Falafel, according to the Wikipedia definition, “is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezza (snack or tapas). Falafel is also the name of a restaurant at the Ramses Hilton, which, after an absence of four years, reopened on Monday evening with a hearty beat of an Egyptian tabla.
On entrance, the layout is somewhere between a cabaret bar and a Bedouin tent, with plenty of cozy nooks to satisfy courting couples, and sociable round tables for larger groups.
Felafel prides itself on its traditional home-style cooking, as tells me Dimitrios, the chief chef. “This is real Egyptian food, the kind of stuff you’d only find in the most traditional Egyptian home.
For starters I was presented with a range of appetizers to try. White cheese with a touch of olive oil, baba ghanouch with tahina, mutabal, kuwaria’, hot kubba, tameyya (a.k.a. falafel) and the finest humus I’ve had in a long time. Humus, I tend to find, is the litmus test for a good Arabic restaurant – the challenge of perfecting the delicate balance of tahina and chick pea sometimes with a dash of nut, not to mention the consistency, is enough to filter out the good from the average. This humus was excellent.
Of course, the starters came with a generous helping of soft, fresh bread to scoop up the dips. A totally Moorish combination that easily leaves you wishing you’d saved a bit of room for the next course.
Felafel also seems to pride itself in the quantities served up by a real Egyptian mother. Having surreptitiously whipped a few more scoops of creamy white cheese before an attentive waiter came to exchange courses, I was pleasantly surprised (although slightly concerned at my rather now full appetite) to see four mysterious looking pots arrive at out table.
I discovered they contained a mixed grill – kofta, kebab and grilled chicken off the bone, as well as sambousek (filo pastry stuffed with meat). The chicken was tender and succulent, and the lamb was cooked with finesse. The sauce, if your mouth was drying out a little, was a tasty concoction that I would hazard a guess as Moroccan in origin, consisting of chickpeas in a tomato sauce – who said they were just for making humus?
The mahshi (stuffed vegetables) were also a pleasure to taste – the zucchini felt firm and fresh, rendering that ever so satisfying slight crunch like a warm shell for the softly spiced rice.
And for desert? A fantastic array of muhallabia, a sweet, creamy traditional Egyptian sweet, with a selection of exciting baklava to choose from, including different types of basbousa and kunafa. Fearing for my teeth, I dared only to taste a nip of each one, and was rewarded with a mirage of sweet, nutty flavors.
But Falafel isn’t a conventional restaurant: as much attention has been invested in the entertainment as the food itself. Throughout the entirety of my meal I was treated to traditional music from Upper Egypt accompanied by a band, a belly dancer, as well as the mesmerizing tanoura of the whirling dervishes, who, at one time shimmied through the diners spinning cloths the expanse of the tables themselves.
And the prices? Looking at the menu I was impressed by the reasonable prices. It’s not exactly Shabrawy, but at LE 19 for a starter, and grills from LE 70, it’s without doubt superb value, considering you’re getting privileged to a first-class performance while you dine.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take coffee, although had I, I’m sure it would have done justice to the rest of the meal, as the exemplar of Egyptian coffees.
FalafelRamses Hilton, 1115 Corniche El Nil, CairoTel: (02) 2577 7444
