How it all began! By Dagher Al Sakr, La Bodega Co-founder

Terra-Nullius, Pommes de Terre or The Saucy Sue. These were the three names I recommended for our new restaurant and bar. The first was very close to my heart. The second close to my stomach. The third a homage to Suzanne who was the perhaps the heart of the operation. Maher of course being the brain, and driving force. Whereas I was very much the joker in the pack.

All three names were laughed down. And I am not sure who came up with ‘La Bodega’ but it was the path of least resistance. The one name that none of us really hated. So Bodega it was. I guess it worked. It became our little bodega. We were there every night, eating and drinking, along with were our friends and families. I guess this is why La Bodega has survived for 10 years. It quickly became, as someone recently said: “the clubhouse to Cairo’s compound.” Making money was our target. But to be perfectly honest I doubt we made any the first 2 or 3 years. But we had fun. Me at the DJing decks and Sue behind the bar.

La Bodega was also a spectacular departure from what existed before it. A dreary looking Asian-food restaurant, and around the corner was small darkish bar called the 'German Corner'. A lively establishment where working-class expatriates arrived alone and left with one of the many Ethiopian women who frequented the bar nightly. The pair to be whisked efficiently by the long queue of taxis waiting downstairs.

La Bodega Co-founders: L-R Maher, Suzanne & Dagher, La Bodega's 10th anniversary party, 2010

La Bodega Co-founders: L-R Maher, Suzanne & Dagher, 1998

For 18 months we ripped the place apart, then rebuilt and redecorated. Then re-ripping and rebuilding again. It was an endless and tedious process. Sprinkled with a few odd fun ‘meetings’ like the one where we were meant to trial the new range of home-made flavoured-Vodkas (courtesy of Tommy, our Italian barman) and interview some Swedish girls who were seeking jobs waiting tables. You get the picture.

Opening night was fun. Or so I heard. For I actually missed it. Was out of the country and got a phone call saying ‘sorry but we are opening tonight’.

A few days later and as I walking in for the first time post opening, I was stopped at the door by the new manager. She had been hired the day of the opening, after the previous one proved a complete failure. Do I have a reservation, I was asked. Hmmm... “No.. I’m your employer” seemed a bit too smug so I had to resort to the indignation of saying “I’m a close friend of Maher and Sue... please let me in... please.” Danielle, this new manager, whom I secretly called ‘The Whip’ has been letting me in ever since... without reservations. For that I thank her. I also thank her for being as good a reason as any for nurturing La Bodega into what it is today.

And finally, to the one person who was there every night during those first few weeks and was most certain and vocal in giving us “six months max” before we would fail and close down...

...Well, here’s to another six months. Cheers!

Dagher Al Sakr

La Bodega Co-founder

Welcome to the new La Bodega blog!

Ten years ago, a group of us got together to create a new restaurant concept in Cairo. Between us, we shared a passion for great food and a clear vision of where we’d love to dine: we wanted to hang out at a ‘neighborhood’ restaurant where people of all ages could enjoy a delicious meal, or a drink, in surroundings that were beautiful yet friendly and undemanding. And when we couldn’t find this venue on the Cairo dining scene, we decided to create it ourselves.

So, in 2000, we set about establishing La Bodega: an elegant contemporary dining spot that wasn’t hidden away inside a five star hotel; a comfortable, easy venue that wasn’t part of a chain and didn’t serve fast food. At the time, we didn’t know if this new concept would appeal to anyone outside of our little crowd of friends. But, a decade on, and the story of La Bodega has taken on a life of its own, far surpassing any expectations we might have had back then.

Today, the La Bodega group includes two of Cairo’s best-known contemporary restaurants: The Bistro serves Mediterranean cuisine and Aperitivo offers a range of traditional Italian dishes. La Bodega is also home to some of Cairo’s best loved bars: these include Egypt’s first ever Milanese-style Aperitivo bar and The Lounge which, when it first opened, was the country’s very first lounge bar. Each of these venues is unique. But, together, they celebrate great food and the culture of dining in a way that is original, fresh and relevant to Cairo.

People often ask us about the secret to our success. Well, at La Bodega we pride ourselves on a very special secret ingredient: our community. Unlike many of our peers in Cairo, La Bodega enjoys a large and ever growing network of regulars. They have supported La Bodega over the years and they make our venue what it is today.

That is why we decided to launch this blog: it is for the La Bodega community and about it, and as far as we can tell, it’s the first restaurant blog of its kind in Egypt. We’re dedicating it to stories from our regulars and have invited many of you to contribute ‘guest posts’ on what La Bodega has meant to you over the years. During the next few months, writers, artists, photographers, business people, students and many others will be sharing with us their accounts of how La Bodega has featured in their lives.

We’ll also be using this blog to tell you about the things that we love: our favorite ingredients, the art that we admire, the amazing people and places that inspire us, every day, to continue doing what we do.

We hope you will share with us the things that inspire you too - because, like our restaurants, this blog won’t amount to much without your participation. So please share your thoughts and your content and help us take the unique La Bodega experience online.

Thank you!!!!

The La Bodega owners