I have been here many times. Every time the food is excellent. Its also a really good value...very good prices for great quality and abundant quantities.

My favorite is the Mezze platter - 7 different starters with pita bread. But everything is really good.

Also, while there is dining downstairs and on the street, we prefer to ask for the private dining room upstairs. It has a bit more personality with Turkish rugs strewn about and large wooden tables.

Just be prepared to wait....nothing happens here with any speed. I have had to get up and get my own utensils from the kitchen when the server forgot them and then dissappeared for 10 minutes :o


http://accidentalepicurean.com/2009/03/breakfast-at-epicurious-singapore/#more-370

Twice I have been here in the hopes that this restaurant with all the right ingredients would pull it together and impress me. Both times I've been extremely disappointed.

Ambience
The first visit we were seated upstairs with a party of 15+ on a Friday night (midnight). Good place for accommodating large groups, good decor. 2nd visit was a Monday dinner group of 3 by the 5 foot ways outside - unfortunately not so good. the two tables could not fit our 1 meze, 1 foul harissa, 1 falafel sandwich, 1 chicken cutlet, 1 mushroom kebab and 3 drinks. Plates were literally stacked up against each other. Why - you ask? Which brings us to...

Service
Truly the deal breaker and reason I cannot, will not and won't be going there or recommending other people to go there again. The most recent visit (Monday dinner)
1) I specifically told the waitress to serve the meze and foul first as starters, knowing that they DO take time to make the main meals. I even told her in both English and her native Indonesian. What happened:
a) the meze came a full 20min before anything else.
b) no cutlery (at all) was served until we had to catch about 3 waiters’ attention

We ordered chicken cutlet and mushroom kebabs. We sat down at 7.45pm and ordered by 8pm. The main meals came at 9pm. 1 full hour after. We had nearly cancelled our main meals and were about to LEAVE when they arrived. And it was not a busy night, despite what the wait staff allege.

Unfortunately, more minor details irked my tourist guests off – e.g ordering a pot of their signature mint tea – the tea is in the form of tea dust, yet they did not have a single tea strainer for us to use and had to bring the tea back to the kitchen to strain it there. The previous time I had been there I drank dusty tea.

The first visit to the restaurant, they forgot my foul harissa order completely. When I asked to cancel the order, there was a confusion with the waiters. 20min later, the dish arrived even though I had cancelled it and they begged me to take the order (really unprofessional!)

Great location, great ambience isn’t enough to bring me back. And at $67 for 3 people for a thoroughly unsatisfying meal, I’d much rather have my Middle Eastern fix at the local coffeeshop that serves a great foul mesdammes.

I was out on a night photo shoot at Arab street (just to play with my camera before it gets all rusty) and chanced upon a Middle Eastern restaurant that is among the shop houses along Arab street. Business is good to an extent that the restaurant took up another shop house space across the road just for the extra dining area. I decided to be adventurous and was rewarded with a delightful Middle Eastern food experience in Cafe le Caire.

I was seated in the carpeted section where every one sat on cushions laid on the carpets. Cafe le Caire provides the Hookah Shisha pipes to customers who's interested in the "healthier" form of smoking that originates from Middle East. There's a choice of different fruit/herb mixture for the smoke.

I was recommended the .............

Shish Kebab - The chunks of lamb were seasoned with spices and were skewered and then charcoal grilled. Two dips were provided with the dish. One of them is chilli sauce and the other, a tasty white colored bean based dip. The lamb with the spices tasted marvelous. It's no wonder my wife told me that she had eaten shish kebab in Egypt when she hardly touches lamb, if she can help it. I guess the spices did its magic. Else, the raw smell of lamb can be sometimes quite overwhelming. The potato wedges were made just right. The potato was still soft when I sank my teeth into it.

At first, the waiter recommended Harissa (a Yemeni recipe cooked with lamb and white wheat) and Hummus (a mix of chickpea and tahini, sesame paste). Although I would like to try them, I doubt that I can finish them. So I declined. I guess they'll have to be saved for another occasion.

The Khusry tea that was recommended in the menu was nothing spectacular.

I'll be back at Cafe le Caire for more food.............

For more photos and details, see:
http://4-the-love-of-food.blogspot.com/2008/09/cafe-le-caire-al-majlis-middle-eastern_17.html

Arab street actually reminds me of the small streets in Binondo in Manila. The feeling of old, rustic & historic small shophouses. Of course Arab Street is the cleaner version of Binondo. Plus, a lot safer especially at night.

The kebab platter was my favorite. The assorted meat was very tender and tasty and went perfect with the Vermicelli rice

for my full review pls go to
http://the-f-word-blog.blogspot.com/

After shopping at Haji Lane, we came to Cafe Le Caire to rest our tired feet and feed our tummies. This is one of the few Arabic restaurants that i always frequented. With the mystic arabic tunes serenade the place, you immediately felt very relaxed among the rustic environment.

That day, we ordered
1) Karkadeh Fizz ($4) - Hibiscus syrup drink with soda
2) Shawarma Roll ($10) - sliced lamb & beef wrapped in arabic bread
3) Feta Cheese Omelette ($8) - Omelette filled with feta cubes
4) Muhalabia w. ice cream ($6) - Rose flavoured pudding with ice cream and mix nuts

I like the karkadeh fizz.. reminds mi of ribena, tarty but less sweet and sourish. The Shawarma roll was also flavourful but the meat a little dry that day. I like the buttery feta cheese omelette as it was light, fluffy and not overly cheesy as feta cheese is light and still retain its shape quite well after cooking.

For dessert, we wanted the yemeni pudding but was sold out (boohoo) so we shared the muhalabia instead. First taste in the palate may be odd but after a few tries, the mild rose flavour actually calms the tastebuds pretty well after a spicy main course. The ice cream complements the muhalabia well too.

The only thing i can lament of would be the service, very laid back, want to take order and even pay money took more than 20min for waiter to come despite no crowd.