Italiano at ZED Park
How many times have you heard, “best Italian food in Cairo” only to find dish recipes heavily influenced by the Egyptian customer’s palate and preferences? We’ll tell you: many! At Italiano though, the story starts at authentic Italian, and ends at authentic Italian, food made with love & gusto. With a commitment to making light, healthy Italian dishes, The Italiano kitchen is run by Chef Francesco (Pier 88), with Chef Ignacio in charge of pizzas, breads and baked items, and 20 year-old Chef Yuri in charge of divine savory Italian dishes.
Influences from the northern Italy, mid-Italy and southern Italy can be seen and tasted in a variety of dishes. So, let our Italian viaggio begin!
Signature Dishes
For diners like us who’ve sampled many a pizza in Italy, the pizza here at Italiano happily kicks all their behinds. Guaranteed, the best pizza you will have anywhere in Egypt. Salads also feature heavily in this healthy menu, but forget your regular restaurant salad overblown with greens and only a few other ingredients in the mix. The salads here are a work of art. Salmon Fillet, Tagliatelle Ragu, Beef Fillet are also among the signature dishes.
Dishes Sampled
An unconventional but surprisingly wonderful start, we began our Italian romance with two kinds of Pizza, White Vegetarian, featuring a perfectly grilled taste on the topping zucchini sticks, and Buffala. A super thin tender crust carrying a load of a truly Italian experience, made with Italian mozzarella straight from Italy. To achieve the pull of the dough it can only be made with flour imported from Italy! The Pizza this evening stole the show, and this coming from a non-pizza eater!
Next came the Salmon Fillet. A perfectly cooked no-fuss dish with monotone compliments all orange in color: carrot puree, caviar, carrot sheets, carrot balls, etc. Rare to find a truly crispy skin on a salmon fillet anywhere. The Beef Fillet was a gorgeously lean medium-rare cut, served with zucchini balls and a few multi-color splashes of various sauces on the plate. It looked like a piece of meat set in a Pollock painting. The Tagliatelle Ragu and Ravioli along with all the pasta here is homemade with flour imported from Italy; hearty, flavorful, rich, sublime.
Perhaps another standout dish for us was the Caponata Sicily, a vegetarian dish made with carrot, onion, celery, eggplant, capers, olives, tomatoes, and vinegar. A new flavor experience we were not expecting! It definitely stole our hearts… and taste buds! The Chicken Salad followed, topped with a dressing we can only say is akin to sweet & sour. Needless to say, this was no ordinary salad, perfectly proportioned, every mouthful was different, no overbearing greens that you have to sift through to find the other ingredients. The salad menu is extensive and incredibly mouthwatering, who knew that one could dine out excited to order the salad!
For dessert we were presented with Mousse White Chocolate and Semi Fredo Sesame. Both satisfying sweet bites after a glorious savory meal. Desserts to are made at the hands of an Italian dessert chef.
Other Menu Items that Appealed
Where to begin? Dishes from the various Italian regions all look incredibly appealing, and with a new menu in the works, we’re excited to be back for another visit.
Décor & Ambiance
Perhaps the best thing about Italiano is that it is quite spacious! With high ceilings, a few industrial pipes running through. But as your eye shifts downwards, you see a casual chic, cool and contemporary interior, sleek white marble-top tables, architectural chairs, modern and streamlined, plenty of seating arrangements as well as a private dining table behind a glass wall. .
Kitchen counters encircle one area of the restaurant, and you get to see the busy kitchen staff in their element. The kitchen sends out wafting aromas that you smell upon walking in, creating an emotional resonance. In the center is a glass smoker’s room, as smoking is not allowed throughout the venue. An entire side of Italiano is glass, overlooking a terrace – will be a great spot in the summer – and ZED Park, quite a view during the day, at sunset, and in the evening.
Worthy of Note: This is a family-oriented place, no alcohol is being served here as of yet, delivery will be available to Sheikh Zayed residents very soon.
Clientele Mix: On a Tuesday night the venue was pretty empty, seeing as it is brand new and not many people know about it. But once the word gets out, this is going to be a favorite with Sheikh Zayed residents.
Price Range: Slightly on the higher end, but so worth it!
Contact information:
Address: Zed Park, Sheikh Zayed, Giza
Opening hours: Daily from 1 pm to 10 pm, Wednesday to Saturday closing is at 11pm.
Tel: 0120 725 1111
Clientele Mix: The clientele is a more upscale Heliopolis crowd that appreciates good food and great service.
The Good Meat Company deliver high-end, healthy and fresh products from a local farm. There are currently shops in Ahmed Oraby, Mokkatem offering all kinds of meat cuts and chicken. A butcher shop will soon open in the 5
The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Youth have come on board, along with multinational companies and other organizations to support eco friendly events, and by time, the initiative spread to other countries and has been emulated by new groups. Now, over 100,000 fruit trees have been planted, in schools, universities, on roof tops and balconies, both in Egypt and abroad. With a strong, enthusiastic team Shagrha is setting a sustainable example for many to follow to go green and save mother nature.