Last weekend, Dylan and I had our annual "really nice dinner" outing. This is a tradition we started freshman year of college when we went to a Brazilian steakhouse in the spring. Sophomore year we discovered a fondue place in Chicago called Geja's and went there junior and senior year as well! Now that we're in Cairo we had to find a new place and Mena House definitely fit the bill.
Built in 1869, Mena House sits right at the base of the pyramids and has been used by royalty, world leaders, and aristocrats for the last century and a half. I first heard of it in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, which is about a family of Egyptologists in the early 1900s. I was fascinated by the descriptions of tea on the terrace and the donkey park (before there were cars you know) and that this same building still exists today. It is currently a 5 star hotel owned by Oberoi, but many of the original fixtures remain - the wood paneling, screened lights, low ceilings, and chandeliers for example.
Dylan and I ate in the restaurant called Khan el Khalili (there are several other restaurants there as well), which looks out to the pyramids. We started with a Moroccan chickpea soup, followed by Fish Tagan (for me) and Murgh Makhani (for Dylan). The food was delicious! We lingered over some jasmine tea (for me). The staff was very attentive - I think when we left we had at least 6 people lining our path to the door saying "Thank you, have a good night."
We wandered around the hotel for a little bit afterwards, taking pictures (many of which, I'm sad to say, didn't come out very well because it was really dark). It was really nice to get dressed up and have an evening to ourselves. And so cool to see this landmark and eat while looking at the pyramids!
Built in 1869, Mena House sits right at the base of the pyramids and has been used by royalty, world leaders, and aristocrats for the last century and a half. I first heard of it in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, which is about a family of Egyptologists in the early 1900s. I was fascinated by the descriptions of tea on the terrace and the donkey park (before there were cars you know) and that this same building still exists today. It is currently a 5 star hotel owned by Oberoi, but many of the original fixtures remain - the wood paneling, screened lights, low ceilings, and chandeliers for example.
Dylan and I ate in the restaurant called Khan el Khalili (there are several other restaurants there as well), which looks out to the pyramids. We started with a Moroccan chickpea soup, followed by Fish Tagan (for me) and Murgh Makhani (for Dylan). The food was delicious! We lingered over some jasmine tea (for me). The staff was very attentive - I think when we left we had at least 6 people lining our path to the door saying "Thank you, have a good night."
We wandered around the hotel for a little bit afterwards, taking pictures (many of which, I'm sad to say, didn't come out very well because it was really dark). It was really nice to get dressed up and have an evening to ourselves. And so cool to see this landmark and eat while looking at the pyramids!