Restaurant review: Fajitas at the Cuba Elusive watercourses and curiously plentiful vanilla scoops Down the road and across the street from Maadi's Abu Al-Sid restaurant stands a tilted white brick monolith of a façade. At one powerful and jarringly out of place, this is the entrance to Cuba Cabana, a quaint and laid back outdoor shisha café. A lengthy counter bar faced with tall tables, balancing tea lights that glow through their red-glass cages, forms the central hub. The remaining large glass and marble tables are spread throughout the spacious layout, clearly catering to large groups. Stubby Chinese lanterns provide the soft lighting, African-style white brick totem poles hold up the shaded corner's roof, and the cushions comprising the seating come in shades of orange, brown, yellow, and zebra-print. A gargantuan wooden bridge cuts right through the clientele (mostly from the ever-expanding wonderbra clique, come in equal measure with their veiled aunts and the young gentlemen they've chosen to tease to a delirium) and, if you pay attention, you can clearly hear remote waterfalls cascade. Ascertaining their presence with your optical sense however is another matter. Disregarding the fact that the intended theme was Cuban, the eclectic mix of thick reeds of bamboo, tree trunks wrapped in rope and clay pots stuffed with dried palm leaves is not only inoffensive, it works, simply because it's not overdone; the place isn't busy with its own décor. Annexed to the Cabana, and under the same management, is the indoor Q-club & Dine. A spare hall with three pool tables, a separately cordoned snooker table, and a 20-inch TV fuel the local shebab's adrenaline and testosterone in moderate doses, keeping a lid on any unwarranted outbursts. Further back rests a smoke-filled Ramadan kheima seating arrangement upholstered entirely with the charmingly shoddy carpets now synonymous with Dahab. This section is dubbed Al-Shalal (the waterfall) by the staff for once housing (presumably visible) miniature waterfalls, and its noisy patrons outdo the usual blaring Arab satellite channel fare easily. All compartments of this establishment are united with the Cabana menu. While the spread sports a compelling assortment of sandwiches, from barbeque beef strips to a cheese dog, pasta dishes, including shrimp fettuccine and penne with chicken and marinara sauce, and 200- gramme square burgers, it's most proud of its fajitas and enchiladas. Available in fish and shrimp, as well as the standard beef and chicken, the lightly- flavoured fajitas arrive with the meat steaming in peppers and onions on a kidney-shaped platter, and the fillings, grated parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce and black beans, topped with a big dollop of sour cream, are all super fresh and encased in a wheat-tortilla bowl. A breakfast menu is also on offer, and served till 2pm. French toast, waffles, pancakes, eggs and (beef) bacon, biscuits and gravy, and a variety of omelets, cheese, Spanish, and the Q-club classic with minced beef and onions, are instantly forgotten once you reach the "breakfast in bed" announcement. But don't get excited, it's just a seasonal fruit platter. The service, clad in orange floral print shirts and always ready to walk the unschooled clods through the bumpy road of Mexican cuisine, wear genuinely friendly smiles and are truly endearing with their fervent beverage recommendations. Apparently the homemade punch with mangoes, strawberries, honey and vanilla ice cream is sublime, and the Bob Marley, with its two scoops of vanilla, soda and your choice of mint or berry flavor the runner-up. Vanilla ice cream permeates the entire dessert menu too, functioning as a topping on the brownie and banana split, and its fried form commingling with pineapples, walnuts and hot chocolate fudge in the house special. Despite their abundance, the waiters here do maintain a hassle-free environment, thus securing your imminent return to this better-than- most (albeit slightly pricy) hotspot for dusk dinner and shisha. Cuba Cabana 28 Road 7, Maadi. Tel: (202) 378 3300. Opening hours: 8am--2am, daily. Dinner for two: LE150. By Waleed Marzouk
