Al-Rifai Kofta
So since I’ve been in Egypt I’ve been extremely disappointed with the food. First day I had Maison Thomas Pizza which was supposed to be the best pizza place in Egypt and it turned out to be very normal. Then I had Lucille’s burger which again was supposed to be the best burger in Cairo and it turned out to be average too.
So last night after work I decided to go all out. I wanted to have Kebab (or kofta whatever they call it here). I was told the best in Cairo was this very local place called Al-Rifai so we took our driver and headed there. We got there around 11PM and it was pretty packed but they quickly cleaned a table for us (with a tissue). When I saw the meat outside and the guy putting it on the skewers I could have puked right there on the spot and the smell of the meat wasn’t helping either. In the end out of 4 of us I was the only one who decided to risk it and eat.
The kofta wasn’t impressive at all. It didn’t have any flavor and I really have no clue why its really popular here. I couldn’t believe I risked food poisoning for something so disappointing. Now I don’t think I am interested in trying anything new, might just stick to fast food which is what I enjoy anyway.
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55 Comments, add your own...
1. Cr8ivia | November 18th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Thomas pizza might be the worse pizza ! who told u its the best for sure never tried a good pizza before :/
you didnt spend the night at hospital after this kebab meal? wow lucky u
2. bdayer | November 18th, 2008 at 12:38 am
man this guy is giving up after visiting one single place, comeon man cairo is a city that never sleeps, I am sure there is better.
3. xious | November 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
ignore what people on the forum are telling you and ask the locals/you hotel for places to go.
4. Mark | November 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
its not like i am giving up on life lol
the food here just isn’t that good. i ordered a burger for room service awhile ago and it was terrible.
5. hassan | November 18th, 2008 at 12:44 am
out of the alllll the people who went to egypt and i met you are the only one complaining …i would understand the burger wanst good and thomas i never liked it but rifai…..hell no u prob went on a bad day mark
6. Lexicon | November 18th, 2008 at 12:53 am
mark why are u ignoring abu el seed? its undoubtedly the classiest and best reastaurant you could ever eat at in egypt and its all authentic egyptian food…
7. Mark | November 18th, 2008 at 12:57 am
i’ve already been told about abu al seed here by many people but the type of food available there and what hes known for i dont like/eat
8. Armani Exchanger | November 18th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Mark: just to clear it out for you … Kabab are the kabab =====
Kofta is the pieces of meat = = = =
Man you are eating meat after 11 why are you doing this to your stomach :P
9. Mark | November 18th, 2008 at 1:06 am
according to them kofta is kebab (grinded meat) and kebab is pieces
10. Mark | November 18th, 2008 at 1:06 am
my stomach is trained to eat anything at anytime. always ready and on stand by :)
11. Thamer | November 18th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Whenever I get the urge to devour massive amounts of delicious food I try to go to Lebanon. You should try that.
12. Q80Warlock | November 18th, 2008 at 1:22 am
And now I know why most restaurants taste bad after 1998 here…the evil forces of the sphinxez !
Mark you really should take everyone’s advice seriously on what to eat over there, some cases of food poisoning can go fatal.
Eat Foul, it’s safer :P.
13. chika | November 18th, 2008 at 1:35 am
I’ve heard stories on where they bring meat from ;p
14. Nobu | November 18th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Why are you surprised by the quality of the food in Cairo? No one said Cairo is the gastronomical capital of the world. Cairo is like Mexico city, when there, order room service from a 5 star hotel and drink Evian water to avoid diarrhea and vomiting. You were very brave to eat what looks like dog poop on grass :)
15. xious | November 18th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Egypt isn’t Know for its great food. Try things Egypt is actually Known for. Theres more to life Than food
16. Komoto | November 18th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Actually there’s a low possibility for getting poisoning from eating a well cooked meat. But that still was courageous of you, eating what I would definitely think has donkey meat mixed in it.
17. KinD MaN | November 18th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Try ABO SHA2RA
especially the mashroom soup
18. Anonymous | November 18th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Digestive…
19. Sfsa78 | November 18th, 2008 at 7:27 am
like I said before.. Egypt and Africa as a whole is dirty. I’m confused why you haven’t been poisoned yet. I bet that you will be I’ll in the next few days… Especialy with the crap you’re eating. Be careful.
20. AMR | November 18th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Mark, I think you should try the Fatet Shawerma at My Queen, its at the end of Gamet Al Dewal Al Arabiya, you can choose chicken shawerma or meet shawerma, or better yet, Both.
21. house 43 | November 18th, 2008 at 7:59 am
the best thing to eat in egypt are veal escalopes they’re the best try the room service ones then venture out
22. Caleb | November 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
dude seriously i dont know why ppl make sweeping statements like ” —- is the best in Egypt” Egypt is a lot bigger than Cairo, and most of the other places aren’t as chaotic. Luxor has some amazing places as do many other places in Egypt Im sure…
23. Latifa | November 18th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I wont eat this what so ever!
24. Isaac | November 18th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hmmm.. I’d hate to say I told you so, but I did.
25. bdayer | November 18th, 2008 at 8:51 am
“You were very brave to eat what looks like dog poop on grass :)”
This is what you get after you infest a generation with the mentality thats around. Disrespectful of food, as if people are not dieing already because of hunger of there. You disgust me to the guts nobu.
And I hope that maybe one day, your grand children will live though this ongoing hunger, and will lust to the poo that you just described, sickie.
26. Ahmed Gabr | November 18th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Who said that was the finest place for Kofta ??!!!!!!!
I can’t even believe that you went to such a place to eat. Believe me, Cairo has got like hundreds of impressive places for grilled food. Some of the finest are in Alexandria.
Seek local foods but at fine places, not in something like that one.
27. mm hmm | November 18th, 2008 at 9:27 am
dude! who goes to egypt and has pizza and burgers!??! u gots to have some egeption food! get some good koshari! i can’t remember the names of places but there is one on shara3 il ma7ata in giza that is half the reason i get excited bout going to egypt! oh and u can get good shawerma at this place called abu mazen.. hit em up!
28. 7ussien | November 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Rifai is ok but its not by any mean the best kofta place in cairo people go to rifai because its cheap and the food is not complete crap for the price if u want proper kabab&kofta go to abou el seed or abou shakra
29. 7ussien | November 18th, 2008 at 9:52 am
and u might wanna try goin to another part of cairo actually the area you’re in is not that great simply because its downtown cairo,ask people for proper places to go ,im egyptian i lived in both cairo and kuwait and i have to say i enjoy cairo a hundred times than kuwait and the food quality is the same in both of them but u get a wider range of restaurants in cairo than kuwait though.
30. daggero | November 18th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Excellent post , and great comments
Egypt and Lebanon ,sorry ,
Once you visit these places you will get food poisoning sooner or later .The level of hygiene in Egyption restaurants including the Hotels is nil and Lebanon also uses alot of Egyptian workers in food service who are not known for their cleanliness
If you want good Arabic / lebanese food go London .
Second best maybe Dubai but then again there is Khanzeer issue especially in Hotels
Best Middle east food is Turkey , any restaurant anywhere is safe , it is part of their culture .
31. pearls | November 18th, 2008 at 10:29 am
safsafa sharm ilshaikh don’t miss this place if you love seafood. you might find one in Cairo
32. Ms.Baker | November 18th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Mark perhaps you should try sticking to the local and typical Egyptian cuisine. I can tell you that for every single time I have eaten in Cairo, it is the local normal food which I have found to be the most satisfying and far better in quality than the fast food or the commercial stuff found at any of the “name” restaurants. 6a3meeya and fool, Egyptian bread (sand-free version of course) moloukhieh and rice, duck, chicken, and especially kushari. Speaking of kushari, there is a place in Khan Al-Khalili famous for its kushari which is simply delicious (the condiments that go with it are great). Can’t remember the name exactly right now, I am sure someone here will know and supply it if you are interested.
I would also highly recommend you obtaining a supply of “intestinal disinfectants” or other G.I. medications to keep handy just in case. Trust me on this one… Better to be prepared, it’s all too easy to get food poisoning there.
33. Adrenaline | November 18th, 2008 at 10:45 am
You should flash 10 pounds before asking… otherwise they’ll only recommend the bad places.
Show Me The Money, thats how it works there ;-)
34. Bo3zeez | November 18th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Mark you shuld try :
1- chicken filet in McDonalds (i think they call it McFerakh) its amazing
2- ابو السييييييييييييييييييييد
3- المطعم النوبي الموجود بجنب فندق جراند حياة
35. salah | November 18th, 2008 at 11:57 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8opBQPJj_jI
bel 3afya :P
36. Xtreme | November 18th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Mark Try ABO SHA2RA !!
37. fafiiii | November 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
maaaaarrrrkkkk why dont u go to sequoia caffeeeee !!! my advice to u is to do ur best and go there !! believe me, it;s so cool place , so wonderful view , “clean ” food ,,,,,its really beautiful and classy cool place
38. coffers | November 18th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
i used to visit Egypt/Cairo with my parents when i was a kid. I think last time i visited it i must have been 10 or so. Its been a long time since i’ve been there. Reason why i stopped, whenever i use to go there, i used to get sick, and 9 times out of 10 it was food poisoning. No we didn’t eat anywhere but so called 5star restaurants and hotels. We stayed in the Meridian back then and it was supposedly a good hotel, and still i would end up sick. So the last time i visited, i pretty much vowed never to go back. That was close to 30 years back, with population getting higher and all, could the situation there be getting better or worse ?
39. Holla | November 18th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I’ll tell you about something that tastes good in egypt. That fried sweet bread called fateer mishaaltit. that’s about the only thing though, Egypt sucks for good food.
40. vampire | November 18th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Farghali mango juice!! it’s a must,, have u tried it?
1 pound a glass
41. HeartBeat | November 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Yeah I agree! you got to eat some local food such as the Melookhia !
They do it different .. it is gewy (sp) and elastic and feels like mucus or shit !
Man get out of there Now !
42. Elegant Chic | November 18th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I told ya the food isn’t nice over there :D
43. Elegant Chic | November 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
You better get out of there as soon as possible.
44. Taichi | November 18th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Mark,
you can’t leave Cairo without trying out Abu El Seid.
Even if you go for sheesha and drinks (fresh mango/guava juice) I’m sure you will enjoy your evening
45. Bin 3amo | November 18th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
For best results:
1) Stick to the local dishes. These will be the tastiest if made by the people who invented them! fool, 6a3mya, and Ferakh in Egypt. Mo6abaq semech, majboos la7am (not chicken as the chicken quality here in iffy), moqabalat shamia, pasta/pizza in italy, burgers in America and tacos in Mexico!
2) Always eat at the cleanest place possible. If you are unsure about the hygiene, then err on the safe side!
3) Always ask the real locals and someone who only frequently visits!
4) Never order room service
بالعافيه
46. Bin 3amo | November 18th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Correction — Ferakh — I meant 7amam!
47. mm hmm | November 18th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
seriously though… koshari!
48. sfsa78 | November 18th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
coffers..
that’s exactly why I dont go to Egypt anymore.
once my food poisoning got so bad I was delerious, talking to myself and to pictures on the Walls of our flat. LOL my temp was sky high, nearly died… Food poisoning is basicaly blood poisoning. You’re body will reject the bad/poisoned food so that it protects your blood from being poisoned from degesting the “food”. In my case my blood was poisoned and I got a couple of injections.
Not once have I been to Egypt without getting food poisoning.
Yuck!! They say lebanon has the same problem but on a smaller scale.
I rather stick to London for christmas and newyears, European alps for febuary skiing, and the USA for summer hols.
49. suspic | November 18th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
LOL dog poop on grass.
50. BoBader | November 18th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I am very careful when it comes to meat (especially beef and lamb). The only food I liked in Egypt was seafood and that was not in Cairo.
In my opinion, the best food in the Middle East is in Lebanon. Even in Lebanon I don’t eat meat just anywhere. If I don’t know the owner personally I won’t eat meat there.
51. AbdulKareem | November 18th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
“LOL dog poop on grass.”
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL, that made my day :D:D
-Kiki
52. Musaed | November 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
“In the end out of 4 of us I was the only one who decided to risk it and eat”
LOL
53. nyx | November 21st, 2008 at 1:21 am
Welcome to EEGHIBT! ROFL! WTF were you even thinking dude!??!! I mean for for the love of God why dont you just get your rear to a supermarket pick up a damn box of Ritz Crackers with some Kraft cheese. You obviously can’t go wrong there mate!! Well.. maybe you could… if Ritz and Kraft are being manufactured in Egypt!
Lighter side note: Eeghibt vary beeg cantry! Gooz Fooz wiz Kofta and Kosh(e)ri! LMAO!
54. nyx | November 21st, 2008 at 1:33 am
Update: Just saw the video on youtube.com. Thanks to one of the contributors above for posting that link! I can’t understand, speak or write Arabic for nuts but I got the point!
DAMN… is it true? One of ‘em actually slaughtered a mule and passed it as beef? Jeez… Egypt’s gotta change geographically / demographically; more so on the likes of China, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand or Philippines!!
55. moose | September 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 pm
man you guys don’t know how to eat the best place to eat is balbaa which is in alexanderia and also kofta is not the same as kabab just so you know and also you didn’t eat at any of the good places in egypt. rifa3i is really good but its location discourgaes people that is why most people get it delivered plus you gut straight up meat from rifa3i not kofta… also try karnivore a lot of different types of meat.
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