101 Best Restaurants in Egypt

If you’re not already spending a night or two at the Marriott Mena House, start your Giza day trip an hour earlier, and treat yourself to a high-end Pyramids-view breakfast at this restaurant within it. Options in the expansive buffet spread, served from 6 am to 11 am, include international items, and there are both indoor and shaded outdoor seating areas.

This Heliopolis landmark, in business for over five decades, often has a line of people waiting to order Egyptian-style beef shawarma, made with a deliciously aromatic marinade and served in a pita or on soft white fino bread or fluffy bread rolls. Although there’s a small top-floor seating area, this is more of a grab-and-go restaurant.

Although this is a great place to sample ful (a hearty, flavorful stew of mashed fava beans) and ta'amiya (Egyptian-style felafel), save room for baba ghanoush (stewed eggplant with tomatoes and tahini) and the mashi (stuffed grape leaves, zucchini, and baby eggplant). This location, which has a large dining room, is only a few blocks from all the action of the Old Market, so there's always a taxi (or Blue Bus) nearby to get you back to your hotel. The Hay Lel Nour location is a bit farther out, but it's in a non-touristy neighborhood, giving you the opportunity to experience everyday Egyptian life as well as traditional Egyptian food.

Ebn El Balad is the mixed grill half of the Ebn El Balad–Ebn Hamido restaurant duo sharing the same waterfront space near Gleem Bay. The maritime-meets-traditional-Egyptian decor is comfortable, classic, and unassuming. When you enter the restaurant, take a right if you're in the mood for mixed grill (the stuffed pigeon and vegetable tagine are both especially good) or take a left if you'd prefer fresh seafood (try the grilled sea bass with potatoes). Whichever you choose, you're in for some of the best fresh food on the Mediterranean.

Known for the blue-mosaic niche wall on its facade, this small but beloved branch of Mandarine Koueider is divided into two sections: one side sells Middle Eastern desserts generously stuffed with nuts, and the other sells ice cream in flavors like pistachio, raspberry, or mandarin. The malban bil eshta (Turkish delight filled with cream custard that's flavored with mastic) is a must-try.

What began as a kosher restaurant in 1940 is now the best place in Alexandria to find felafel and Egypt's national dish, ful (fava beans). International royalty and celebrities have dined here, but on an average day you're likely to be surrounded by locals getting their fill of vegetarian staples like roasted eggplant with tomatoes, tahini, chopped salad, baba ganoush, and pickled vegetables. While ful and falafel are traditionally served at breakfast, Mohamed Ahmed stays open late so you can enjoy them during lunch or dinner. Food comes cheap and is served lightning quick. Try to get a table downstairs since the upstairs dining room can get stuffy when it's crowded.

In a tile-decorated 1930s house with an airy upstairs dining space, this restaurant lets you take a culinary tour of Egypt. Dishes range from oven-roasted rabbit with molokheya (a dark green gelatinous soup made from the jute mallow plant) to hamam mahshi, herby rice-stuffed pigeon. The mezze platter with your pick of four hot and four cold dishes makes a great start to the meal—or a meal in and of itself. Sofra also offers a cooking course that takes you shopping in the market before making a meal, or you can sail on a felucca and take a countryside walk before lunch.

Candlelight and live traditional music make the dining room here romantic, and the menu highlights the varied cuisine of India. Choose from entrees such as the rich palak paneer (homemade cottage cheese in spinach) or the flavorful fish curry featuring sea bass; sides include several type of naan as well as fragrant biryani (saffron rice with chicken). Top off your meal with a refreshing kulfi (dense, Indian-style ice cream) for dessert.

On the rooftop terrace of Le Riad Hotel de Charme, Zeeyara serves modernized Egyptian dishes, including a remarkable assortment of hot and cold mezzes and soups and specialties such as boneless stuffed pigeon or lamb with rice, mixed nuts, peas, and cinnamon—a must-try even if you're not a fan of lamb. Desserts are also delicious, and the mocktails are worth a try.

Known for its relaxed vibe, Zööba offers Egyptian street food featuring modern twists (and slightly higher prices), all of it made with locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to try the ful (fava-bean stew) and ta’amiya (falafel) with pickled lemons, though the koshary (macaroni casserole) is also divine.

Step back into an elegant era beneath the Venetian crystal chandeliers of the dining room at 1886, where you'll feast by candlelight reflected on the heavy silver plates and thick linens. Dishes are French-inspired, and the menu has quite a bit of seafood. Formal wear is required: cocktail attire for women and suits and jackets for men.

Don your best outfit (casual wear isn't allowed) and have a seat in the red-and-white, keyhole-arched dining room, originally opened in 1902 for dignitaries to celebrate the inauguration of the Aswan Dam. The atmosphere is unforgettable, and the French-inspired menu is heavy on seafood.

The Giza Plateau really needed a place like 9 Pyramids Lounge, which is accessed via the Mena House Giza Plateau entrance, where you'll purchase the standard entrance ticket, drive past the pyramids, and be guided to the lounge's parking area. Forego the indoor seating, and head straight to the gazebo-covered outdoor dining area, where you can enjoy Egyptian staples such as ful, ta'amiya, and fiteer while gazing at the majestic pyramids.

The longest running of Siwa's restaurants offers tasty food, friendly service, and a central location that have made it a hub of activity. Just about everybody eats here at least once, and its cheerful owner has a devoted following. Traditional dishes, roast chicken, slow-cooked stews and couscous are served on plastic plates at reasonable prices. It's a good place to meet people, or watch them go by.

Abeer does a roaring trade in barbecued meats, as evidenced by the inevitable (but fast-moving) line. Meals come with sides of rice, salad, and soup, and the staff is friendly and helpful even if there's a language barrier.

Although it's been around for more than 120 years, this restaurant remains a hidden gem, nestled amid Islamic Cairo's narrow alleyways. The menu focuses on Egyptian grilled meats, and a typical order for two people consists of ½ kilo (1 pound) of kebab and kofta, which are always served with fresh local salad, tahini, pickles, and aish baladi (Egyptian flatbread).

Flakey layers of fiteer pastry generously stuffed with your choice of sweet or savory fillings is what Abo Sherif is known for, and every order is made fresh on the spot—you can even watch the dough being flipped, stuffed, and placed in a brick oven. It’s customary to take your fiteer to the café across the street and enjoy it with black tea served with fresh mint leaves.

You'll feel as if you've entered an Arabian palace when you pass through the portal of this restaurant. The food perfectly complements the decor, with hot and cold mezze and dishes such as moussaka, okra-and-veal-shank stew, and muammar (savory rice with cream)—all of it impressive. Abou El Sid has branches across Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt, but the decor makes the Zamalek location unique.

The best traditional Egyptian cuisine in the area is served here in an air-conditioned dining room or on an ample terrace. The number of Middle Eastern clients here tells you the food is authentic. Try a selection of mezze, which include excellent stuffed vine leaves and tabbouleh, or opt for an entrée of roast quail or slow-cooked lamb shank served with rice. Be prepared for massive portions; it's easy to order too much food and find yourself overwhelmed. The restaurant serves alcohol and has a good, if expensive, selection of Egyptian wines. Stay after your meal to enjoy a shisha and some mint tea.

The best of the fast-food cafés near Luxor Temple, Aboudi is indeed a welcome break from the chaos outside its front doors. The menu is full of basic sandwiches and grilled meats. If you need internet access, the Wi-Fi here is surprisingly quick and reliable.

Unless you happen to walk in the opposite direction from the sites of Coptic Cairo, you’re not likely to stumble upon this little hole-in-the-wall kiosk, but it's been around for more than 85 years and is well known to many locals. The specialty is sweet couscous, which you can get with toppings like fresh cream or honey, though nothing beats having it the old-fashioned way—with powdered sugar and nuts.

Al Capone's is one of a dozen Bedouin-style cushion-and-carpet outdoor restaurants in the Masbat. If you're not in the mood for pizza or fish, order a vegetable salad, tomatoes with Bulgarian cheese, and shakshuka (a spicy Middle Eastern omelet) with pita bread and play a game of backgammon while you wait. There's regular live music served up by a resident DJ.

Although the decor is pure Arabian, the cuisine is authentic Lebanese. Fresh bread makes a nice accompaniment to the delicious soups, stews, grilled meats, and hot or cold mezzes.

Perched atop the Nefertiti Hotel, Al Sahaby opened in the 1930s and has been serving incredible Egyptian dishes to visitors and locals for generations. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu, but consider trying the succulent camel meat pot, served with sides of roasted vegetables and freekeh, a grain that comes from durum wheat.

When it comes to speedy service, McDonald's could learn a thing or two from the Saudis who own Al-Tazaj. They claim to get their produce from farm to grill in fewer than four hours, which is why (despite the fast-food joint look) this place turns out juicy grilled chicken—and little else. The birds are small, so you might want two; and while you're at it, ask for an extra container of the garlicky tahini to use as a dip.

The terrace of this roof-top hotel restaurant commands a view over Siwa's central square and catches the cool evening breeze beneath the floodlit ruins of Shali. The well-executed menu is primarily typical oasis cuisine but also includes a few unusual dishes, such as tagines (slow-cooked stews served with couscous), moza begui (braised lamb shank), and a delicious khodar masani (grilled vegetable platter). Backlit gypsum softly illuminates the outdoor dining area, and a niche in the karshif walls serves as a romantic indoor dining room.

The setting, atop a hill overlooking suburbia and a 20-minute drive from the pyramids, is new, but this Egyptian barbecue restaurant has been in business for more than 60 years. Seated at a wooden table surrounded by stonework, you can feast on mezze, grilled chicken or quail, and the freshest of flatbread—you might even get a glimpse of the women who masterfully prepare it.

Here, you can feast on Egyptian-style seafood, priced by weight and cooked to perfection, without having to visit the coast. The ordering process is streamlined: make your selection from the display, choose how you'd like it prepared (fried, baked, grilled, simmered in a clay tagine), head to a table, and wait for it to arrive. The butterfly shrimp and fish roe batarekh (tagine) with cream are both highly recommended. Prepare to get messy—most Egyptians eat their seafood by hand.

The food at this part-café part-restaurant won't knock your socks off, but if you're in the area, the Nile-side view and the laid-back atmosphere are worth pulling up a chair. The menu covers the Egyptian standards and throws in some international dishes as well.

Offering a welcome change from the usual grilled chicken, this large, air-conditioned dining hall prepares delicious and varied meals. There's a set menu each night with meat or chicken, as well as traditional dishes and fresh bread. Ingredients are sourced in the oasis and the surrounding area. Dinner guests can eat on the terrace during the warmer months, and the chef sometimes fires up the barbeque.