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Abou Shakra
Abou Shakra is where to come for a skewer or two. It's been serving up its kebab-and-kofta plates and shwarma sandwiches at this main branch since 1947 and locals love it to bits. There's a takeaway at the front and a dining room behind it. Believe it or not, on Fridays an Imam reading from the Quran is posted next to the toilets. No alcohol is served.
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Abu al-Hassan al-Haty
With its foggy mirrors, dusty chandeliers and waiters who look older than the building itself, this is a beautiful relic of Downtown - it's often used as a set for period TV shows. The food (all grilled items) is a bit secondary, but perfectly palatable.
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Abu Aly Café
Popular with locals: an upscale sheesha experience, with live music, traditional food (entrees around £E12 to around £E15 , mains around £E46 to E£82) and waiters in gallabiya s.
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Abu el-Sid
A sumptuous Orientalist fantasy of a restaurant/bar, Abu el-Sid serves traditional Egyptian food to wannabe pashas amid hanging lamps, large cushions and brass tables. This is a great place to try famous Egyptian dishes such as chicken with molokhiyya or stuffed pigeon, followed by a sheesha and coffee.
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Abu Samra
The Felfela takeaway ( M05A2; Sharia Talaat Harb) and Abu Samra ( M0771; Tawfiqiyya Souq) sell excellent ta'amiyya sandwiches.
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Abu Tarek
This phenomenally popular kushari ,(traditional Egyptian favourite made from lentils, rice and pasta) joint has been serving up the noodly stuff to locals for nearly as long as touts have been working the Ramses train station. Though you may have to queue, it's worth it.
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Akher Sa'a
A frantically busy fuul and ta'amiyya takeaway joint with a no-frills cafeteria next door, Akher Sa'a has a limited menu but its food is fresh and good. The ta'amiyya is particularly tasty.
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Al-Halwagy
Just along from the Pancake House, this good ta'amiyya , fuul and salad place has been around for nearly a century. You can eat at pavement tables or secrete yourself upstairs.
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Al-Omdah
Cheap but succulent grilled meats such as kofta (minced meat and spices grilled on a skewer), kebab and shish tawouq are served with spicy pickles and salads at this ever-popular place. You can also score fast-food favourites such as kushari and fiteer (a sort of Egyptian pizza). The next-door vegetarian branch features a good salad bar and serves up honest vegetable dishes. No alcohol is served at either.
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Alfy Bey
In business since 1938, Alfi Bey describes itself as a 'traditional restaurant' and offers a rare Downtown dining experience: old-fashioned décor, age-old waiters and basic, somewhat stodgy food. The plat du jour usually includes dolma, mixed vegetables, rice and some type of roast or grilled meat. Other dishes include kebabs, grilled chicken and stuffed pigeon. No alcohol is serve.
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Alpha Market
Alpha Market ( M05C7; Sharia Abu al-Feda) has everything, including both local and imported foods.
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Andrea
Not to be confused with the similarly named (and excellent) chicken restaurant in Saqqara, this Greek/Egyptian place occupies an enviable position on the Nile and has a welcoming terrace where you can eat simple but tasty dishes, listen to the in-house DJ and enjoy a sheesha .
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Andrea's
This garden restaurant 1.5km north of Pyramids Rd is justly famous for its spit-roasted chicken served with salad, hummus and freshly baked bread - there's little else on the menu. Weather permitting, seating is in a large garden with playground equipment and a swimming pool - kids love it to bits and parents inevitably enjoy relaxing over the excellent food and cold Stella. Be warned that mosquitoes can be vicious.
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Aqua
The promise of 'an aquatic experience' may sound a bit fishy, but all is forgiven when the offerings from the sushi bar and the excellent Pacific Rim dishes from the kitchen are sampled. Nile views just enhance the package. It's pricey and trendy in equal measure, so you'll need to dress up and ensure that your credit card has leverage.
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Arabica Café
Funky and lived-in, this upstairs café is frequented by teens and older students, who gather to study and doodle on the paper-topped tables. And unlike slicker competitors, you can actually get some Egyptian food here, along with your latte - breakfast options include fuul and shakshouka (spicy scrambled eggs), and you can order sweet or savoury fiteer anytime.
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Asia House
One of the few places in Cairo serving top-quality tandoor dishes, Asia House's menu travels from China to the subcontinent and back. The wood and stained-glass interior won't be to everyone's taste, but the food is pretty good (albeit pricey).
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At-Tabie ad-Dumyati
About 200m north of Midan Orabi, this highly recommended place offers the best cheap meals in Cairo. Your choice of four salads from a large array and a small plate of shwarma costs nix. A fresh juice is also super cheap. You can sit down or take away. There's also a branch in the food court of the Talaat Harb Complex.
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Bird Cage
Cairo's best Thai restaurant has contemplative décor featuring wooden floors, water features and starkly stylish table settings. The menu includes knockout dishes such as koong sai mai , pla pow and paneang ped yang (roasted duck breast with thick red curry sauce) All are delicious. There's a good-value three-course degustation menu and a four-course 'bento-box' lunch special that includes sensational ice cream for dessert.
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Café Riche
This Cairene institution was being renovated when we visited. Once the favoured drinking spot of Cairo's intelligentsia, in recent years it's been a reliable and atmospheric spot to enjoy a meal and a glass of wine.
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Cedars
This chic Lebanese restaurant is a favourite with Mohandiseen's lunching ladies, then with a younger crowd later in the evening. Rattan chairs dot the spacious terrace, where there's sheesha along with the better-than-average food: peppery muhammara (red-pepper salad), fresh and salty ayran (yogurt drink) and big sandwiches stuffed with French fries. You can also get full meals from the grill.
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Centro Recreativo Italiano Il Cairo
In winter, Cairo's Italian social club is in a cosy, wood-panelled room; in summer, it moves out into a vast yard in the centre of the embassy compound. It's the place to savour rarities like great crisp-crust pizzas, affordable red wine and even pork products. Non-Italians pay an around £E10 cover.
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Chili's
The American pseudo-Mexican chain now occupies a spot on the Nile where Naguib Mahfouz used to hold court - as Cairo goes, so goes the world. All-you-can-eat salsa and chips and a 'build your own fajita' platter satisfy both homesick expats and middle-class Egyptians eager for exotic flavours.
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Chin Chin
This Chinese stalwart is a great place to bring the family. The friendly and efficient waiters serve up good-quality basics such as spring rolls, stir fries and egg noodles.
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Cilantro
This popular, clean café - part of a locally owned chain - does excellent Italian-style coffee and Twinings tea. Downstairs, order to go and grab a packaged sandwich, fresh juice, cake or salad from the open fridge; for table service head upstairs (smoky, but with a couple of outside balcony seats). Other branches just about everywhere you turn. All offer free wi-fi, strong air-con and a stash of magazines and newspapers.
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Cilantro
This popular, clean café - part of a locally owned chain - does excellent Italian-style coffee and Twinings tea. Other branches just about everywhere you turn. All offer free wi-fi, strong air-con and a stash of magazines and newspapers.
