Semiramis Intercontinental

With its 100-year anniversary coming up, Semiramis establishes itself as a high-standard, reputable hotel by the Nile. As someone who has been visiting its restaurants on the weekends for years, I am writing this review on Semiramis's restaurants and how it has changed over the years from a place of love and nostalgia. A wide and diverse selections of restaurants are located in this building however I will be focussing on the top 5 restaurants I've grown to love. All of these restaurants are quite high-quality, with disabled-friendly ramps (which are not too steep).

The Night and Day

The Night and Day resides on the ground floor of the building with a direct view of the Nile through a glass wall. Throughout the day, the view of the river and the sunset get more and more beautiful. Guests are seated on wooden tables and serve themselves from a buffet.

The calm and luxurious atmosphere of this restaurant is only interrupted by a small band who play during the brunch timed on Fridays. They mainly play songs that used to be popular a few years ago. Although the performers are very talented - particularly the singer and drummer - and their dancing along with the staff lifts spirits, the music is extremely loud, especially for the daytime. As a result, it ruins the clean and fancy atmosphere that the restaurant has and makes it very difficult to hear those on your table speaking. The music only stops once for a short period of time, in which it feels like a massive relief, but continues loudly for hours.

Breakfast at the Night and Day is very calm and quiet, however there is a good range of menu items to serve yourself - including a variety of fruits, pastries and baked goods, hot breakfast items, and Egyptian classics. The fresh orange juice was in fact very fresh tasting and the fruit were up to very good standard, although some were quite oxidized. From the pastries, we chose some banana bread and a mini donut. They were very crisp and perfectly flavored. From the hot items, we had baked beans, sausages, and hash browns. The hash browns were very fluffy and light with a crisp exterior, albeit a bit oily. The baked beans were actually white beans and tomato purée, which was not what I was expecting, but I didn't mind it too much. The only flaw was that they had a very neutral and bland taste and the white beans seemed a bit undercooked. Sausages are usually my favorite part of breakfast, however these ones were too thin and roughly textured, and way too peppery for the morning. They were also surrounded by quite a bit of oil, which I did not like at all. On the Egyptian side of things, we noticed that smoked herring and salmon were being served, which was a nice touch after Christmas. The foul was extremely difficult to eat considering it came in a bowl covered in a thick layer of oil that was very visible. This shiny layer of oil was also visible on the pepper and the fetteer. Overall, we could not finish this plate because it was very heavy and oily.

The service was very good, with the waiters being very attentive and kind. The strange part was that one of the waiters asked me to bring up Semiramis's profile on Google, clicked on the Review section, and typed in 5 stars and asked me to 'write something nice in good English and include his name'. As I was leaving, the waiter told me he would check what I wrote after lunch. I found this extremely strange and a bit rude as well, and I wonder why he was so urgent about this...

The Friday brunch is arguably the most iconic and intricate eating services at Semiramis. It is served in the Night and Day as well, and offers a tremendously wide selection of menu items for a very good price. This is what I've visited most weekends with my friends, and it has become sort of a tradition. At the same time, I feel that this Friday brunch has shifted quite drastically from what it used to be.

Before, there was a larger range and diversity in appetizers (from soups to salads, to small hors d'oeuvres) as well as a larger range in desserts which were more flavorful and involved more fruit.The typical main dishes were sectioned out between a caesar salad station, a sushi bar, a pasta station, a sausage and meats section in which your meat was cooked in front of you, and a section at the back that often changed between different cuisines, including Thai, French, and Chinese. The atmosphere was much more calm back then as well, as rather than listening to the same loud playlist of Shakira and Justin Bieber every Friday, the restaurant played soft jazz. Guests were also welcomed with a new drink each week, often combining natural soda and fruit. As a result, the restaurant had a much more formal and high-end atmosphere. My favorite sections were the salad section - because you could choose how much of each ingredient you wanted - and the sushi bar. I know that then, the sushi was one of the stars of the show for many because it was made by a man - nay, a legend - Chef Apinan Kongsitha. What made this chef truly special was his passion for cooking. Every time my friends and I would visit him, he'd be trying something new for us to taste. Whether it was a new combination of ingredients or a new shape and style entirely, Chef Apinan believed he was 'still learning' every day, and this was reflected in his food. It was inspired, creative, unpredictable, and unique; but most of all, it was never once mediocre. My friends and I spent a lot of time interacting with him, so when he no longer worked at Semiramis, it felt like a big loss to the community.

As Semiramis progressed, the Night and Day shed all of its foreign and diverse chefs and switched to an Egyptian staff instead. For a short period of time, the restaurant served an Egyptian buffet, including popular foods such as koshari and mahshi. This enormous shift was very disorienting considering the restaurant completely changed its style and cuisine. Worst of all, the food was very average, which my friends considered unacceptable considering the staff themselves were Egyptian. There was clearly an issue going on because all throughout the restaurant there were signs advertising it as a Japanese restaurant, despite the fact that it wasn't.

The Night and Day has since returned to its international menu, but had lost all of the diverse staff who had a range of skills that made it a truly unique and high-quality restaurant. They now have an occasional risotto station in which risotto is served out of a parmesan cheese wheel, a much smaller appetizer bar which mainly serves one or two ingredient salads and sauces such as hummus and tahini, as well as a pasta station, an Egyptian hot food station, a pasta station, and the sushi bar. The dessert section has been dramatically downsized as well, now serving around 5-7 different types of desserts. The chefs at Semiramis say that this downsizing has been done to reduce the price of the menu and make the Night and Day available to a wider audience of people. I partially agree with this idea: I believe that the wide range of food previously available was unnecessary considering not as many people attended the brunches, resulting in a lot of food waste, and I understand wanting to decrease the brunch price. However, it is not the quantity that is concerning; the quality of the food itself has dropped terribly. This shouldn't make sense since a smaller menu would imply that more effort and thought is being put into each item. Along with that, this new Night and Day is certainly available to more than just the bourgeoisie, but it is now attracting a demographic of clientele which is not suitable for the restaurant. Now, the restaurant is packed, loud, and full of large families who would not enjoy the extravagance of the international cuisine served there. As a result, the quality of the international menu items is disregarded. There is no chef in sight at the sushi station, but rather a sad array of about 3 types of poorly made and basic ura maki rolls on two plates to choose from along with packaged ginger, and no wasabi. This is a big difference from the previously lively and beautiful sushi station that included rolls as well as sashimi, and often times a sculpture made from seasonal fruit and edible flowers. One of my friends is vegetarian, and whenever he asked for a vegetarian roll, he was served a simple cucumber ura maki. When he asked for them to bring him another type, they brought california rolls and were confused as to why he couldn't eat them. It seems that the waitstaff need to be educated on eating restrictions and how to cater to them. The pasta station is also the epitome of sub-par: you'd think you couldn't possibly mess up pasta (you can, they did). The pasta is overcooked to the point of falling apart, and the range of pasta is very small. The choices are either spaghetti or penne, and the choices of sauce are either red or white. The red sauce is extremely thin and flavorless, barely changing the pasta's color. Finally, the desserts are overly sweet and not very appetizing. The restaurant began serving Egyptian desserts recently, which I really enjoy, however the zalabeya and saoba3 zeinab were soggy and drenched in syrup; a quality worse than the sweets sold by street vendors.

Overall, the Night and Day is still a good and affordable restaurant, but the atmosphere has become deceiving. Expect mediocrity, and expect not to get your money's worth.

Birdcage

This award-winning restaurant run by Chef Narong Butsriphoom is best visited at night for its warm and romantic atmosphere. The atmosphere is dark and elegant, and the menu stays true to Thai cuisine. Upon entry, you are seated with complimentary prawn crackers with dipping sauces and fresh shots of carcadais (hibiscus water), which makes you feel extra special straight away.

One of the most strikingly beautiful qualities about this restaurant is its presentation of food. It takes a different approach with each menu item to incorporate aspects of Thai cuisine into its plating and garnishing. It is also currently offering bento boxes which have been elevated and adapted to Thai food.

I had the pad thai, duck, and banana katsu with coconut ice cream. This was a truly special meal in which each item shined it its own way. Once again, the presentation was excellent, apart from the random piece of wood that was included on my pad thai plate for some reason. The pad thai had the traditional flavor and spice while remaining authentic and simple. The duck was also great because of the simplicity of its preparation. The cinnamon sauce enhanced the flavor of the duck, but unfortunately didn't mask the dryness of the meat. Nevertheless, the duck is probably my favorite menu item from Birdcage. The banana katsu was not oily at all, and was very crisp from the outside and creamy and flavorful on the inside. The coconut ice cream on top was a great allusion to Thai cuisine and the importance of coconuts as a key ingredient Thai food, and went perfectly with the banana's sweetness. Although I usually dislike candied oranges, I found that their slight bitterness helped to balance out this dish. The fried coconut ice cream is massive, so make sure to bring a friend! - but it always amazes me how they are able to create such a perfectly round sphere with such beautiful garnishing. I've also had the shrimp konafa, which was very delicious however I felt that the layer of konafa was too thick. It was definitely a messy dish! The tom kha kai was perfectly spicy and savory, with the coconut milk standing out just enough among the lemongrass and ginger. I did however notice that the temperature of these dishes can be a bit too high when first served. All of these courses fit the restaurant's elegant atmosphere and were equally as dark and deep. Birdcage is hands down one of the best restaurants in Cairo (and the best Thai restaurant in Egypt), combining genuinely traditional flavors of Thai cuisine with the delicateness of Haute cuisine, and proving that you can be both authentic and innovative.

Pane Vino

Pane Vino is simple but good, its menu featuring popular traditional Italian meals. The food is quite healthy overall, and the service is very fast. It is often a quiet and peaceful place, with an indoor area near large windows and an outdoor balcony scene for smoking shisha. There was recently an event there for the arrival of the South Korean president, Moon Jae-In.

The pasta at this restaurant is usually made to perfection and involves a few basic but well-cooked ingredients. They do make pasta in parmesan wheels and serve pizza as well. This restaurant definitely isn't as hyped as the others, and contrasts the moodiness and darkness of the restaurants neighboring it, but it has a good basic menu that is made with effort and quality. This is definitely one of the more modestly-priced menus as well, but still gives the feeling of eating at a high-end restaurant, so it is great for smart-casual lunches with friends in the summer.

The Grill

On the same floor as Pane Vino and Birdcage resides The Grill. This restaurant serves the best and most iconic Haute cuisine meals. The atmosphere is very dark, romantic, and classic, while being very elegant. The white table cloths on round tables, beautiful live pianist, and glass wall view of the Nile and the Cairo lights around it make it perfect for anniversaries and birthdays. (You can also request to cover the table in red rose petals for an extra special touch!)

The star menu items include foie gras, beef tartare, beetroot smoked salmon, pan-fried black salmon, the angus rib-eye, and the Australian roasted rack of lamb. I personally really enjoyed the deep flavors of the fresh onion soup, and found that it was really balanced - a sign of a good restaurant. The calamari is some of the best that I've ever had, because they cook it to perfection. Rather than the rubbery and flavorless calamari that I was used to, I was treated to something crisp and soft, with a great flavor and a perfect tartar sauce to suit it on the side. The chocolate fondant is also a great dessert item as it melts perfectly and tastes perfectly chocolate-y. Once again, this is a restaurant with a smaller menu, however it does everything to perfection. To get the most out of the atmosphere and the view of the sunset over the Nile, I recommend visiting about an hour before sunset, so that you can witness the beautiful reds and pinks of the sky as it transitions to the dark with the visible colorful lights of Cairo's nightlife.

Sushiramis

With the comedy stylings of the charismatic Chef Raoul Castro (who is 'nashfa zay el mostashfa'), Sushiramis provides an intimate and entertaining experience. He too appears to have a great passion for sushi-making (as well as telling jokes). The bar-style setup allows the guest to see the sushi as it's being made, so by default it is also very fresh. The sushi is much more inspired than at the Night and Day, with far more variety and quality. Sushiramis is a bright, warm, lively, and light-hearted quality restaurant, however it is severely underrated as well. This is the perfect place to take your friends for a fun night out.

Looking to the future, I hope that Semiramis takes the opportunity to perfect their current restaurants and introduce an even more professional and passionate charm to them.

I would love to hear what anyone else thinks in the comments below if they have visited Semiramis's restaurants!