Café Le Caire

Good middle eastern food, but not the best atmosphere or service. They do have WiFi which is a bonus, but the restroom is like something from the Saw movies. The pita sandwiches are amazing and the meat succulent. Service was fairly slow and I had to go inside to find them to pay.

Food is decent but not that great, the tabouli was soggy and the salad did not look that fresh. Mezze dishes were nice except for the pink feta cream, very weird in taste.
Fish was nice a bit too salty for our taste.
Conclusion, decent compared to the tourist traps near the mosque but not that crazy.

The menu here is really huge, ranging from Arabic Street food to rice coming from Bukhara of Uzbekistan. But honestly, the first impression of this place was unsettling; dim white lights and narrow space that did not look like it can sit big groups.
Cutting straight to the food, the Falefel ($ 9) served with tahini dip were highly enjoyed by the kids because they are after all fried food made with chickpeas. These were tasty but less crispy than Pita Pan’s.
The Mezze Platter ($ 16) is good if you want to try a bit of everything. Hummus (chickpeas), Tahini (sesame), Gibna Mahrus (tangy feta cheese and tomatoes dip) with some salad of olives, light greens and pickles.
The kids had something healthier– Fish Kebab Bukhari Rice. Though Bukhari is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan, the rice used is actually basmatic grains and Bukhari rice is a widely consumed staple in Saudi Arabia. The fish was lovely marinated and grilled. Overall, this plate is quite similar to our Chinese mixed vegetable rice, albeit in lesser gravy.
I ordered a Foul with Harissa & Hummus ($ 9), which turns out to be another rich and tasty mash of slow-​cooked fava beans mixed with olive oil. Taste saltier than the hummus.
Meantime, the Harissa has a coarser texture because it is actually made from LAMB boiled down with wheat! Surprisingly, this Yemeni delicacy does not emit any gamey smell and I would not have guessed its lamb since everything is blended beyond recognition. Sounds odd but I love foul food.
While the savoury food was hearty, the mandatory sweet fix was less than satisfactory. From the Yemeni Pudding ($ 5.50), a Middle Eastern créme brulée made of cardamom to the Om Ali ($ 6.0), an Egyptian hot dessert made of sweetened milk with layers of puff pastries, raisins and pistachio toppings, they were lacklustre – too soggy and stale.
So ignoring the desserts, my family enjoyed the exotic meal here even though it was their first-​time experience. Service speed is like the movement of a slow tortoise although we were the first to arrive. But on the very least, the price is reasonable.

Very tasty and good value. Great for big groups.

If you’re in a large group, pre-​catering may be a good idea! It really is a lot faster (since the food will already be there: P). It’s affordable and the food is nice, so minus the long wait time it actually felt great — except at the end, when.
(we had to remove our shoes) …and when I wore my shoes at the end, for some reason, there was black liquid inside. I think the waiter spilled something inside by accident: S That’s my only gripe.

I can see why some people say it’s pricey for non-​aircon, kopitiam-​like ambience. Seems to be one of the cheaper middle eastern food options around though! Most similar places seem to be quite a bit more pricey, but I guess those are usually air conditioned and all.
Anyway, was not super wowed by the babaganush (roasted eggplant w tahini aka sesame seed paste) — $ 7. It was a bit bland in a sense. Or, too oily. Very creamy, but lacking flavour, so a bit jelat/​too much after a while.
We had a foul with hummus — $ 6.50. Mostly cos I wanted to try the hummus as well :) Yes, I know, foul is an interesting name. According to the menu posted on the website, foul mesdammes is the national breakfast of Egypt — consisting of slow cooked fava beans that are partially/​fully mashed. Anyway, not bad! interesting dish that I hadn’t tried before.
We had one order of pita bread and one order of arabic bread for the above two dishes (each dish comes with a choice of pita/​arabic bread, so we just got one of each). ! I think the pita was the fluffy one and arabic bread was thin and kind of like lavash, almost.
Last on our table — shish tawouk (skewered chicken) — $ 14.50. This was somewhat lacklustre. Not particularly moist — only one piece out of the five pieces met our standard. Also the inside was somewhat pink, leading me to question if it was fully cooked but apparently the chef checked and it was fine, so okay. The tahini sauce that came with the kebab was pretty delicious!
Oh, one thing to note — the service here was somewhat mixed. it was a bit hard to get their attention, and servers were not very helpful about recommending teas for us. They were out of many teas (and this was Saturday at 2pm or so!) and when asked what the Samovar tea was like, the answer was, «Turkish. Strong. You may not like it.» We were like okay… that’s really helpful.
Anyway, the prices are really reasonable for middle eastern-​esque food, and the foul was pretty good!

Great value middle eastern food. The lentil and coriander dip was a first for me, which came with a generous serving of bread. In fact, all the portions were generous — the Arabic salad and the shawarma beef plate with rice were more than enough to feed the two of us.
The café is a patisserie as well, and we took home some baclava.

I really enjoyed the meal I had at Café Le Caire. It was a dinner with a number of colleagues.
I was not really involved in the ordering. So, I only know, in a general sense, what the dishes were.
I do know I really like the casual feel about this upstairs room. There is an old feel to it. It is comfortable and laid back.
We were quickly seated. There were some discussions about this and that. We placed our order. Soon after, the food started flowing towards the table.
The service was very friendly and professional.
I did order a chicken dish. It was just bursting with flavour. The chicken was fall off the bone tender and still very moist.
Then there was the combo platter. Such a plate of great looking food.
The falafels were as good as they can get.
There were lots of great sides and dips to add variety to the culinary adventure.
Great food, friendly service, and a comfortable laid back environment all come together to create a super dining experience.

This is the best place to find authentic Mediterranean food in Singapore — they even have foule! I head here when I can’t handle another noodle.
Sure the service is slow and the ambiance is sketch, but grab a table outside, relax and enjoy the diverse crowd that hang out on Arab street.
It’s one of the cheapest options in town and it won’t disappoint. Get the hummus!

Café Le Caire used to be my favourite hangout whenever I’m in Arab St, I’ve had some really good memories here with various people I’ve met at different stages of my life, so I’ll always have a soft spot for it. But since the area has livened up with various new joints that are arguably of better quality/​price I haven’t frequented here as much.
There are 2 levels and the first is open air (no air-​con), 2^nd floor is air-​conditioned (one side is a sisha sit-​down area, the other side is the dinner area). The food here has been consistent but the service not really. Their flavourful kebabs, bamiya and even fried chicken cutlet (my personal fave) are what makes people come here in droves. The iced mint tea is also my usual drinks order. They also have this baklava shake that is irresistably good!
The only downside is that it’s quite restaurant pricey for what can sometimes feel like coffeeshop service and ambience. And the wait for the food can sometimes be unexplainably long!
Final verdict: Great food to come with great company but not-​so-​great everything else.

My dance teachers treated me and my dancer friends to a meal at Café Le Caire. It was our reward after we aced our SYF performance. One of the teachers is actually friends with the manager, so we got VIP service and the private function room on the second floor all to ourselves. Away from the smell of shishas.
Food was ready as soon as we arrived. The appetizer was Arabic bread. Tear it to pieces and eat it with the dips. It tasted heavenly. We had juicy, tender kebabs with rice. There were about 70 of us — so we got a whole lamb to share among ourselves. The teachers also ordered plenty of other meat dishes which I didn’t quite like. I found them rather heavy. Washed them down with fruit punch.
The café has a cosy, welcoming ambience, so I suppose it is good for celebrations, gatherings, etc. But to drop by for a meal if I’m in the area? Nah, too hearty for me.

What I love: This place serves yummy stuff! I’ve been going here for 10 years now (since it first opened in 2001) and it was a tiny little Café then, but now its got a comprehensive Menu, and the prices are good, portions are big and the food tastes good. It’s classic Middle-​Eastern, and I love the Sharwama (Beef), and it comes with fries, wedges or rice. All of their mains come with either of their sides. Their Mezze is to die for! It’s just nice for 2 people as it’s only $ 16. You get all the main dips, bread, etc.
Their Grilled Chicken Salad, Salata Dijaj, is really yummy. Very fresh and tasty. They have a very cool menu — so it’s good to explore and try as much as you can — and get a few stuff and share with friends.
Their specials on the weekends, especially Friday, is my fave. Their Kasba Laham is worth the 15 min wait. It’s Lamb cooked in spices and served with Rice, and the lamb just falls of the bone. The serving for 1 can be shared by 2.
Their desserts are must tries: Muhalabia, Yemeni Pudding & Sahlab. Their baklava isn’t that yummy though. The Baklava milkshake though is REALLY sweet but yummmyyyy!
Staff are very helpful, attentive and they do their best. On a weekend the place can get pretty crazy… so, it’ll be crowded and slow.
What I don’t love: They can be understaffed at times, and food takes a while — 15 – 20 mins. But if you’re with friends and all, talking would pass the time.