Bar entertainment in Cairo
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A
Topkapi
Tucked below the street opposite the Four Seasons Nile Plaza and behind a moored restaurant boat, this mellow Nileside hangout is easy to miss. Once down here, though, parked at a picnic bench and enjoying a sheesha and beer, it's easy to forget the traffic on the corniche. Inside the tentlike main room, a DJ spins hip international and Arabic tunes, and the menu (mains around £E25 to around £E42) is a quirky mix of local and Turkish flavours, with nightly specials.
It occasionally hosts special, ticket-only parties.
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B
Horreyya
The Horreyya (there’s no real sign outside – look for a pale-pink facade and plywood over some of the windows) is one of the city’s classic ahwas. Here you stare dreamily through the sheesha smoke up at the high ceilings, down at the sawdust-strewn floor and out across a great cross-section of customers. Bonus: there are regular, ongoing chess matches here that attract some truly gifted players. Another bonus: beer is also available, but it’s only allowed to be quaffed in designated areas, far away from the boards.
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C
Kaab Aaly
Formerly named High Heels (Kaab Aaly is the Arabic translation), this place is where local fashion victims come to strut their stuff. Occupying one of the hotel's Nileside outdoor terraces, it's a great place to enjoy a few drinks before heading out for the night. Its popular dining area has a decent Lebanese menu and juice bar.
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D
Ash-Shams
Decorated with gilt stucco and kitschy faux-classical paintings, this colourful ahwa, in the courtyard alleyway between Sharia 26th of July and Tawfiqiyya Souq in Downtown, is busy with people from the nearby market and travellers from neighbouring hotels. Check your bill before paying.
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E
Beano's
This branch of an extremely popular chain serves good coffee, fresh juice and a range of snacks to scores of young Cairenes who come to catch up on the gossip, use the wireless Internet provided and listen to music videos. There's another branch in Heliopolis.
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F
Deals
A small cellar bar that never looks open actually gets too packed for comfort late in the evening and at weekends. It’s pleasant enough at quieter times. There are other branches in Mohandiseen and Heliopolis.
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G
El Morocco
Cairo's gilded 20- and 30-somethings love this Moroccan restaurant/nightclub to bits and if you can air kiss and pout you'll feel right at home. There's a different DJ every night of the week except Sunday.
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H
Buddha Bar
A swish new addition to the Sofitel, Cairo’s instalment of the world-famous Buddha Bar is where you can party with the beautiful people while sipping lychee martinis and listening to chill-out beats.
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I
Odeon Palace Hotel
Its green carpet singed from sheesha coals, this rooftop bar is favoured by Cairo’s heavy-drinking theatre and cinema clique, and is a great place to watch the sun go down (or come up).
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J
White/Zen
An über-glam bar that serves fusion cuisine and sushi in Zamalek, White/Zen has a DJ and sells two Heinekens for the price of one at its Wednesday happy hour.
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K
Cap D’r
Quite run-down and lit with fluorescent bulbs – but you’re not going for the decor. The staff and regulars are used to seeing foreigners.
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L
Cairo
Walk through the restaurant to the 1st-floor bar. The beer is not always icy but the atmosphere is fun, if slightly sleazy.
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