While the rest of the world is either still obsessing over its ancient cultural treasures or bemoaning the rampant congestion and pollution you’ll inevitably come across there, Cairo is on the move in a bold, bold way. We’re talking the Egyptian capital’s audacious urban expansion scheme of satellite cities aimed to alleviate the aforementioned congestion. One of these new urban centres, dubbed New Cairo, is a far cry from the hustle and bustle in Old Cairo, featuring a structured layout with modern residences, apartment buildings, shopping centres and office towers. In this well-designed urban patch of land withdrawn from the vagaries of the desert, a new generation of Egyptians lead an aspirational lifestyle with all the prerequisite perks. It’s here, in Madinaty, a gated community as large a small village, where Zooba has opened its latest outpost.
The restaurant chain, founded in 2012 by Chris Khalifa, who’s very much a poster child of the aforementioned new generation, has once again tapped design and architecture practice NAYA LAB to create a fitting interior design. The venue is situated at the neighbourhood’s Open Air Mall, occupying a lofty 250 sqm. (2,691 sq.ft.) unit with an additional outdoor terrace. The chosen aesthetic is bold and colourful, and takes cues from Zooba‘s brand identity and origins—classic Egyptian dishes with a modern streetfood twist and Cairo‘s loud, chaotic and yet colourful urban grid. Next to the Egyptian home market, Zooba also operates an increasing number of restaurants abroad, and when entering New York City‘s highly competitive hospitality arena, creative agency &Walsh developed a brand new visual identity which is reflected in the chosen aesthetic.
Upon entering the restaurant, guests find themselves in a sizeable dining area, furnished with benches, and both individual round and large collective tables, all adorned with colours and graphic motifs that tie in with an eclectic backdrop of walls adorned with a motif of staggered brick applications as seen in building façades and on minarets spelling names or prayers in Arabic or covered in poster-like wallpaper. The west wing has the open kitchen area, fitted with its own custom designed ice-cream cart, displaying Egyptian flavoured concoctions, while the east façade allows peek of the in-house bakery. The attention to detail also extends to lighting as both the star-studded lanterns, taking cues from traditional lanterns used during the holy month of Ramadan, and a light fixture inspired by how Baladi bread is transported in the streets, can attest. As said, Zooba serves a wide range of Egyptian bites, ranging from Hawawshi and Taameya sandwiches, to Shawarma, Koshari and ice cream for sweet tooths.
Zooba
Open Air Mall, Talaat Mustafa Road (Madinaty)
19519 Cairo
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
