Must-see restaurants in Cairo

  • Top Choice
    Abu Tarek

    ‘We have no other branches!’ proclaims this temple of kushari (mix of noodles, rice, black lentils, fried onions and tomato sauce). No, the place has just…

  • Top Choice
    O's Pasta

    A few years ago, Cairo was a-tizz with new sushi joints; now all the newbie restaurants are Italian and O's Pasta is our pick of the bunch. Squeeze – and…

  • Top Choice
    Zööba

    Egyptian street food gets a modern makeover. Zööba has taken the country's classic cheap eats and given them contemporary twists. Whole-grain kushari (mix…

  • Top Choice
    At Tabei Ad Dumyati

    The takeaway section out front does a roaring trade in shawarma (meat sliced off a spit and stuffed in a bread roll with chopped tomatoes and garnish) and…

  • Top Choice
    Sabaya

    Delicious Lebanese food in a sumptuous but relaxed atmosphere. There's plenty of grilled meat mains, but the mezze here is the real star of the show…

  • 8

    Cairo may not be synonymous with luxury, but travellers with a chunk of dough can head to Africa’s top-rated Cantonese restaurant. The crispy crab claw…

  • U Bistro & Bar

    For one of the smartest European kitchen menus outside of Cairo’s grand hotels, head to U Bistro & Bar, the long-awaited replacement to the street’s…

  • Abou El Sid

    Cairo’s first hipster Egyptian restaurant (and now a national franchise), Abou El Sid is as popular with tourists as it is with upper-class natives. You…

  • Cairo Kitchen

    Dig into contemporary versions of traditional wholesome Egyptian home cooking. Order from the counter – brown-rice kushari, molokhiyya (garlicky leaf soup…

  • Maison Thomas

    A little slice of the Continent, with loads of brass and mirrors, and friendly waiters in long white aprons, Maison Thomas has been serving up Cairo's…

  • Mezcal

    A Peruvian-Mexican fusion restaurant should be enough to keep a cook busy, but Mezcal also throws sushi in the mix, with something to suit all tastes. The…

  • Khan Al Khalili

    This casual restaurant at Mena House has huge windows opening on to the Pyramids – a great place to rest up for lunch after a morning of Pyramids…

  • Crave

    Most definitely not a place for vegetarians; Crave specialises in meaty comfort dishes that the clientele of Egyptian families and big groups of friends…

  • Olivo

    The self-proclaimed proprietors of the best pizza in town is by no means an overstatement. The crispy thin-crust pizzas from its wood-fired oven, combined…

  • Felfela Restaurant

    Attracting tourists, coach parties and locals since 1959, Felfela is an institution that can deliver a reliable, if not wildly delicious, meal with good…

  • Mori Sushi

    Egypt's favourite sushi haunt (with several branches across the country) is always buzzing thanks to its reasonable prices and vast menu selection. From…

  • Four Fat Ladies

    Not the place for maintaining your diet. This coffee and cake joint is sugar-rush heaven with brownies, always at least six different cakes – including…

  • Gelato Mio

    On a sweltering summer's day, we make a beeline here to cool off with a mixed scoop of watermelon and prickly pear. For chocoholics, the Twix and chilli…

  • Mandarine Koueider

    This ice cream parlour is a hit with local families taking the kids out for a treat. For a fruity kick, get stuck into the zabadi bi tut (yoghurt with…

  • Baraka

    Cheap and cheerful shawarma, plus a range of other sandwiches such as oriental sausage and kofta – are served up here.