21 Best Restaurants in Cairo, Egypt

Known for its relaxed vibe, Zööba offers Egyptian street food featuring modern twists (and slightly higher prices), all of it made with locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to try the ful (fava-bean stew) and ta’amiya (falafel) with pickled lemons, though the koshary (macaroni casserole) is also divine.

Founded in the 1930s, this quaint coffee shop has witnessed most of Downtown’s history and was once a favorite spot for its elites and celebrities. Today, people from all walks of life come to enjoy its coffee and desserts.

Flakey layers of fiteer pastry generously stuffed with your choice of sweet or savory fillings is what Abo Sherif is known for, and every order is made fresh on the spot—you can even watch the dough being flipped, stuffed, and placed in a brick oven. It’s customary to take your fiteer to the café across the street and enjoy it with black tea served with fresh mint leaves.

Run by a Thai woman who uses ingredients flown in from Bangkok, this restaurant manages mouthwateringly authentic food that has saved many an expatriate longing for massaman or Penang curries. Start with a soup, perhaps tom kar gai (chicken in a coconut-milk broth), then move on to a delicious glass-noodle salad with shrimp, and end with a curry or two.

Although you can order grilled kofta, stuffed pigeon, moussaka, or home-style stews served with rice, locals come to this family-run hotspot for Egyptian-style rotisserie chicken that's cooked to golden perfection. The waiters speak minimal English, but the chicken is in ovens on the sidewalk, and many dishes are on display inside, so you can point at what you want.

Popular with locals and tourists alike, Fatatry El Hussein (also known as Egyptian Pancake House) specializes in fiteer, Egypt's flaky pastry served with your choice of sweet or savory fillings. For one heavenly bite after another, try the mixed-cheese version; dessert options such as custard or cream and honey will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.

This popular restaurant, built into an alleyway, is a good place to try such Egyptian staples as shorbat ‘ads (lentil soup), which is tasty with a squeeze of lemon in it; ta’amiya (the local version of felafel); and ful (stewed fava beans). You can also enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine with your food.

Options at this local street-food favorite range from ful (fava bean stew) or ta'amiya (Egyptian-style felafel) sandwiches to beef or chicken shawarma wraps. Most customers order food to go, but seating is available if you need to take a break.

Overlooking Maydan Sphinx (Sphinx Square), Kandahar serves North Indian food. Consider ordering one of the set menus that include the highly seasoned mulligatawny soup, appetizers, a delicious stewed dal, a lamb or chicken curry, and rice and bread, as well as dessert. This will give you a chance to try a bit of everything. If you like your food heavily spiced, make this known—the heat has been turned down for local tastes. This is not a sign of a lack of authenticity—chili pepper is only one of the spices in the Indian culinary palette. Service is good but prices here are on the high side for quite toothsome but standard Indian fare. You can also order from the menu of the adjoined Lebanese restaurant, Raouche.

Conveniently situated a street-crossing away from the Egyptian Museum, La Poire was established in 1975 as a French pastry shop but has expanded its menu to include a variety of savory quick bites and an ever-growing selection of sweet treats.

Favored by locals, Le Chantilly is the perfect place to unwind with a cup of coffee and fresh pastries, seated indoors at a wooden table covered with a checkered tablecloth or in the charming outdoor area.

Despite the arrival in Cairo of internationally recognized American fast-food chains, expats still flock to Lucille's for burgers and Tex-Mex dishes. Lucille's also serves up hearty Western breakfasts. The authentic diner interior keeps homesick Americans happy.

Ful (fava-bean stew) carts and restaurants are a common sight in Cairo, but the customers here hail from all over the world thanks to the many nearby embassies and to the freshness and flavor of its offerings. To create the stew, which is served primarily at breakfast but also makes a filling lunch, the beans are slow-cooked in a large metal jug and then mashed and served with tahini and a flavorful oil.

This air-conditioned, upscale coffee shop is the perfect refuge from the clamor of the Khan. Have a drink, a light lunch, or—at the adjoining restaurant—a proper meal. To get here, face the Sayyidna al-Husayn Mosque and turn left into the passage that begins at the level of the minaret. Follow this through a couple of archways; the café is on the right.

Thanks to the picture menu, the friendly English-speaking staff, and the free Wi-Fi for customers, this clean, convenient neighborhood restaurant is usually overrun with tourists. The Middle Eastern dishes are often given a local twist, and the menu includes vegan options as well. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas; if you sit outside, you’ll be joined by friendly felines.

Although this eatery is set in Zamalek’s Flamenco Hotel, its warm woods, tile work, and selection of baked goods make it feel like a family run bakery set in a small European town. It opens at 7 am, so you can enjoy breakfast and coffee while watching Cairenes on their way to work; or come later in the day for a German brezel (pretzel).

Home-cooked Egyptian staples are the hallmarks of this side-street restaurant, which is sometimes called Five Ladies, as it's run by five women from the same family. Although the menu changes daily, based on what's fresh and in season, it typically includes molokhia (a dish of braised greens with chicken and rice.

This cozy restaurant, with a highly patterned tiled floor and pale stucco walls adorned with Lebanese crafts, comes alive in the evening. Grilled meats are staples here, as are hot and cold mezze. Wines, spirits, and Lebanese arak (an anise-based liqueur) are also available.

After a day of sightseeing, this atmospheric, courtyard-style café, set amid buildings that date from the 15th century just south of al-Azhar Street, is a great place to grab a tea or a coffee and a dessert. You can only get here on foot, and it's a little hard to find, but don't worry—the area is safe, and you can ask a local for directions if you get lost.

Tucked in an alleyway, this hip eatery takes street food to the next level by using premium ingredients in its consistently delicious sandwiches. The bread rolls are addictively soft, filled with a variety of meats and generously drizzled with tahini; they come with a side of French fries, too.

The menu at this modest eatery, run by the same family since the 1960s, focuses on thin-loaf sandwiches with meat fillings, some of which are very spicy, though you might consider trying scrambled eggs with basturma (seasoned, air-dried, cured beef). In the evening, locals flock here to share a meal with family and friends, so you might have to wait to be seated.