Radio Cairo, Spofforth St, Cremorne

Radio Cairo, Spofforth St, Cremorne
Thursday 12 July, 2007

Who would have thought that a local dinner with friends would end up with an invitation to the Deni Ute Muster? For the uninitiated Deni is Deniliquin (near the NSW/ VIC border) and a Ute is a utility truck.

Tonight was dinner with the local crew & new friends. The local crew and I are working our way through the local restaurant offerings in Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Mosman. To date, we have experienced Papaya, Koume Japanese House, The Oaks and Go-Zen. Tonight's fare? African.

This long standing local has a loyal following and the reviews say it all,

"Sydney Eats 2006 "This funky cafe, a former Bent Fork Award winner, has been turning on the tastebuds of locals (and adventurous diners from further afield) for a little over 13 years with its world cuisine, groovy music and atmospheric decor."

We arrived for our 7.30pm booking and you could feel the buzz of the place immediately. There was almost a full house and we were seated at a long table to accomodate our party of 12. The very good looking, young male staff were attentive, good humoured and eager to please - might have helped that we had several young, very good looking females on our table!

To save us looking at menus we asked one of the waiters to order for us. The brief was simple, order enough of their most popular dishes to keep us satisfied. What a great way to order and fortuntately we had an adventurous table that were up for the challenge. We ended up with a feast from chef Srian Perera & his team:

- Lamb skewers (tender meat marinated in a sweet, current baste)

- Afro fries (chilli fries with a good kick)

- Cajun chicken wings (bright orange and messy but worth the trouble)

- Deep fried prawns (looked like pop corn chicken and tasted like pop corn chicken)

- Cinnamon pork ribs (not usually a fan of pork ribs - I couldn't get enough of these - incredibly tender and dripping in a sweet sauce)

- Lamb shanks (fell off the bone in a massaman type thick curry sauce)

- Char grilled prawns (smoky, charcoal prawns)

- Cous cous

- African rice (large grains with currents)

The food was excellent and for our party of 12 there was something for everyone. The decor at Radio Cairo is unique - from the sliding window on entry to the open plan kitchen and the large paper flowers to African heads on display - it's eye catching and fun.

Radio Cairo is a great location for a large group and is affordable (especially as it's BYO). It's popular too - so if you are planning to visit - book now.

Radio Cairo - 83 Spofforth St, Cremorne - (02) 9908 2649