La Bodega's Belle Epoque Home

Exploring the Baehler's Mansions

The setting for both the Bistro and Aperitivo are the beautiful red-brick Baehler Mansions. Although their once striking interiors are now lost in the maze of Cairo's buildings, these mansions were the starting developments for modern Zamalek and represent the empire of one of Egypt's most prominent foreign businessmen.

The early 1860s, the island of Zamalek was simply a large park, famous for its exotic collections of plants brought from around the world. As part of the fanfare that marked the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, it welcomed its first residents at the Gezira Palace, a quickly-constructed guesthouse made to welcome visiting dignitaries for the opening of the canal. After the celebrations died down, the area continued to develop, but only slowly. The Gezira Club was founded in 1882 as Egypt's first sporting club, and the Fish Grotto was established at around the same time. The royal family, who had fallen on hard times after significant debt problems with the canal's construction, decided to sell the palace, at first to a Greek Basha who turned it into a hotel, and then eventually to Swiss entrepreneur Charles Baehler.

Baehler, an accountant by education, started as a junior employee in Egypt in 1889 with the Shepard, and within a few years became the general manager of the Egyptian Hotels Company, at the time the largest hotel group south of the Mediterranean and at the head of an empire that included most of the major properties in the country, and would even expand in the 30s to the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

To expand his empire and take advantage of Cairo's Western expansions, Baeher founded one of the first urban development companies in Zamalek, believing that the neighborhood could be a future business district. Taking a piece of the garden of his newly-acquired palace, Baehler contracted the construction of Alex Skynder, son of the renowned palace designer Antonio Lasciac.

Since their construction, the interiors have become some of the most well-recognized of Cairo's Belle Epoque architecture, with the detailed wrought-iron elevator shafts, cool marble work, and their uniquely large foyers.

Steeped in history, the Baeher Mansions today call a number of Egyptian institutions home, including La Bodega. It is through the historical significance of the Baeher Mansions, as well as the eclectic neighborhood of Zamalek as a whole, that we derive an essential part of the spirit of La Bodega.

Eat Parmesan Love

When you’re born into an Italian family, it seems almost cliché to be taught by your mother and grandmother how to cook but good thing the world can count on this one clichéd reality.

Also, a city without a good Italian kitchen might as well be taken off the world’s map.

Chef Giovanni Romagnoli is all smiles as he prepares a few surprises for Aperitivo diners

We’re glad to have lured Giovanni Romagnoli to Cairo to take over as Executive Chef at Aperitivo. An Italian born in Naples who has picked up a good thing or two from the matriarchs of the family and a few night courses he took in pizza making, he’s set to lead Aperitivo forward with several new menus and happenings in the restaurant.

Night time was all Romagnoli once had to learn the art of pizza making, during the day, Romagnoli was a computer programmer who simply “had a passion for cooking” present from an early age.

So important is pizza to the Italians, and so much an art and precise science, degrees requiring an almost scholarly study approach to the matter is necessary to receive an official stamped certificate to allow you to set up shop as a pizza maker. Romagnoli traveled all over Italy for months, visiting with different chefs to discover and sample the varieties of pizza possible to make.

Romangnoli, nicknamed Nanni by friends from a young age, quit his job and moved to Hurghada eleven years ago, setting up his restaurant “Da Nanni …non solo Pizza” (In the house of Nanni, not only pizza).

At Aperitivo, he’ll be focusing on Italy’s richer dishes which he’s now introducing to patrons. Truffle oil and porcini mushrooms, lobster and caviar but also more modest ingredients so typically southern will star in some of his dishes so as to introduce the immense variety found in Italian cuisine to Aperitivo regulars.

A caprese dello cheve with tomato confit, mussels with white wine and generous garnishes of black pepper, a pasta typical of southern pasta from the Amalfi coast with pecorino cheese, and a sea bass with cherry tomatoes in a white wine and olive oil are dishes he’s cooked up when he first took over the Aperitivo kitchen.

The epicurean surprises will be constant as he works on developing Aperitivo’s new menu which will be unveiled later on in the year.