32 Best Restaurants in Egypt

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Overlooking Maydan Sphinx (Sphinx Square), Kandahar serves North Indian food. Consider ordering one of the set menus that include the highly seasoned mulligatawny soup, appetizers, a delicious stewed dal, a lamb or chicken curry, and rice and bread, as well as dessert. This will give you a chance to try a bit of everything. If you like your food heavily spiced, make this known—the heat has been turned down for local tastes. This is not a sign of a lack of authenticity—chili pepper is only one of the spices in the Indian culinary palette. Service is good but prices here are on the high side for quite toothsome but standard Indian fare. You can also order from the menu of the adjoined Lebanese restaurant, Raouche.

One of the best restaurants in town allows you to go on the rooftop terrace, shaded by date palms that rise up through the floor, or to recline on pillows in the downstairs den by the fireplace. Either way, you'll enjoy traditional fare served up piping hot. The eclectic menu also includes delicious crepes, lamb casserole, and a chicken curry that would pass muster in Mumbai. The staff are friendly and attentive. Give them enough notice and they'll prepare a stuffed lamb for your party.

Founded in the 1930s, this quaint coffee shop has witnessed most of Downtown’s history and was once a favorite spot for its elites and celebrities. Today, people from all walks of life come to enjoy its coffee and desserts.

Conveniently situated a street-crossing away from the Egyptian Museum, La Poire was established in 1975 as a French pastry shop but has expanded its menu to include a variety of savory quick bites and an ever-growing selection of sweet treats.

Overlooking a bend on Gharb Soheil's busy market street, this rooftop restaurant offers a bird's-eye view of the action while you enjoy your lunch. The friendly staff will help you translate the menu, or you can just opt for the juicy chicken that comes with plenty of sides.

Favored by locals, Le Chantilly is the perfect place to unwind with a cup of coffee and fresh pastries, seated indoors at a wooden table covered with a checkered tablecloth or in the charming outdoor area.

Despite the arrival in Cairo of internationally recognized American fast-food chains, expats still flock to Lucille's for burgers and Tex-Mex dishes. Lucille's also serves up hearty Western breakfasts. The authentic diner interior keeps homesick Americans happy.

Ful (fava-bean stew) carts and restaurants are a common sight in Cairo, but the customers here hail from all over the world thanks to the many nearby embassies and to the freshness and flavor of its offerings. To create the stew, which is served primarily at breakfast but also makes a filling lunch, the beans are slow-cooked in a large metal jug and then mashed and served with tahini and a flavorful oil.

In one of the few remaining 19th-century mansions in town, this relaxed restaurant decorated with old-school photos and furnishings lives up to its name. The menu runs the gamut from respectable pasta dishes to decent sandwiches.

Thanks to the picture menu, the friendly English-speaking staff, and the free Wi-Fi for customers, this clean, convenient neighborhood restaurant is usually overrun with tourists. The Middle Eastern dishes are often given a local twist, and the menu includes vegan options as well. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas; if you sit outside, you’ll be joined by friendly felines.

Although this eatery is set in Zamalek’s Flamenco Hotel, its warm woods, tile work, and selection of baked goods make it feel like a family run bakery set in a small European town. It opens at 7 am, so you can enjoy breakfast and coffee while watching Cairenes on their way to work; or come later in the day for a German brezel (pretzel).

Home-cooked Egyptian staples are the hallmarks of this side-street restaurant, which is sometimes called Five Ladies, as it's run by five women from the same family. Although the menu changes daily, based on what's fresh and in season, it typically includes molokhia (a dish of braised greens with chicken and rice.

This cozy restaurant, with a highly patterned tiled floor and pale stucco walls adorned with Lebanese crafts, comes alive in the evening. Grilled meats are staples here, as are hot and cold mezze. Wines, spirits, and Lebanese arak (an anise-based liqueur) are also available.

This is more a pizzeria than a real Greek taverna, but the pizza is delicious, assembled in front of you and baked in an oven to the left of the entrance. The baladi oven to the right is used for fiteer, a kind of Egyptian pizza than can be sweet or savory; it's also often fairly oily—ask them to go light on the ghee (clarified butter) by telling them "semna khafeef." The menu also includes fish and shrimp dishes. The proper seating area is upstairs, but it's even cheaper if you eat at the informal area downstairs, where a shawarma (pressed lamb carved from a vertical rotisserie) sandwich makes a nice midday snack.

After a day of sightseeing, this atmospheric, courtyard-style café, set amid buildings that date from the 15th century just south of al-Azhar Street, is a great place to grab a tea or a coffee and a dessert. You can only get here on foot, and it's a little hard to find, but don't worry—the area is safe, and you can ask a local for directions if you get lost.

Tucked in an alleyway, this hip eatery takes street food to the next level by using premium ingredients in its consistently delicious sandwiches. The bread rolls are addictively soft, filled with a variety of meats and generously drizzled with tahini; they come with a side of French fries, too.