Kalila
The Courtyard, Rawdah St
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Tel: 02 6061723
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After hearing about Kalila Bakery and taking a look at their Facebook page, I knew I had to visit it ASAP! I am a huge bakery fan; any place with hot steaming bread is definitely after my heart. I am glad to say they did not disappoint. Kalila is located on Prince Sultan Street, in the center called The Courtyard. It’s in the same center as Semsom and Margherita.
When I first walked in, I was hit with the smell of freshly baked goods. The décor is simple, clean, and neat. It has polished hardwood floors, plush armchairs and a couple of plants. It is very rustic and the thing that really caught my eye is a wall decorated with ma’amoul moulds, rolling pins, and other wooden kitchen supplies. It also had shelves with freshly baked breads, as well as glass cases full of different cakes and other desserts. The best part about Kalila is that it is brightly lit, and since I was there in the afternoon, the big windows let in lots of sunlight, which is, in my opinion, so much better than the usual dimly lit restaurants and cafes.
We were seated immediately. The place was full, as it was Thursday afternoon, but since they do not have many tables, it did not feel crowded at all. My husband and I chose a table next to the window with colorful armchairs. The menu was actually a bunch of pages on a clipboard, and I thought it was creative, if not very practical. The pages were wrinkled but we didn’t really mind, since it was their temporary menu. They have a nice variety, without being too overwhelming to the point where you don’t know what to order. They have a breakfast menu, as well as a lunch/dinner menu. Breakfast on weekdays is from 8am -12pm, and from 8 am-2pm on weekends, which is pretty reasonable. Since we got there around 2pm, we couldn’t have any of the breakfast items, but I will definitely be visiting them for breakfast another time.
They have a section for things cooked on the Saj and another section for things cooked in the Fire Oven. I was disappointed that those things were also considered breakfast, so we had to order from the Salads and Sandwiches portion of the menu. We decided to order their Oriental Greens salad with grilled Halloumi (34sr), Chicken Tandoori wrap (34sr) for me and the Grilled Lamb flatbread (36) for my husband. I also ordered a Fig smoothie (18sr).
The food came really quickly. We had our salad and drinks within 10 minutes, followed by our sandwiches 5 minutes later. My tiny criticism is that the salad and sandwiches were served too close together that we didn’t really have time to finish our salad. The salad was a mix of arugula, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples, pomegranate seeds, and black sesame seeds dressed with a tangy lemon dressing. We were really happy with the salad, it was a great mesh of flavors and textures with just the right amount of dressing.
My smoothie was good, not great, but definitely different. It didn’t really taste like figs, and it had graininess to it that I interpreted as a ground up anise biscuit. The Lamb flatbread was amazing! I am not really a big fan of lamb, but after my husband urging me to try it, I took a bite and it was heavenly. The lamb was tender and it was dressed with hummus, onions, pickles and watercress, with extra humus on the side for dipping. As for my Tandoori chicken wrap, I actually changed it to a flatbread as well, and it was also good. Although lacking in seasoning, it came with a spicy yogurt sauce on the side, so when dipped in the sauce, it was yummy. Both sandwiches came with a mixed greens side salad which was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. I would like to point out that with the sandwiches, you have a choice of wrap, flatbread or simit (sesame bread).
I loved the fact that the food was light and not at all greasy, which gave us a chance to order dessert and tea. We tried their Kunafa bi riz, which, I must say, is one of the most interesting desserts I have tried. Think of rice pudding topped with a piece of kunafa and baked in the oven, then topped with simple syrup. We also ordered a pot of green tea and their Indian masala tea, a mix of black tea, milk, and spices including cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
The kunafa takes about 10 minutes, but it was definitely worth the wait. It came piping hot with the syrup on the side so that the customer could control how sweet they want it. It is soft and gooey on the inside with the rice pudding and cheese, with a little crunch from the kunafa. It was the perfect ending to our lunch. We asked for our bill, which came out to be 180 sr, not too bad, especially for the quality of the food.
To sum it up, if you are a bakery lover like me, Kalila is definitely the place to go. The food is fresh, the staff is friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere and ambiance is perfect.
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I have been eager to visit the Court Yard and try one of its venues because they are the talk of the Town nowadays. That’s why we decided to pay it a visit and decide on a place when we arrive there. So when arrived we picked Kalila Café. The place looked inviting and the ambience was nice. The restaurant was half empty inside, and it looked busier in the outdoorsy area even though the weather was less than appealing, but I guess the people who want to smoke will not let something like hot weather or humidity deter them, but why do I care, it’s their funeral, and I digress.
We walked in, stood there for awhile hoping to be seated, and it took them a minute or two till we could get the attention of the host who was busy on the phone. He eventually welcomed us and pointed us to the empty tables to pick the one we like. We sat ourselves on the corner, and again we had to shout and wave until a waiter brought the menus. The menu has the design of a clipboard, which looked cute and reminded me of More Café’s in Dubai. That being said, the choices are not as versatile as one would like, especially the main courses. We wanted to try various items, since it was our first time, so we picked Today’s soup (25 SR), Grilled Halloumi Salad (48 SR), Cherry Kabab (38 SR), Crispy Shrimp (55 SR), Moroccan Chicken Tagine (70 SR), and for drinks I picked the Ginger Lemon Soda (18 SR), and my wife opted for the Fruit Punch (22 SR).
The Soup came first, the serving was adequate for two, and it came with a generous amount of crouton on the side. The soup itself tasted like canned Campbell soup. I do liked Campbell soup but I expect from the restaurant I visit to make my soup from scratch. That being said, may be they do make it from scratch, although I doubt it! The salad came shortly after that, and I thought it was good, but not great, and I must say even though the Halloumi cheese amount was generous and it tasted great, but the addition of big chunks of onion in it was off putting. Then came the Crispy Shrimp dish, and this one was excellent, the absolute star of the whole meal, but I wish the serving was more than generous. The Cherry Kebab came shortly after that, and while my wife thought the Kebab balls were dry, I have to say the cherry sauce that accompanied it was terrific and it covered the dryness shortcoming. The one main dish we ordered was the Tagine. I thought the presentation was good, with the Tagine in one bowel and the couscous in another, I wish I can say the same about the taste. While the ingredients in it made sense, and the chicken itself was tender and juicy, with a mixture and the vegetables and dry fruits which elevated the taste, the amount of salt that the chef poured in it deemed it almost inedible to both of us. As for our drinks, they were mixed bag. My Ginger Lemon Soda was really good, but my Wife’s Fruit Bunch was a watered down tasteless disappointment.
I doubt that I would go again to Kalila, although I heard their breakfast is decent. But After a less than adequate introduction where we paid so much and enjoyed so little, I think I would give the place a timeout for a while.
Very different than usual and traditional food.
Nice,good,clean and different!
I walked into Kalila one evening and decided that because of the smoke outside I am going to sit indoors. However, walking into the cafe, the smell of sewage (in the restaurant) was appalling
I had to change my mind and ask for the only empty table available outside and becoming a passive smoker instead.
The four stars are given to very tasty bulgar salad and chicken sandwich I had – very different from any where else. You can’t argue with how good the food is or at least the two orders I tried.
I will definitely go back , but next time for brunch and hopefully the smelly problem of the restaurant will be solved by the time I visit again
Friendly and clean atmosphere, nice decoration, delicious food, and most importantly, excellent service.
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