mary eats

Pharaohs reviewed May 17 in the Korea Herald

My review of Pharaohs come out in today’s Korea Herald, and here’s what I didn’t say.

Hassan makes some darn fine food, but his restaurant suffers from chef’s syndrome. Here, the theory is “my food is so good that front of the house operations can take a backseat.” Well, it doesn’t work. While Pharaohs is my choice for falafel and all treats Egyptian, I rarely eat in, opting rather for take out. The place is about as inviting as a cave of bats.

Pharaohs is too small for more than one employee, but there is no denying that a second server would iron out the service seams. Hassan works his tail off keeping the place afloat. There was a time when you could find his bed, propped up against the wall. But the 16-hour days are taking their toll, and while Hassan would serve you the shirt off his back on a doily lined tray, he cannot do it alone.

This shouldn’t stop you from going. Now that the weather is nice, there is quaint terrace for which to sip your demitasse coffee. Finding decent food in this city isn’t hard, but finding perfect hummus is, and nothing, not even a bat cave, stands between me and hummus.