The Tap's New Palm Hills Branch Is Almost Ready to Pour

The Tap is opening a new branch at Golf Central Mall in Palm Hills, Sheikh Zayed, extending its particular brand of beer-fuelled sociability to another corner of west Cairo. An opening date has yet to be announced, but the promise is familiar: cold pints, a dependable crowd and the possibility of going out for one drink only to discover, several hours later, that nobody has made any serious attempt to leave.

Since opening its first location in Maadi in 2014, The Tap has occupied a rather specific place in Cairo's nightlife. Somewhere between a neighbourhood pub and a live-music venue, it has made a business of crowded tables, chicken wings, DJ sets and the sort of evenings where conversation must occasionally compete with the speakers. Subsequent locations in New Cairo, Sheikh Zayed and El Gouna have taken that formula beyond its original neighbourhood.

The Golf Central opening puts the bar within easier reach of Palm Hills residents, who will soon be able to pursue the noble tradition of ordering another round without first calculating the journey home.