Restaurant review: No sunset boulevard Gamal Nkrumah battles on gamely through the cafés of Heliopolis Thursday night and Friday morning are very different affairs in The Boulevard, or anywhere else for that matter. On Thursday nights it is the buzz and excitement of being with people who just want to relax and chat that is the biggest attraction. The food, if I may say so, is a side attraction. On Thursday nights, you are more likely to come across people with broken marriages and too close a relationship with the shisha, the hubble bubble or hookah. Friday mornings are another experience altogether. Happily-married couples predominate, often with noisy children chatting excitedly. Then there are the weekdays, or rather evenings after work, when quite frankly I have some difficulty concentrating on either set of customers. That was in spite of sitting at one of the outside tables. The Boulevard is not big. It seats only 30 people and most of them shisha lovers. I would avoid the frozen drinks at all costs -- the so-called smoothly flavoured ice mocha, frappuccino, ice latte, soda ice cream and the suspect ice "nascafe". I would also shun the cocktails, in particular the Boulevard "cocjail" whatever that is, I was taking no chances. The shakes are edible, or rather drinkable. Oreo shake, mocha shake, "notela" shake, "straberry" shake, and then there is the more familiar mango, chocolate and vanilla -- I wouldn't write them off. The "soft beverages" are not always soft, I mean, fresh -- the "yougarte" presumable yoghurt, the "miloun", melon, the "penapple" or pineapple, and the "affogato" I suspect it to be avocado. Whatever it might be, and in spite of all their weird names, they will not poison you I promise. And, unless you are a glutton, you will not be crying for more. The Boulevard is not one of the best places on this planet to dine. It is, however, passable. Do not expect sensational dishes, or the best meals you are likely to have in Cairo, hands down. What you see on the menu is what you get. At least the portions are big if you have a healthy appetite. The pizzas are passable, but the "steek" is not to be counted on. Indeed, most of the menu's entries were misspelt -- that in itself being the chief amusement given the Boulevard has little in the way of attractions. Pizza "Mashroom" and Pizza "Margrota", were out as far as I was concerned. I was not going to take my chances with the steaks, including "Mostarde Roukford" and the "Biccata", presumably Picatta. The "Mashroom Puper", mushroom pepper, I presume, was out, especially when served with "Coolslow". The Boulevard is an interesting meeting point, but not somewhere you would quench your thirst or satisfy your hunger. It is a café that presents palatable food at moderate prices. Different types of people drift in at different times of the day. Shisha lovers congregate around sunset, not I would hasten to add, to watch the sun go down. Greens are not always on the menu, and if they are you would be wise to avoid them. And, especially so with the onset of summer. The service is friendly with the waiters taking orders and passing the plates around. The Boulevard, like the food on offer, is nice in small doses. The restaurant is comfortable, though, and has a certain je ne sais quoi. I was especially curious to know what exactly "Dram Steek" Chicken entailed. As I expected, it turned out to be the good old drumstick. We finished with perhaps the most outstanding dish at The Boulevard: the house filet. That, at least, sounded better than the fried "checken" and the "smoke turky". I am pleased to report that the Boulevard fillet was not bad. For dessert, there is an unctuous, velvety pudding and ice creams such as Mango De Light and Oreo Madness, whatever they were, sounded good, but I gave them a miss. My companion had one, the cream was whipped until it formed soft peaks -- still, I was not tempted. The Boulevard 2 Almaza Street Off Al-Thawra Street Heliopolis, Cairo Tel: 02 2690 0109 Dinner for two: LE120
