Chicha: El Gouna’s Sweet and Sour Latin Home Away From Home

Chicha Restaurant & Bar in El Gouna. Photo courtesy of Noran Morsi.

In El Gouna’s Downtown, Chicha is a cozy restaurant and bar with Mexican, Peruvian and Latin cuisines. An Izakaya restaurant, Chicha is an elevated version of the typical casual after-work Izakaya for snacks and drinks.

The Latin music setting the mood is a perfect blend of relaxing and upbeat, combined with the decor to set an ideal outdoor dining experience.

On the menu are several fusion dishes, combining Asian flavors with Latin plates, creating unique and surprisingly delicious meals. The first of which is the Korean Fried Chicken tacos, for 155 EGP, a decent price especially for Gouna’s sky-high prices.

The Korean-Mexican fusion is a delightful combination within the three flour tortillas. The chicken is fried into a crisp, glazed with a sweet honey, ginger and garlic mix and topped with spring onion, coriander and chili.

Before you dive into the tacos, you might want to start with a nacho feast for your table. The Nacho libre (140 EGP) is big enough for a table of four, with fresh homemade corn tortillas, and the largest variety of toppings possible on nachos. The dish features melted cheese, red and black beans, corn, pico de gallo, red salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Though overpriced for an appetizer, it makes for a suitable share meal.

For the meat lovers, the Beef Chimichurri Local Tenderloin (340 EGP) is a grilled beef fillet with sauteed vegetables, fried potatoes and chimichurri sauce topped with asparagus. The beef is juicy, flavorful and perfectly medium-rare, and the portion isn’t too small either.

Since you’re seaside, you might want to try their seafood – the Ginger Orange Salmon (350 EGP) is a crispy skin salmon fillet with orange ginger honey glaze, chili lime risotto and green beans. The salmon is buttery, smooth, and melts in your mouth, with their signature ginger honey glaze adding a sweet and sour tang to the dish.

If you’re at Chicha for the tacos, you may want to try their Carnitas Tacos (175 EGP), a classic taco with smoked brisket, guacamole, pickled onions, chimichurri and smoky chili sauce. The Carnitas are not for the faint of heart, however, with their unexpected bright taste full of spices that may even feel a bit more like biting into shawarma.

Chicha’s gifts don’t stop at the food, with a cozy atmosphere and the friendly staff complementing the well-thought out menu. The golden lamps, abundance of green leaves, and detailed design down to the coconut-shaped napkin holders, truly set the scene of a tropical destination in Latin America with all the delicious food the region has to offer.

Chicha Restaurant & Bar is located in Downtown El Gouna opposite Ebeid Supermarket, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt.