Salads used to be humble. Lettuce, cucumber, maybe a tomato if you were feeling generous. Fast forward to 2025 and your “light starter” now arrives with its own résumé. Burrata imported from somewhere unpronounceable, figs arranged like a still life, and dressing so cryptic the waiter needs a monologue to explain it.

These salads are no longer background players. They’re the main event: overdressed, overthought, and outrageously self-aware. They come laced with truffle oil, scattered with pomegranate jewels, and crowned with edible petals, all while insisting they’re here for your “clean eating era.”

And yet, you’ll still order them. Because deep down, you too want to feel like the kind of person who can say “I’ll just have the salad”, and make it sound like a lifestyle choice.

Kazoku

Swan Lake, New Cairo

Salads here aren’t so much food as they are an art installation. Expect leaves placed with tweezers, dressings whispered over like affirmations, and a bill that reminds you this was not, in fact, just “something light.”

Norma

Park St., Sheikh Zayed

A Norma salad feels like it should have its own PR team. It’s the kind of salad that reminds you fix your posture before you take a bite.

Babel

5A by Waterway, New Cairo

This is where salads are served with the same seriousness as a political summit. Pomegranate, nuts, labneh, and enough ceremony to make you question if forks are even the right utensils.

Esca

4 Al Badeya St., Heliopolis

Esca’s salads are basically edible elegance. Nothing chaotic here — just clean lines, carefully chosen toppings, and the kind of plate that makes you think twice before messing it up.

Crimson

Zamalek & Arkan Plaza

You came for the Nile view, but the salad somehow stole the spotlight. Dramatic portions, dramatic plating, dramatic prices, Crimson salads don’t just arrive at your table, they make an entrance.

Pattini

District 5, New Cairo

Pattini’s salads are what happen when someone with trust issues designs a menu. Every topping is perfectly balanced, every bite feels like proof that maybe, just maybe, salads can be the main event.

Carlos

Branches all over Egypt

The glow-up nobody saw coming. What used to be your cousin’s birthday dinner spot is suddenly serving salads so fancy they make you forget Carlos still also does every other craving you may have.

Numa Italian Eatery

5A by Waterway, New Cairo

A salad at Numa is less about health and more about theater. Expect burrata, truffle, and at least one ingredient that makes you Google it discreetly under the table.

Aubaine

Arkan Plaza, Sheikh Zayed

Aubaine salads are chic, effortless, and designed to make you regret every Caesar salad you’ve ever ordered.

Scalini

Palm Central, Sheikh Zayed

This is where salads show up overdressed. Think silverware that looks like it belongs in a museum, and toppings stacked so high you wonder if gravity is part of the plating.

Italiano

Zed Park, Sheikh Zayed
The Italians may have gifted us pizza and pasta, but their relationship with salads is all about drama. At Italiano, the greens arrive and make you question if you’re hungry or just underdressed.

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