101 Best Restaurants in Egypt

Batates & Zalabya is a major chain of street stalls that specializes in two snacks: batates (French fries), and, more notably, zalabya (Egyptian deep-fried dough balls). Although the classic zalabya is served with powdered sugar or sugar syrup, possible toppings here include hazelnut, chocolate, and caramel.

Overlooking Qarun Lake, this restaurant in the Lazib Inn Resort & Spa has a cozy, eclectic lounge and serves Egyptian and international cuisine, all prepared with fresh-from-the-garden ingredients. Consider trying one of the Fayyumi dishes; the pigeon is especially noteworthy.

Little has changed since this stand-up espresso bar opened in 1929, as you can see from the foot-traffic patterns worn into the tile floor. The ancient roasters are visible to the right—if you're lucky they'll be roasting beans when you walk in, and the café will be filled with plumes of aromatic smoke. Lining the walls are the original stunningly painted mirrors showing a map of South America, along with population and coffee-production statistics for Brazil, now endearingly out of date. There's even an enormous Brazilian flag painted on the ceiling. And while this may be the first Brazilian Coffee Store in Alexandria, you can find other outposts around the city.

Run by a Thai woman who uses ingredients flown in from Bangkok, this restaurant manages mouthwateringly authentic food that has saved many an expatriate longing for massaman or Penang curries. Start with a soup, perhaps tom kar gai (chicken in a coconut-milk broth), then move on to a delicious glass-noodle salad with shrimp, and end with a curry or two.

The signature restaurant of the Four Seasons, Byblos serves excellent Lebanese and Syrian dishes that you can mix and match depending on your mood or order as a prix-fixe. Start with a selection of hot and cold mezze, then try sheikh al manshee (eggplant stuffed with minced beef and tomato sauce) or kebbeh bel laban (lamb meatballs smothered with yogurt sauce and mint). While the restaurant is beautiful and the food is delicious, it's not necessarily the best bang for your buck.

Probably the most unusual restaurant in the northern Sinai, this is to the eye a ruined medieval castle on a bluff above the Sinai Coast; however, it was built from scratch starting in the late 1990s by architect Hany Roshdy. Eat in the stone-and-wood interior or on the terraces, which have magnificent views. The menu focuses on traditional slow-cooked dishes, including melt-in-your-mouth lamb shank or skirt steak. Since these dishes take a while to prepare, it's best to book at least a day in advance—to ensure the food is perfect. There's a pool on-site, and the set price includes time for lounging and swimming.

Step off the pedestrianized market street and into this small restaurant for fresh seafood. Take your pick of the catch, and the staff will tell you the price and cook it how you like it.

Delices Patisserie is a great place to pick up traditional Egyptian pastries or stop in for a snack, a drink, or a quick bite. If the weather is nice, skip the indoor dining room and grab a seat on the outdoor patio. The fresh juice cocktails are delicious and the location is prime for people watching.

Mouth-watering wraps, pizza slices, and sandwiches are the backbone of this modern eatery with a terrace made for people-watching on one of Na'ama Bay's busiest pedestrian thoroughfares. The freshest, crispest salad ingredients combine with Cajun beef or barbecue chicken in the wraps; these and the sandwiches are made to order in a clean, open kitchen. Unlike many fast-food joints in town, you can get chilled beer here, plus a selection of sodas. Don Panino's makes a great pit stop any time of the day, but it's very popular for post-clubbing refreshments since it stays open until 4 am.

Don't let the stained tablecloths at this upper-story dining room put you off: communal eats can be a messy business. Standard mixed-grill items share the lineup with less common offerings such as turkey, duck, quail, and rabbit, which must be ordered before arriving. Set menus serve up a choice of meat or fish accompanied by a table filled with salads, rice, and soups like molokheya, a thick green gelatinous soup made from jute leaves.

This 1930s neighborhood ice-cream shop is a great place to beat the heat, whether you opt for a scoop of chocolate or a fresh-fruit-flavored icy treat.

The InterContinental's à la carte seafood restaurant has a quiet beachfront location. You can eat under a canopy of fairy lights or in the circular templelike dining room. The entrées span the expected (an enticing seafood platter) to the imaginative (flaky grouper baked in a sea-salt crust or served in Provençale sauce), while the appetizers and desserts, including a formidable tiramisu, borrow influences from world cuisine.

Escape the Downtown bustle with a meal stop at this refuge from the rigors of the market. The menu is a parade of the usual suspects, primarily grilled meats, and the service is good.

A small palace of marble decorated with piles of colorful fresh fruit, El Qobaisy is one of the most incongruous places in Alexandria. It's a casual juice bar, but the uniformed staff look as if they could grace a fine-dining establishment and the mango, hibiscus, coconut, and strawberry juice is mouthwateringly fresh. The only letdown is the cheap plastic seats and tables and the roadside setting. That said, it's great for a refreshing pit stop and the cheerful staff is happy to deliver a drink to your car.

What better place than a rustic waterfront shack to enjoy a lazy lunch or dinner? The weathered wooden deck of El Sayadin, overlooking the resort's main inlet, is the ideal place to take in the fantastic beaches and seascapes of El Gouna. The menu combines excellent seafood with Egyptian specialties. Start with a mezze plate and then tuck into the grilled catch of the day, salmon served three ways, or fritto misto (crispy fried seafood). The restaurant's about 10 minutes by foot from downtown.

Although you can order grilled kofta, stuffed pigeon, moussaka, or home-style stews served with rice, locals come to this family-run hotspot for Egyptian-style rotisserie chicken that's cooked to golden perfection. The waiters speak minimal English, but the chicken is in ovens on the sidewalk, and many dishes are on display inside, so you can point at what you want.

Popular with locals and busy on weekends, this family-style restaurant specializes in Egyptian barbecue with the country's traditional staple dishes served on the side. The decor is a little kitschy, but the food is delicious, portions are generous, and the staff is friendly.

Though you'll find decent fish dishes in nearly every Sharm restaurant, Fares is one of the town's best seafood restaurants, with grouper and snapper that's fresh from the Red Sea. This branch is near the Old Market shopping district; there's also a branch in Na'ama Bay.

Popular with locals and tourists alike, Fatatry El Hussein (also known as Egyptian Pancake House) specializes in fiteer, Egypt's flaky pastry served with your choice of sweet or savory fillings. For one heavenly bite after another, try the mixed-cheese version; dessert options such as custard or cream and honey will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.

This popular restaurant, built into an alleyway, is a good place to try such Egyptian staples as shorbat ‘ads (lentil soup), which is tasty with a squeeze of lemon in it; ta’amiya (the local version of felafel); and ful (stewed fava beans). You can also enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine with your food.

A sister of the Cairo-based Felfela, this is the best place in town for a traditional Egyptian meal. The restaurant's four levels all have great harbor views. Sit down to a fresh lemonade and start choosing appetizers from the menu—tasty fuul (the classic fava-bean dish) and koshary (like a vegetarian chili). From the grill dig into kebabs or wheat-stuffed pigeon. The grilled catch of the day is another delicious choice. Specialties here are the mezze: tahini, humus, baba ghanouj (eggplant dip), cumin-spiced tomatoes, labne (a yogurt-and-mint dip), and stuffed grape leaves.

On the waterfront side of the Alexandria Corniche, this is probably the biggest fish restaurant in the city and sees a regular crowd of locals who know they'll get excellent but simply cooked seafood plus a great view out across the harbor. The catch is priced by kilogram, and rice and salads are included. Choose your fish and ask them to price it, so you know how much you'll be paying. There's also a decent wine list featuring local labels.

One of the most upscale restaurants in Sharm, Fish Restaurant serves a short menu of nouvelle-style seafood, and your food is like a picture on a plate. Popular choices include expertly prepared fillets, calamari, and lobster. The silver service and outdoor terrace out in the mature garden just off the beachfront boulevard let you know that this restaurant is all about image and special occasions, and accordingly, the dress code is casual-elegant. A splurge here is rewarded with a better wine list and more attentive service than you'll find at the more mainstream restaurants.

Although it's not a fine-dining restaurant, the locally beloved Five Bells has been around for decades and blends a nostalgically proper feel with an easygoing, casual atmosphere. You can sit indoors, where there's a bar, but most people enjoy their Egyptian or international dishes outdoors, under a sizable tent with a central fountain that's surrounded by five bells. The doors open at noon, but it's busier at dinner, when reservations are a good idea.

For the city's best traditional Egyptian food, head out of your resort and to this unassuming branch of a national restaurant chain. For something special, order the stuffed pigeon, though this is also a good place to enjoy ta'amiya (Egyptian-style felafel) and stellar sides of baba ganoush or hummus.

Options at this local street-food favorite range from ful (fava bean stew) or ta'amiya (Egyptian-style felafel) sandwiches to beef or chicken shawarma wraps. Most customers order food to go, but seating is available if you need to take a break.

Seek refuge from Cairo's crowded streets with bite to eat and a drink (alcoholic or not) at this café set in the gardens next to the restored Gezira Palace. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it serves everything from soups, salads, and sandwiches to pizzas and pastas.

This small, dark restaurant, with its English pub–like feel, seats no more than 30 people. Its full bar, an unusual facility in Ismailiya, is decorated with old signs for beer and liquor. The menu combines Egyptian and Greek staples. Dishes such as baba ghanouj and lightly sautéed calamari are hardly extravagant, but they are tasty. Beer and wine are available—or toss back a glass of ouzo.

At this haty (grill room), you can order your tender, juicy meat selection with a chopped salad and a choice of dip (tahina, garlic paste, hummus, baba ganoush) for the side of fresh aish baladi (Egyptian flatbread). Abu Ashraf also serves muyyet salata (salad water), a vinegar shot that many Egyptians enjoy before a hearty meal to whet their appetites. You're sure to chuckle at the restaurant’s quirky and gaudy decor, with portraits of the owner on the wall and, most nights, the man himself behind the register.

Funky modern eatery full of bright colors, Heaven's a step beyond the standard Egyptian fast-food joint. You can make a pit stop here on the way back from the beach or before heading to a club for anything from a crisp salad to a burger, a bowl of chili, or beef Stroganoff. It's just a shame there isn't any outside space where you could enjoy your meal alfresco.