It's a clever - and brave idea. Come up with a restaurant that offers something completely different - and also something untried and untested and therefore, quite possibly, unpopular.

Get the formula right and repeat diners will be making reservations weeks in advance. Get it wrong and you're nothing more than a one-off novelty act. Caf? Cairo certainly offers something you won't find anywhere else on the Island.

The name says Egypt but the menu goes beyond that in offering a range of North African and Middle Eastern cuisine. That in itself gives CC marks for uniqueness - at least as far as Bermuda eateries go.

The restaurant's russet-coloured Bedouin tent style interior also sets it apart.

Is this just a Caf? Cairo gimmick? Actually, while getting up from the extremely low-lying cushions can be a bit hazardous after a bellyful of tabouleh, they're still pretty comfortable and help ease diners into a relaxed ‘laid-back' frame of mind.

Unfortunately the camping theme may have been taken a little too far. To describe the lighting inside CC as intimate is an understatement. It is so dark it makes it difficult to actually see what you're eating, always an unsettling experience when eating something new and exotic.

Although Caf? Cairo - which is situated on the grounds of the Bermuda golf academy, miniature golf and driving range - offers an a la carte menu, (pizzas, pastas, burgers) it is most noted for its weekend buffet. The same menu is also available during the week, but there may be less choice with a selection of dishes being plated up for you and served at the table.

The all-you-can-eat buffet is set out on a long table divided into starter dishes - essentially salads - on one side, and main courses, on the other. Even meat-eaters will find it easy to fill up on the appetisers at Caf? Cairo.

On offer is a tasty line-up including tahini (sesame dip), hummus (chickpea dip), tabouleh (Lebanese bulgur salad), grilled egg plant and a whole range of other salads.

Packed with fresh mint and parsley, lemon, garlic and spices such as cumin, these dishes taste like the real McCoy, bringing together earthiness and freshness so typical of the food of the region.

A return for a second plateful was too much to resist.

Actually, leaving little room for the main course dishes proved to be a wise idea. While a wide selection of meats and fish were on offer, the dishes - more often than not stewed - looked dry and tasted tired.

An extremely fatty, chewy piece of old goat might well be the national dish of Morocco or Algeria or Libya or wherever, but it is not to everybody's taste.

The restaurant doesn't gain points on the service side, either. Staff come across as generally unprofessional and not really up to running a smooth operation.

A case in point: On both occasions that we dined there, we witnessed waiters scrambling to accommodate more guests than they could in the private areas because of double-booking reservation gaffes.

Money-wise, the buffet alone - even before you think of ordering a drink - will set two for dinner back about $80, including gratuities.

Caf? Cairo offers a fairly impressive wine list, but the choices come at a hefty price. Be warned, if you are planning to wine and dine, expect our cheque to increase significantly.

For a fun night out with a large group of friends Caf? Cairo does have something to offer.

The atmosphere is both exotic and informal and, if you throw in a handful of hookah pipes and a belly dancer (I kid you not) it's difficult not to have an enjoyable time.

That said, the food is a disappointment, almost an afterthought it seems. Your reviewer did return for a second visit, but suspects it will be a while before returning for a third. That's the problem with novelty acts - the novelty soon wears off.