Nefertiti Restaurant & Cafe

No we're not here to give you a history lesson about Ancient Egypt (although it's pretty interesting) but we are here to fill you in (and fill you up) about the great food that can be found at Nefertiti Restaurant. And in case you were wondering, Nefertiti was an Egyptian Queen :)

So this restaurant is in the heart of one of our favourite makan areas - Arab Street.
In fact, it's been there for quite awhile and has been serving up some pretty awesome food!

They specialize in Egyptian and Mediterranean food so let's run through what we had.

Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter ($19.50)

The problem with us is that we love to eat and that means as many types of food as we can. So we normally end up trying any sort of platter there might be and if anything is extra special, we'd probably order up and extra serving of it LOL

The Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter is a great place to start here. Gives us a good chance to sample some of the flavours offered up at Nefertiti and gets our tastebuds in tune for the main course to come. So let's run down what we have in this platter shall we? Let's go clockwise!

Vine Leaves

These are actual Vine Leaves and they are stuffed with some rice which has been seasoned.
Most people will tell you that the leaves are a little bitter but it's not that bad. In fact, if you take a bite, you'll get more of a tart and sourish taste which is excellent to get your tastebuds going!

Mirza Gasemi

Mirza Gasemi is actually eggplant with some tomatoes, garlic and some other spices to make up this delicious concoction. When we have eggplant it's normally Baba Ganoush so this was a welcome surprise!

Hummus

Here's something pretty standard and in fact one of our faves ever. We could go through a whole tub of Hummus no jokes I tell you.

Chickpea puree with Tahini (Sesame Seed Puree), Garlic, Lemon juice and Olive Oil is a sure winner in our books! If you want a bigger serving, try the Hummus Bil Laham ($12.00) which also comes with lamb!!

Hummus Bngar

This is actually Hummus (Chickpea and Sesame Seed puree) with some beetroot added in.
That's what gives it a bright pinkish/purplish hue. This also gives it a little bit more of a sharp edge but still delicious nonetheless. Scoop it all up with the pita bread that comes along!

By the way, in that picture (and a few others too!) is another item on the platter- Falafel!
Those little cutlets are made up of chickpea, onions, garlic and some other goodies before being deep fried!

Moutabel

This is also an eggplant based dish. Kinda like the Mirza Gasemi but without so many spices we guess. This one has Tahini and lemon juice added in instead for a milder flavour.

Labneh

Fattoush

Labneh is actually strained yoghurt with a hint of mint and garlic. I didn't really get the mint nor the garlic but yoghurt is always welcome on my plate. Yoghurt and Arab/Middle Eastern food always goes together am I right?

The Fattoush is salad more than anything else. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber with some tasty dressing plus some toasty pita bits makes for a great salad!

Are you with us so far? That was just the appetizer platter mind you. Let's start with the mains!

Mix Grill Platter ($33.00)

If you're a meat eater like us, then this is the one for you!
We're talking about a whole lot of meat to chomp down on and definitely fill you up!!

You get a nice serving of this super fragrant rice which goes so well with the meat platter. Top it off with some light onion and lettuce salad and it's a winner!

And a special mention for the condiments! That's no ordinary sambal and mayonaise!
Try it and you will see why we say it's really special!

So besides the rice, you are definitely gonna enjoy the meat on offer too.
You've got Kofat Lamb, Kofta Chicken, Shish Taouk (Chicken) and Shish Kebab (Beef) and boy oh boy were the all good!

The Koftas were superb I tell you. Even if I were not a meat-lover, I'd still tell you to try this because it's that good! Tasty and seasoned really well. And the meat was still so moist and not at all dry like some place where I've had Kofta before.

There's also a piece of lamb chop for you to dig into. Cooked to perfection. Just cut into it when you order and you'll see what we mean. If you love Lamb Chops then you should get the Lamb Chops dish (coming up in awhile)

But to me personally the winner on this platter were the kebabs and specifically the Shish Kebab which is the beef kebab. The first bite I took of the Shish Kebab and I literally went "Wow". We all know how tough and dry beef can get if it's not cooked properly and it's so easy to overcook especially when you grill it.

Executive Chef Amr Elgohary comes all the way from Egypt with over a decade of experience so it's little wonder that the food is so good!

Lamb Chops ($22.00)

As we have mentioned, the Lamb Chops are superb!
If one small chop on the platter is not enough then you should go for the full monty and satisfy your meat cravings. Plenty of lamb here!

You can also choose from BBQ, Black Pepper or Brown Sauce but as you can see from the picture, we went without any of that and the Lamb Chops were still excellent. Truly the mark of a good dish!
I guess this is a combination of a good chef plus quality ingredients!

But one thing that surprised us is that the menu had more than just your typical Egyptian / Middle Eastern fare. You can find other cuisines with dishes like Fish and Chips, Fajitas and even Pizzas and Pastas on the menu!

Executive Chef Amr Elgohary explained that they wanted to give diners the option to have some alternatives just in case but they still make the dishes really well! But if you wanna stick to the theme, then you also have other dishes like Wraps, Kebabs, Mandi Rice, Assorted Grilled Meats and even desserts like Baklava.

Turkish Coffee ($5.50)

Or you could just wash down your meal with a Turkish Coffee.
This is Espresso-style by the way so expect it to be really strong!!

Adam's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 4/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 4.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 3.5/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 3.5/5 -- Lamb Chops 3.5/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Nefertiti Mixed Mezza Platter 4/5 -- Mix Grill Platter 4/5

In the end, I know you might say that there are plenty of makan places in the Arab Street area that serve the same type of food and yeah that's true but I think it's the small details that make the difference.

If you have not yet tried Nefertiti Restaurant, then have a go and you'll see what we mean.

Nefertiti Restaurant & Cafe

No 47 Arab Street

www.nefertiti.com.sg
www.facebook.com/nefertiti.restaurant
Tel: 6294 1135

Operating Hours:
12.00pm til 11.30pm Monday til Thursday
12.00pm til 2.00am Fridays and Saturdays
12.00pm til 11.30pm  Sundays