JEDDAH, 8 May — What’s so special about this place? Well, besides its distinctive name — which comes from an old Arabic word “Al Shurafa”, that simply means the tie-back of a curtain -- it’s one of the best cafes in town.
It is owned by a woman and all the food tastes home-made — probably because it is.
The owner pays extra attention to hygiene, putting her employees to a thorough inspection.
She makes sure they are tested regularly and to insure that the standard of the food is high, she prepares some of the dishes herself.
The decor has a certain feminine touch and reflects fine taste; at the same time, it is too dimly lit so you can hardly see your food.
During the week, its customers seem to be married women who meet there several times a week to gossip and enjoy some hubbly bubbly. In all fairness, the hubbly bubbly is fine — miasil with apple and/or grape flavoring. On the weekends, families come, however.
The place is small and cozy with a few tables outside for those who enjoy eating in the cool breeze — when it’s the right season.
What kind of food do they serve? A little bit of everything is the answer.
Their cocktails are certainly fresh and interestingly named. Like ‘home alone’, ‘pretty in pink’ and ‘Miami mango’ for SR20 each. There is also a variety of fresh juice — kiwi, carrot, guava and strawberry. Plus orange juice and lemonade of course.
The cafe is best known for salads such as crab meat salad and salad niçiose. There is also a good chicken Caesar salad, a smoked salmon salad and an Asian salad.
Sandwiches are delicious whether smoked turkey, white cheese, tuna, chicken or salmon. You can choose between regular toast baguette sandwiches or croissant.
Their soups are superb. The tomato soup in particular is my favorite. Occasionally though I switch to the chicken corn soup.
They also have onion soup and I understand that their asparagus cream soup is delish.
They also serve sushi for those who like it. As for meats and pasta, I recommend voglia alla saltato which is macaroni made to a special secret recipe with cream and shrimps.
I found it good but it was just a bit too rich. The fettuccini is quite good but a little too cheesy for my taste.
In conclusion, they have a few special dishes; the most popular is the dumplings for SR35, the tortellini pasta and grill chix tarragon for SR55.
Another nice thing about Al-Shurafa is that they have an assortment of high grade teas and coffees with different flavors.
For dessert, they have a not so great apple pie - too much apple and not enough crust for my liking. The most popular desserts are the date cake with ice cream and the sticky chocolate cake which is both fudgy and yummy. Both the carrot cake and the pecan pie are really something so check them out.
Al Shurafa is located in Jeddah’s Al- Andalus District. On Arraffat Street, for reservation call: 6602743
