Petit Palmyra is a restaurant that dates back more than sixty years and is a remarkable Heliopolis landmark. The place is a popular destination for people looking for fine cuisine and an elegant, cosy setting.
Once you walk through the restaurant’s wooden entrance, it takes you to a corridor separating the
restaurant into two sections. The section on the left hosts a piano, so you can enjoy a fine dinner while listening to soothing tunes, accompanied by light candles and flowers on the tables, making it a perfect fit for romantic dinners.
The Daily News Egypt team decided to start with appetizers from the menu. We chose “konafa” shrimps, basically fried shrimps but breaded with konafa dough, and a Palmyra special platter consisting of fried mozzarella sticks, onion rings, chicken strips, nachos, and Mexican sauce.
The konafa shrimps were appropriately crunchy and hot, although a little bit greasy, while the fried mozzarella sticks were nothing special, but were also not bad.
The restaurant’s main dish menu is divided into meat, poultry, and fish dishes, offering a large variety of both local and international dishes, such as chicken enchilada (Mexican grilled chicken wrapped in tortilla bread), della gazza fried chicken (chicken stuffed with smoked turkey and cheese), the classic Egyptian dish of stuffed pigeons, meat piccata, Italian grilled veal scallopini, and quell fish (fish fillet stuffed with shrimps and shrimp sauce).
As a main course, the DNE team decided to order della gazza fried chicken and quell fish. The chicken arrived hot and freshly made, although slightly low on cheese filling. On the other hand, the quell fish was superb. The fish fillet was well-seasoned and spiced, and the shrimps were equally well-seasoned and easy to chew, while maintaining their flavour and texture. The portions are very generous. Both dishes came with vegetables and French fries as side dishes.
We decided to test the dessert menu, which is quite basic, with ice cream, cream caramel, fruit salad, fudge, and crepes. We went for the homemade cassata ice cream, which had strong flavours, along with the fudge cake, which was not very fresh and a little bit overcooked.
Alcoholic cocktails are also available, such as a screwdriver or a bloody mary, while wine is also available, but only whole bottles.
All in all, Petit Palmyra was a very pleasant experience. The restaurant has a beautiful old design, a lovely ambiance, and, more importantly, quality service, as waiters spent time to make sure that everything we needed was fulfilled. If you are looking for a nice, typical restaurant experience, you will not be disappointed.
