Top 10 authentic local restaurants in Cairo

Our Local Expert Says:

This is one of the best restaurants in Egypt for traditonal Egyptian cuisine

Description:

Abou el Sid, located on Zamalek, offers excellent, authentic Egyptian cuisine in very atmospheric surroundings. Décor is traditional Arabesque, heavy on the mashrabiyya wooden panelling, but the atmosphere is lively and down to earth. A word of warning though - the staff can be incredibly rude, and the service isn't always great.

Don't let this put you off though, because Abou el Sid is an excellent place to share a selection of mouth-watering mezzes, and offers a wide range of traditional Egyptian mains. Try the Rabbit with Molokheiya for a real taste of rural Egypt, their old-school fish Sayadeya, or opt for Egypt's national dish, Koshary (a mix of pasta, lentils, fried onions and tomato sauce). Abou el Sid also serves a range of alcohol, and Egyptian water pipes (shishas).

Abou el Sid gets very busy, so it's advisable to book in advance. If you can't get a table, L'Aubergine and La Bodega are near by, or you could try the Abou el Sid branches in Mohandiseen, Maadi or City Stars. read more

Our Local Expert Says:

Zizo serves the best (and spiciest) medieval sausage sandwiches in Cairo

Description:

Zizo's, situated opposite one of the north gates ( Bab al Futuh) of Islamic Cairo, is one of the city's best kept secrets.

Founded by colourful owner Abdel-Aziz Mustafa Hamzah (aka Zizo) in the 60's, Zizo's specialises in spicy sogoq (beef sausage) sandwiches, Alexandria style. The sandwiches are incredibly tasty, and dirt cheap, though be warned that they have quite a kick. Zizo's is also renowned for the quality of its offal, and the brains are particularly well regarded. For dessert, grab a halawa bil eshta sandwich (halawa is a sweet made of sesame paste and sugar, and eshta is cream) for the ultimate sugar rush!

Zizo himself still runs this tiny, spit and sawdust-type restaurant, as well as making the amazing pickles that accompany his food. He's a very friendly character, that loves to welcome and chat with his guests.

Zizo's is very near Khan el Khalili, so is the perfect place to refuel after a spot of shopping, perhaps before heading to the nearby cities of the dead. read more

Our Local Expert Says:

One of the most popular and famous Koshary restaurants in Cairo

Description:

Abou Tarek is one of the most famous restaurants in Cairo, if not the whole of Egypt. It's not the sort of place you go to for a lingering, four course meal, because it really serves only one thing: koshary.

Koshary is the best contender for Egypt's national dish, and it's certainly the food that Egyptians living abroad miss the most. Koshary is a carbohydrate bomb: a mixture of different types of pasta, mixed with lentils, chickpeas, fried onions and a sort of tomato salsa. You then season it to taste, with a combination of chilli sauce and a surprisingly fiery lime juice and garlic concoction. It's fast food at its best: cheap, filling, and surprisingly tasty.

While you can get koshary on pretty much any street corner in Cairo, the koshary at Abou Tarek is particularly tasty. There's a high turnover of customers, so it's always freshly made, and pleasingly moist. As befits this no-frills dish, Abou Tarek restaurant is a simple affair: long metal trestle tables, with a splash of greenery about the walls.

Service is very quick, and the staff are used to tourists and are pretty welcoming. The only choice you have to make is whether you want a small or large dish of koshary, and... read more

Description:

Notable for its art gallery and fine Oriental decor, the food at this tourist trap is overpriced. Come for the decor and its contemporary art exhibits, which change monthly. Tourists pile in to sit at widely-spaced tables in the wonderful carpeted dining area. Tapestries, mashrabiyya screens, elegant columns and a gurgling fountain add the finishing touches. A small gallery displaying contemporary work by local artists lines the entrance hallway. Touted as "Continental-Egyptian" cuisine, the menu offers little of the latter. Alcohol is served.

Description:

Situated in the heart of Khan Al Khalili, this ornate Oriental restaurant is named after the Nobel prize-winning Egyptian novelist. The menu includes the usual Lebanese mezzes as well as a good selection of classic Egyptian cooking including mousa'aa (the local version of Greek mousaaka without the cheese) and molokhiya (a slimy vegetable not dissimilar to spinach) and rabbit stew.

Our Local Expert Says:

Felfela is a Cairo fast food institution, and well worth the visit!

Description:

Beloved of tourists and locals alike, Felfela is a Cairo fast food institution. On the right as you head up Talaat Harb street towards the midan, Felfela is a simple, brightly coloured and brightly lit restaurant that offers a whole range of Egyptian street food classics.

You can get koshary (with or without meat), chicken or beef shawerma, different types of taamiya and felafel sandwiches, all sorts of fuul... simply name your staple!

Although it's a bit more expensive than the proper dive restaurants offering this food, Felfela is still cheap, and reassuringly hygienic.

The way it works is easy: you order and pay at the cash desk, and the staff will give you a ticket. (Felfela has menus in English, and the staff speak English too.) You take your ticket to the appropriate part of the restaurant (the staff will tell you where to go if you aren't sure), and swap it for some food!

You can either eat amongst the other customers, standing up at the waist-height counters, or take your food to go. Either way, it's delicious!

Felfela is set right amongst the action of Downtown Cairo. Afterwards, why not head to the nearby Stella Bar, Horeya, or Odeon Palace Bar, and grab yourself a local... read more

Description:

Friendly service and sumptuous chicken have been key to this family-oriented restaurant's success over the years. The winning formula has spawned a host of copycats with the same name, but the original remains the best. Located near the Pyramids, this large restaurant features a spacious air-conditioned dining room with a fireplace for winter and a much-lauded garden terrace for summer. Soft lighting, pleasant views and the sizzle of the outdoor grill create a relaxed ambiance. Chicken roasted to perfection is the house specialty. Kebabs, kofte and quails are equally well prepared on patio grills. Portions are generous and can be supplemented with vine leaves, salads or dips; the latter served with bread baked on-site in a traditional clay oven. Local beer and wine are served, but desserts are not.

Our Local Expert Says:

Al-Omda offers good, hearty Egyptian food in very relaxed surrounds, and their shishas are excellent.

Description:

Al-Omda translates roughly as the "mayor", and this restaurant really is the boss of Egyptian cuisine. Not because it's the best Egyptian food in Cairo (it isn't), or because it's the cheapest (likewise), but because the restaurant just feels really genuine. This is where the locals come for decent food with prices to match.

All the Egyptian staples are here, from fuul to falafel, and fattah to feteer. The Koshary with meat (beef) is particularly good, as is the lamb fattah, and the portions are huge. The décor at al-Omda is traditional arabesque, but without being overbearing or pretentious. Egyptian families often eat here late in to the night, and old men play backgammon whilst smoking shisha pipes and drinking Turkish Coffee.

The corollary to this authentic Egyptian set-up, of course, is that the service is very Egyptian: friendly, attentive, and yet not very efficient. It's all part of the appeal, and you'll hardly mind, since al-Omda is a pleasant space to while away the hours in. Note that al-Omda is also popular with tour groups, so it's probably best to book a table in advance, just in case. Also, no alcohol is served.

Our Local Expert Says:

Fatatri El Tahrir is a cheap yet decent feteer restaurant that is used to dealing with tourists

Description:

Fatatri El Tahrir is a cheap and cheerful feteer restaurant centrally located in Downtown. A feteer, often known as an Egyptian pizza, pancake or pie, is kind of like a thick crepe: layers of filo pastry usually stuffed with cheese and peppers and whatever other filling you want.

Feteer are tasty and very filling, and Fatatri El Tahrir offers three sizes ranging from 10 to 25 LE, using different combinations of ingredients such as egg, vegetables, cheese (including mozzarella), tuna, beef, sausage and so on. You can also get sweet feteer, oozing nuts and honey and cream and other goodies!

The best way to tackle any feteer restaurant is to get a couple of different types, and share them between all of you. At Fatatri El Tahrir the feteer also come served with a reasonably generous helping of turshi, or pickles. Don't forget to leave a bit of space for a sweet feteer for dessert!

Fatatri El Tahrir is a small place, kept nice and clean, and the staff are friendly and used to dealing with tourists. They have menus in both English and Arabic (same prices on each), and a small selection of soft drinks available. And if you don't fancy feteer, you can have a normal style pizza.
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Description:

A Cairo landmark, this fancy kebab house has been serving locals for over 50 years. There are other branches in Heliopolis and Mohandiseen. This conservative Muslim restaurant is done up in marble and alabaster. Seating is a little tight and the staff can be slow, but customers are always guaranteed an authentic Egyptian experience. The main specialty here is kebabs, with prices calculated per kilo of meat and a host of salads and dips to choose from. Pigeon, chicken and specialty beef dishes are also on the menu. The Egyptian desserts served here are heavenly, with top honors going to the Om Ali (flakey dough with raisins and nuts soaked in sugar and milk).