Southern Italian Cuisine at Sapori di Carlo in Zamalek

August 30, 2019

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Sapori di Carlo is the realization of an old dream of Chef Carlo. After many years acquiring experience abroad, this Michelin award winning chef decided to showcase his signature recipes in one of the leading Italian restaurants in Cairo. The menu is short and straightforward, this little piece of Italy serves no more than 20 covers – head here for a romantic dinner in Cairo!

Dishes Sampled

We started off with the Caprese Salad, a fuss-free appetizer consisting of four simple ingredients: cheese, tomato, basil and olive oil. Our version with burrata cheese was beautifully presented on a bed of green salad, halves of cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, garnished with a side strip of pesto and cuts of sun dried tomato. The fresh pouch of burrata cheese is produced in-house, guaranteeing an extra freshness to the dish, which is clear from its unusual soft texture. Our salad was followed by a portion of Arancini. Only two balls of deep fried risotto filled with melted mozzarella served on the top of a small garnished green salad, cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomato, drizzled with Parmesan fresh cream. To our surprise, the portion was quite small; we could have easily doubled the order.

For mains we opted for one of the pizzas and as suggested by the Chef, his fettuccine mushroom sauce with truffle oil. Sapori di Carlo is Neapolitan to its core – so to illustrate our review nothing less than the classic Napoli pizza. Charred crust, raised border, filled with my personal favorite toppings: black olives, anchovies, basil leaves and capers on the top of fresh mozzarella, and mouthwatering tomato sauce. Straight from the oven you cannot miss the fresh aroma of the baked dough, and the sweetness of the tomato sauce. The anchovies seemed to come from a special source. They were not your regular ultra-salty cured ones. Anchovies give an irreplaceable depth of flavors and these mild salted ones were just right.

Our mushroom fettuccine was not mentioned in the menu, however the dish was impeccable. The freshness of the pasta was coated in creamy sauce, tossed with sliced mushrooms and herbs, with a hint of truffle oil, which when used rightly, does not overpower the overall taste of the dish. The dish was also beautifully presented showing the care of the Chef with presenting his signature dishes. As we were rounding our meal off we were tempted to try two of their desserts. The classic tiramisu was served in a jar. The highlight of it was the softness and freshness of the mascarpone cheese. The second desert, Tarte Limoni, did not resemble what we had in mind, which was a lemon pie. We were served a lemony shortcrust pastry, which lacked the lemon merengue filling we had expected. We guess it is just a deconstructed version of the tarte au citron.

Other dishes that appealed: Ossobuco alla Milanese and Risotto.

Beverages: Soft options only.