With impressive views of the sea and the sweeping Alexandria coastline, Alexandria s Four Seasons San Stefano Kala restaurant is a full scale immersion into the rich culture and cuisine of the Mediterranean Sea. The restaurant is the principle dining facility in the newly opened hotel and brings together dishes from some of the Mediterranean's finest culinary traditions for three meals a day. Although an a la carte menu exists, the restaurant is primarily buffet style, with a diverse spread of salads, appetizers, meat and vegetarian mains, and desserts. Many of the dishes are prepared right behind the buffet itself, with a wood-burning oven and a rotisserie prominently displayed behind the spread of meat dishes. But the most unique part of the Kala dining experience is almost certainly the diversity of dishes. From French to Italian and from Lebanese to Egyptian, the restaurant's selection is truly a medley of the best that the Mediterranean has to offer. "We wanted to give diners the opportunity to choose, said the hotel's Executive Chef Eric DeBlonde. "We wanted them to have a selection of dishes from all over the Mediterranean - so that they could have a meal with a Lebanese starter, a French main, and an Italian dessert. DeBlonde himself is no stranger to Mediterranean cuisine. Born and trained in France, DeBlonde has been serving these kinds of dishes to Four Seasons guests for over 20 years - in London, Amman, and now Alexandria. The restaurant is situated with a beautiful view of the Alexandria Corniche and adjacent coastline. There is, of course, an indoor seating area but there are also several tables on an outdoor patio, which has the best views of the sea. If timed correctly, dinner can even be complemented by a stunning ocean-view sunset. The prices, of course, are steep, with a dinner buffet costing LE 130 and the breakfast not much cheaper at LE 95. And opting for the a la carte option is not a way to avoid the hit to the checkbook, with entrees ranging from LE 70 to LE 175. Indeed, even with the luxurious setting and wide selection of dishes, sometimes one wonders if the dining experience is really worth the price. The wine that was served was stunningly subpar - especially given the price and the fact that it was an Italian, and not an Egyptian, chianti. Not only was it served at a lukewarm temperature that gave the sensation of drinking hour-old mulled wine, but the flavor was distinctly disappointing. Perhaps it would have been best to stick to the bottled selection. The other rather odd facet of Kala's menu is the dearth of fish selection in a restaurant that sits a stone's throw from some of Egypt's finest and freshest fish markets. Alexandria has, to a large extent, become famous for the fish that is hauled daily in to be eaten at shoreline restaurants. And yet, at Kala the buffet didn't boast more than a single sautéed white fish. Mediterranean maybe, but Kala had missed out on a rather crucial component. Unlike the other two restaurants that the Four Seasons has to offer - Byblos, a Lebanese-French grill and Stafano's, a southern Italian restaurant - Kala is more casual in its setting, although its décor still fits in with the hotel's chic aesthetic. But the atmosphere was distinctly lacking, and for the majority of the evening the restaurant remained close to empty - perhaps due to the hotel's recent opening on July 3, or perhaps due to the fact that it was fairly early on a Tuesday evening. The food, though, was very high quality, particularly the appetizers, which ranged from Lebanese hummus to Italian pasta salad. Certainly a dining experience that ought not to be missed on a visit to Alexandria, and a good opportunity to experience the best of what the Mediterranean has to offer.
