Caïro culinaire tour

Car tour with guide stopping for (1) falafels and dips breakfast (2) juice drink (3) Khoustary (rice and pasta dish) (4) coffee with hookah pipe (5) chicken lunch. We were also dropped at two shops (spices and cotton). After 3 1/2 hours we abandoned the tour. We had not seen any sites, the eating places spread over a few roads in Giza and typically run down “fast food” type places where locals would eat a full meal, rather than allow us to sample local food. We didn’t think the tour reflected the description or reviews 1) no sight swing 2) a car trip with seven stops 3) shops were unremarkable tourist places 4) the guide lost interest after the first shop and talked on the phone 5) lunch stop was a run down chicken place on a busy street which we’d been taken to the day before for a quick lunch, rather than the Hayat overlooking pyramids in most of the reviews. 6) not much commentary into the food, only a brief overview of Egyptian history which you get visiting the pyramids or any of the museums. We left the tour before sitting down to lunch (full with food after 31/2 hours) and paid the guide an extra $10 to be dropped in Islamic Cairo. We paid over $150 for two people for probably $35 of food and $20 Baklava which our guide kindly bought us. Had we known the tour was 100% driven round Giza (not Cairo) we would have booked a walking food tour to see both the sites, experience a wide selection of foods and build up an appetite. I’d advise the tour company to update their description. Note: the company contacted me on WhatsApp after posting my review complaining and calling me names. I’m not sure if others had a different tour (we went on Friday) but it did not live up to expectations, unremarkable food which we’d eaten similar elsewhere.

The tour was terrific. Sugar Queen and driver Hysen (sp.) were a sensational team. We were exhausted after the mixed grill tasting and thought we had a fine taste of Cairo , We decided we should end the tour. even though we would miss the dessert experience. We went on the tour almost immediately after landing and were exhausted. When Sugar Queen dropped us off at our hotel she handed me something from the dessert tasting we missed. .Sugar Queen had slipped out our grill tasting and unknown to us while which we were enjoying thetasting with our driver to get us dessert. She handed us the box when we were dropped off at the hotel. We opened the box three hours later we were stunned with a fabulous fantastic sweet treat for the eyes and the tongue. We have been on food tours in many countries. None was better than this this taste of the country tour and as a bonus watching, talking and learning from folks about several native crafts. In sum, if you are considering a food tour in Cairo, you will enjoy this exceptional tour.

Trip started out really well with an enthusiastic guide and a wonderful breakfast. After first course we stopped at a perfume shop and didn’t buy anything. After that our guide spent 99% of her time on the phone outside the restaurants handling other business. Perhaps she became disinterested in us because we didn’t buy or something else happened. Luckily our driver stayed with us at the various stops and was engaging. But, we were hoping for a more immersive experience on the food. There is a lot of food, so come hungry. Would be best to have smaller portions and sample more. Also, a market tour to look at various ingredients would be nice to learn more. Also recognize this is a shopping tour in addition to food so keep this in mind. Reviews for this were outstanding, so that’s why we selected it, but unfortunately our high expectations weren’t met.