UK hot chicken chain SIDES, from the Sidemen, is coming to Sway in New Cairo

SIDES, the British hot chicken brand started by the YouTube collective the Sidemen, is heading to Sway in New Cairo, food site SceneEats reported on 31 October. It will be the brand's first restaurant in Egypt. The opening date has not been announced, and neither has the menu for Cairo.

The Sidemen are seven British YouTubers, among them KSI, Miniminter, Vikkstar123, Zerkaa, Behzinga, TBJZL and W2S, with tens of millions of followers between them. They launched SIDES in 2021 as a delivery-only side project. It has since grown into a restaurant chain with branches across the UK and has started to open abroad, which is why its arrival is news for a generation of Egyptians who grew up on the group's videos.

Egypt was always going to be early on the list. SIDES signed a master franchise agreement with Element F&B for Restaurant Management, part of Kuwait's Al Kharafi Group, to open 51 restaurants in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar and Oman. When the deal was announced, Ethan Payne, known as Behzinga, said Egypt and Kuwait would come first.

In the UK the menu is built on crispy chicken tenders, burgers and wings, each with a choice of the brand's own sauces, such as Sticky Hot Honey, Mango Peri Peri, London Jerk and the very hot Nashville Insane. Sides include waffle fries, loaded fries and mac and cheese bites. Whether Cairo gets the same line-up, and at what prices, will only be clear nearer the opening.

Sway is the shopping and office complex on the Mohamed Naguib Axis in New Cairo, close to 90th Street, which already gathers a mix of cafés and restaurants. SIDES joins a busy field: New Cairo has seen a run of fried chicken openings this year, from local smash and Nashville spots to international names.

For now there is nothing to book or order. If you want to be there on the first day, follow the brand's official channels and the mall's announcements for the opening date, opening hours and the Cairo menu with its prices in pounds. We will add them here when they are published.