Cairo
There are clouds of cigarette smoke and tables crammed with Cairo’s arts-and-letters set here, but once seated, you’ll feel like one of the club, scooping…
Must-see restaurants in Egypt
Hurghada
If you're looking for cheap, filling and tasty Egyptian staples, you can't go wrong with Egypt's favourite fast-food restaurant. The sprawling menu covers…
Cairo
This basic canteen just off Midan Tahrir has been serving delicious, filling, though greasy fiteer (sweet or savoury flaky pizza) to Downtown residents…
Luxor
A popular rooftop restaurant with a bird’s-eye view of the west bank’s waterfront, the river and Luxor Temple, the Nile Valley has a wide-ranging menu of…
Alexandria
This lounge-style restaurant has the best sea views in town and a menu featuring various good fish and seafood dishes from the same kitchen as other…
Luxor
Al Moudira has the most flamboyant decor and most sophisticated (and expensive) food on the west bank. Come at lunch for great salads and grills, or at…
Western Desert
Behind El Forsan Hotel (you can walk through the hotel to enter), this surprisingly lush patch of grass is home to a garden cafe that serves up mammoth…
Cairo
This temple to charcoal-grilled meat does excellent kastileeta (lamb chops) and tender moza (shanks) – good for gnawing. The moza fatta, with a side of…
Alexandria
Owned by Zizi Salem, the retired queen of the Alexandrian belly-dancing scene, Samakmak is one step up from the other fish eateries in Anfushi. The fish…
Alexandria
With only minor concessions made to hygiene, this uber-budget place is nonetheless a smashing find, whipping up micro-sandwiches with the scrumptious,…
Cairo
Sometimes you just need steamed dumplings. Luckily when that craving hits in Cairo you can head to Peking. Order the delicious chilli cabbage, and a bowl…
Sharm El Sheikh
Hands down the best pizza in Sinai. A great spot for casual dining, Pomodoro has a modern, buzzy, friendly vibe and a menu stuffed with pasta and a fair…
Port Said
First a warning: don't blame us for breaking your diet. You'll have to summon up all your willpower to walk in here and not come out with some tempting…
Aswan
Popular with meat-eating local families, this place is famous for its excellent fresh kebabs and kofta, as well as stuffed pigeon. Mains come loaded with…
Cairo
A pretty place to rest up after a long stroll through Zamalek, this garden restaurant serves traditional Egyptian mezze to a soundtrack of Edith Piaf and…
Cairo
One of the most popular cheap snack places in Heliopolis, with multiple takes on fuul (fava bean paste) and ta'amiyya (Egyptian variant of falafel); we…
Cairo
For Arabic-style pastries head for Cairo’s most famous bakery, easily identified by the crowds of people outside tearing into their croissants, sweets and…
Cairo
Perhaps Cairo’s best fuul, and worth elevating to dinner status (note the atypical hours). With each plate of beans, you get a spread of salads and fresh…
Alexandria
This unassuming and breezy corner cafe serves up some of the best traditional desserts in town. You can get the usual ice cream in several flavours, but…
Cairo
This frantically busy fuul and shawarma takeaway joint has a limited menu, but its food is fresh and good. The fuul (fava bean paste) sandwiches are…
Giza
Long a favoured post-Pyramids dining spot, Andrea has moved out to a new hilltop spot in New Giza, where you eat in the garden while overlooking the city…
Giza
Mena House's long-running Indian restaurant specialises in tandoori dishes and mild North Indian–style curries with a good range of vegetarian dishes too…
Cairo
Although we'd prefer a more liberal hand with the spicing, this is probably Cairo's best Indian restaurant. The menu mostly focuses on tandoori, but there…
Alexandria
This local spot is deep in the heart of the souq. Sit outdoors under the awning or inside the air-conditioned dining room to feast on perfectly cooked and…
Hurghada
People rave about Moby Dick's succulent steaks, but the restaurant also serves pasta and seafood and does a fine line in crispy, fresh salads. And there's…
Alexandria
Choose from the day’s catch, then take a seat under the awning and watch it being cooked. Sea bass stuffed with garlic and herbs is a speciality, as is…
Cairo
This restaurant is squiggled down a little pedestrian alley. All the staples are here, prepared like an Egyptian mother would make: various stuffed…
Sharm El Sheikh
This old-fashioned restaurant, sprawling over both sides of the road, is our top dining spot in Sharm Old Market. There's a huge range of kebabs but also…
Cairo
Young Cairenes tap on their laptops while sipping coffee or munching on pasta, pizza and filling sandwiches, amid creaky wood-floored rooms rimmed by…
Luxor
A lovely place to stop for for dinner on a warm evening or for lunch while seeing the west bank sights – you can sit in the courtyard under the huge trees…
Cairo
The Greek Club is a Downtown institution and a popular hangout with liberal Egyptians, artists and foreign residents. A cold beer on the outdoor terrace…
Port Said
This massive Port Said institution is always buzzing with families on a night out. There’s a small menu of grills for when you don’t feel like fish, but…
Cairo
Tucked away below street level, Le Bistro is a surprisingly fancy outpost Downtown. The food may not quite match its European ideal, but Cairenes love it,…
Cairo
There’s no menu here, just select your fish from the iced-down display, and then retire to your table to admire the view and tuck into a spread of salads…
Western Desert
This small, friendly place is a carnivore's favourite. It serves roast chicken and kofta (mincemeat and spices grilled on a skewer) accompanied by modest…
Dahab
The pan-Asian menu here offers a choice of Chinese and Thai while the proper sofas at the tables have to be in the running for Dahab's comfiest seating…
Aswan
One of the best of the Nileside restaurants, with several terraces and a freezing air-con dining room. The menu has Egyptian, Nubian and international…
Alexandria
Hosny Grill is a semi-outdoor place specialising in tasty grilled chicken, kebabs and other meat dishes, all served with the usual triumvirate of…
Alexandria
This tiny and incredibly tidy market offers beautifully displayed produce, such as grapes from Lebanon and tasty Egyptian mangoes, and a good selection of…
Cairo
The atmosphere here is fun – it’s all big groups of Cairenes celebrating birthdays around giant communal tables, with lots of cocktails to go around…
