Cairo Nights

Don’t be surprised if the friendly waitresses at Sultana greet you in Russian. But while the restaurant does cater to the Yabaolu crowd, with a tri-lingual menu, as well as some typical Russian dishes, Sultana is pretty much your typical Beijing Middle Eastern restaurant. Still, it brings something new to the increasingly international Ritan restaurant scene.

The falafel (¥25), made in the national style of the Egyptian owner/chef, is some of the city’s best. The balls are pressed into flat shapes, with perfect coloring and a nice crunch similar to the falafel at Turkish Mum. The eggplant salad with tahini sauce (¥25) is highly garlicky and pleasantly tart. The kibbeh (“stuffed balls with meat and nuts,” ¥45) is also very satisfying and meaty, similar in taste to other renditions we’ve tried in the city. Eat it with the creamy yogurt (¥25), which is very rich, although not super thick. The “Sultana salad” (¥25) is a standard Greek salad, simple but decent. The lamb ribs (¥58) are tender and nicely grilled, but the meat’s not very flavorful, and the hummus (¥20) is sadly bland.

The two-story restaurant is brightly lit, with lots of gold and white. Arabic pop music plays in the background, adding to the Egyptian atmosphere.

The food arrives with almost frightening speed. Service is quite good, although speaking Chinese or Russian is an advantage when ordering. The owner speaks half a dozen languages, though, and can make good menu recommendations—if he’s not busy cooking.

Sienna Parulis-Cook