Tacos were also served with salsa and sour cream, in addition to guacamole. They contained olives, an unusual and possibly ill-advised decision, but otherwise represented a rare example of decent Tex-Mex food in Cairo.
The restaurant offers a good range of cakes and pies for dessert like ice cream, key lime pie, and a small assortment of cheesecakes.
Roy’s Country Kitchen provides a great atmosphere for a good dining experience. While the quality of the food and the variety available is good for a restaurant seeking to replicate a dining experience in the United States, the prices are at the high end.
A dinner for two consisting of two beers, two sides, and two main dishes can cost around EGP 400, a high price to dine at a casual diner.
However for those willing and able to cope with hotel restaurant prices, and seeking a dining experience that replicates aspects of authentic American cuisine, Roy’s Country Kitchen is a dependable and quality restaurant that is sure to have options for people with different tastes and preferences.
