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Papillion
Rapidly acquiring the reputation of being Cairo's second-best Lebanese restaurant (after Sabaya), Papillion offers excellent mezze dishes (try the goat-milk labneh and vine leaf dolma) and delectable grills (we reckon it serves the best shish tawouq in the city). It also home delivers.
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Petit Palmyra
The type of place your elderly parents would like, Petit Palmyra has a calming beige interior complete with comfortable chairs and stiffly starched serviettes. The menu serves up Egyptian-Levantine staples such as stuffed pigeon, and has a few European dishes as well. A bottle of Grand Marquise will set you back, but is probably a necessary accompaniment to the live piano music that is performed from each night.
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Pottery Café
AUC students set up camp here, chowing down on big salads, stuffed baked potatoes and sandwiches. For coffee, though, you're better off at one of the other cafés on this strip.
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Sabai Sabai
Even if you're not craving Thai food, you might want to visit this mellow little restaurant for its quiet outdoor terrace. Salads and appetizers have all the requisite lemon grass and herbs, but the curries are a little weak. Taxi drivers may know the street by its old name, Sharia Maahad al-Swissry; the entrance is to the right of the hotel.
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Sabaya
Sabaya is sleek, stylish and utterly seductive. The contemporary Lebanese food could hold its head high in Beirut, the service is impeccable, the wine list is well priced and the surrounds are extremely attractive. The mezze are out of this world, particularly the kibbeh nayye (ground lamb and cracked wheat served raw) and cheese sambousik (pastries). A bottle of Chateau Marquise is a reasonable buy. Highly recommended.
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Samakmak
The noisy Cairo branch of the respected Alexandrian fish restaurant has an extremely odd setting on a paved terrace between two apartment blocks off a busy road. It's worth a visit, though, for its excellent, reasonably priced seafood. Choose what you want from the display and tell the waiters how you want it cooked; it will come to the table accompanied by salads and rice. No alcohol is served.
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Sangria
Adjacent to the club Absolute and opposite the Conrad hotel, Sangria has great Nile views from its 1st-floor terrace (where the stylish scene is) and a large garden area, which often has a more casual crowd, including children. Hip music adds to the ambience - the place is as much a bar as a restaurant. There's a minimum charge of around £E50 , but that's not hard to meet when a Sakkara costs around £E23 , and the menu ranges from spring rolls to garlic mushrooms to penne alla vodka. You'll find it in Bulaq, just north of Downtown on the Nile.
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Sayed Hanafy
Sayed Hanafy Though relatively new, this tiny place is building a big and well-deserved reputation for its excellent kushari .
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Seasons Restaurant
One of Cairo's most expensive restaurants, the kitchen at Seasons is known for its use of quality ingredients and its Italian-influenced food. The elegant dining room, wonderful flower arrangements, live jazz and excellent service are more Manhattan than Cairo, although the Nile views remind you where you are. The perfect spot for an all-out splurge.
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Sequoia
At the very northern tip of Zamalek, this sprawling Nileside lounge is a major scene, with art exhibits by Townhouse Gallery, low cushions for nursing a sheesha and everything from Egyptian-style mezze to sushi on the menu. Bring an extra layer - evenings directly on the water can be surprisingly cool. A Stella goes for around £E22 .
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Simonds
At this wonderfully old-fashioned French-style café, the barista looks as if he's been serving for the better part of a century. The Byzantine pay-first system can be difficult to navigate pre-caffeine, as are the crowds - but it's a Cairene tradition to sit at a rickety counter stool and read the morning paper over a flaky, buttery pastry.
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Taboula
The Lebanese food at this basement joint isn't as good as Sabaya's, but the atmosphere is more fun - here it's all big groups of Cairenes celebrating birthdays around giant communal tables, with lots of cocktails to go around. Mezze like the tomiyya (garlic sauce) are your best bet, but skip the meatballs.
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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
At this branch of the American coffee chain most associated with Hollywood celebrity sightings, the clientele wears similarly large sunglasses and jewels. There's a strict no-tipping policy - which may or may not be connected with the occasional complaints of incorrect change-making. Still, the coffee is very good.
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Torii
The theatrical interior of this upmarket Japanese restaurant comes complete with a wooden sushi bar, Japanese sushi chefs, arty flower arrangements and a ceiling illuminated with hundreds of twinkling lights. It claims to be 'the gateway to sushi and self discovery', and while we can't confirm the latter we certainly enjoyed the former. Service is exemplary.
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Tornado
Dim lights, TVs and canoodling couples - but the hardest drink is a smoothie, and the fresh-fruit sheesha tastes practically healthy.
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Villa d'Este
Cairo's top Italian restaurant has a formal dress code, a resident violin player and an old-fashioned feel. The food, mainly from northern Italy, is exquisite and beautifully presented - desserts are to die for.
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Zahret al-Bustan
A sometime haunt of intellectuals and writers - and students and backpackers.
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