• Family meals fast at Gad in downtown Cairo

Gad
13 Sharia 26th of July
Downtown Cairo
+20 2 25763583 ‎


Gad offers the Egyptian equivalent of fast-food.  Don’t be discouraged – the term is used completely differently here.  The ground floor is for take-away with upstairs serving, for families mainly, staple meals. The lovely staff at my hostel recommended Gad.  It did not disappoint.

There are lots of vegetarian options, including Egyptian pancake with vegetables “for fasting Christians” and Egyptian Pancake  with mushrooms “for fasting Christians".  The menu is in both English and Arabic which  gives you slightly more comfort that there will be no meat in your meal.

Many of the soups and salads are vegetarian.

Not sure about the last one.  Needless to say, I didn't order it!
The strawberry juice (6 L.E.)is a treat – basically pureed strawberries.


The felafels (like those of most placed in Egypt) are fresh, crisp and much better than those back home.


The eggplant with chickpeas tasted like canned tomatoes but was still enjoyable with a little chilli added.


Of course all meals come with bread.  Seeing me taking photos, the waiter jokingly arranged it for me with his hands for a good photo.  If it had been the first day of my travels I would have been put off.  Instead I smiled appreciating his humour and thought about the irony of me using antiseptic on my hands before eating.  Please appreciate his efforts in the photo below.


As with all restaurants I’ve seen in Egypt, the staff are male (although women do seem to work in the hotels).

Gad is also a spot for people watching.  Not only does it fill with locals, it also gives great views of the city streets below through blue tinged windows.

I saw another table eating the Egyptian pancake and could not resist.  The one with honey, cream and nuts may seem expensive (relatively) but it is massive and delicious.  Filled with roasted almonds, sultanas, topped with honey, coconut, butter and cream (which tastes more like crème fraiche).  The actual pancake is a mix between roti and a crepe.  I tried to finish but resigned when my head started hurting from too much sugar.  It was one of the rare times on my trip that I wished I had someone with me.  Hopefully some of you will read this post and later share my experience.