Café restaurants in Egypt
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A
Oasis Café
Set in a renovated 1930s building right in the centre of town, the Oasis is a good place to recover from the bustle of Luxor town, from the heat or from sightseeing. The dining rooms are cool with fans, high ceilings and old tiled floors, painted in soft colours with local artwork on the walls, and furnished with traditional-style furniture. With jazz softly playing, smoking and nonsmoking rooms, the New Yorker to read and friendly staff, this is the perfect place for lunch, to linger over a good morning latte or to spend the afternoon reading. The place is very Western, but in a nice way like your favourite cafe back home. The food is good too, with an extensive brunch m…
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B
Tanta Waa Coffeeshop & Restaurant
This super-chilled and creatively clad mudbrick cafe at Cleopatra’s Bath is the perfect place for a cool drink or tasty meal in between splashes in the spring. The food here is surprisingly good, with a small selection of salads, pastas, meat dishes and fruit smoothies. The lasagne alone, which follows a genuine Italian recipe, is worth the trip out here. Slung with hammocks and with a background of funky tunes (it also occasionally holds evening parties), it’s easy to while away an entire day at this haven.
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C
Ahwa al-Hind
during summer the whole 20km length of the Corniche from Ras at-Tin to Montazah becomes one great strung-out ahwa (coffeehouse). You have to squeeze through a passageway almost blocked by clothes stalls to find this one in the central courtyard of the big, battered old building on the corner where Midan Orabi meets Midan Tahrir. It's scruffy, but the setting bristles with atmosphere and is the perfect place to while away a hot afternoon or lazy evening.
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D
Coffee Roastery
The hip young things that flock here to listen to MTV blaring on the telly don't seem to mind that the English proverbs around the place make little sense. It's one of the more ritzy places in town, bedecked in dark-wood trim and with a food menu that could have been lifted from an English pub: burgers, steak and fries dominate the choices among token references to Egyptian fare. It also does great coffee, milk shakes and fresh juices.
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E
Awalad Abdou
With only minor concessions made to hygiene, this uber budget place is nonetheless a smashing find. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, these guys will whip up micro sandwiches with a scrumptious, meat-centric filling of your choice. Just point to what looks good and quaff it down while standing at the counter. It can be a challenge to find – there’s no sign, so look for a small shop with hanging cured meats, near Sharia Attareen.
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Elite
Near the Cinema Metro, this is one of those Alexandrian time-warp affairs. Cut from the same cloth as an old US diner, it seems sealed in a 1950s bubble, now almost slipping back in time. The menu traverses from the oriental to the occidental and tries to cover everything in between, though it's best to stick to the simple things. The big, street-facing windows make it a great place for an afternoon beer.
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G
Groppi Garden
Bland coffee and uninteresting pastries, but the garden terrace here is a relatively peaceful place for a cup of tea and a sheesha. The cafe was a favoured relaxation spot for Allied troops in WWII, and was immortalised in Olivia Manning’s The Levant Trilogy as ‘…a garden of indulgences where the Levantine ladies came to eye the staff officers who treated it as a home away from home.’
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H
Athineos
As good a place as any to start. Grab your first coffee of the day at Athineos. This place lives and breathes nostalgia. The cafe part on the Midan Ramla side still has its original ’40s fittings, and pastries that taste like they’ve been sitting around since then. Come for the period character, skip the food.
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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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J
El-Sheikh Wafik
This unassuming and breezy corner cafe has a secret – the best dessert in town. You can get the usual ice cream in several flavours, but the real treats are Egyptian classics such as couscousy (E£8) – a yummy mix of couscous, shredded coconut, nuts, raisins and sugar, topped with hot milk.
reviewed
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K
Sultan Hussein
One of our favourite Alexandrian ahwas, this is a good, no-nonsense place with first-rate sheesha. It's popular with chess players and has a separate family area where women can sit unharassed.
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City Café
A slick, bright and modern air-con alternative to musty-time grandeur, this café serves excellent Italian Illy coffee and is popular among the well heeled to sit and chat or discuss business.
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M
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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Delicies
This enormous old tearoom drips with atmosphere and it, too, can whip up a decent breakfast. It serves tea and cakes in the afternoon.
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Al-Tamawy Restaurant
A cafeteria on the main road, Al-Tamawy has uncomplicated food on offer along with the tea, coffee and, of course, sheesha.
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El-Tahrer Pizza
A popular cafe that serves pizza and fiteer at rock-bottom prices. Tea and sheesha (E£5) are also served.
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Q
Brazilian Coffee Store
Popular with local business folk and old Greek men, it also has a branch on Sharia Salah Salem in Attareen (with seats).
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Shayk Shepherd Akbar
A few minutes’ walk from the train station, this popular cafe-restaurant serves good salads, chicken and grills.
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Kawkab ash-Sharq
Dedicated to the 'Star of the Orient', Umm Kolthum. Look for the huge busts of the singer out front.
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New Star Restaurant & Coffee Shop
This restaurant also has a small shop selling traditional crafts.
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