CAIRO: Eish + Malh has garnered a loyal Cairene since opening in 2014. The Italian-style eatery has become something of a Downtown Cairo landmark, its rustic charm and quality fare attracting a crowd of both food aficionados and regular Joes for a quick brunch or a full meal.
Eish + Malh has an old-school ambiance. The interior is a mishmash of retro-inspired furnishings: wooden tables, red wrought-iron ferforje chairs, vintage wallpaper of Downtown Cairo, red pendant lamps and wall sconces, and a red metal spiral staircase.
If you’re lucky enough to arrive on a not-so-busy day, you can grab a table by the window and enjoy a leisurely meal as you watch the world go by on Adly Street. There’s a certain pleasure in eating out on a weekday in Cairo when places are less crowded and you can enjoy a flavorsome meal in relative quiet. And Eish + Malh’s friendly service, more-than-reasonable prices, and terrifically good vibes make this a fantastic choice for a long lunch.
The restaurant celebrates local ingredients in its day-to-day meals, but particularly during its monthly “Slow Downtown: Farm to Fork Menu & Market,” organized in collaboration with Slow Food Cairo, in which Eish + Malh’s chefs “take extra care to use carefully sourced ingredients to bring good, clean, and fair food to Downtown, Cairo” (according to the Facebook blurb), while local producers sell many of the items featured on Slow Downtown’s special menu.
Eish + Malh wants to be more than just a culinary hub. Its owners see the restaurant as a place in which “cooking and food are both a cultural and political activity.” So, there are regular collaborations with local cultural players; it has hosted dinner-and-a-movie events with Zawya, an art-house cinema, and Cimatheque, an alternative-film center, among others. The eatery also holds regular live music events — including its popular Friday afternoon ‘Brunch&Jazz’ sessions and its current ‘Iftar with Oud’ evenings throughout Ramadan.
We visited on a hot May afternoon, and quickly opted for a refreshing lemon-mint juice paired with a selection of appetizers. First to our table was focaccia verde, flat bread crowned with garlic, parsley and olive oil — the first of many delights we would savor. Next, we selected the goat cheese and rucola salad, garnished with edible flowers, and a plate of arancini di riso. The blend of rocket’s sharp spiciness and the sourness of ground cherries gave the salad a refreshing tang, subtly countered by the goat cheese and walnuts.
The classic Sicilian arancini di riso was the highlight of the afternoon; deep-fried balls of risotto and mozzarella sheathed in a crispy breadcrumb crust accompanied by a luscious pesto-and-marinara dipping sauce, which accentuated the harmonious taste of the rice and cheese.
For our main dish, we selected the freshly made ravioli burro e salvia, and were presented with delicate pasta pillows stuffed with an enchanting spinach and ricotta cheese mix and soaked in a shimmering sage-butter sauce that made our taste buds dance with joy.
When it was finally time for dessert, we naturally, and gladly, chose to sample Eish + Malh’s inimitable tiramisu. Smooth, creamy, and singing with espresso, this Italian delight is a true house specialty. Next, we ordered fruit crumble — a cinnamon-kissed mix of soft peach slices poached to perfection and paired with crispy homemade granola and three scoops of Eish + Malh’s signature ‘artisinal’ ice cream (we went for Siwa-salted caramel, lemongrass, and lavender). While both the lemongrass and lavender hit the right notes, it was the Siwa-salted caramel, crafted with rock salt from Siwa’s salt lakes, that made this dessert the perfect ending to a great meal.
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