Eat
Cairo has an enormous amount of restaurants, catering to most needs. Cheap food can be found everywhere in street restaurants and snack stalls. The top notch restaurants are often, but not always, found in hotels and Nile boats. The borders between restaurants and cafes are not crystal-clear in the Egyptian capital. In many places it is perfectly acceptable to just have a drink or
sheesha. Medium and high-range outlets might have a minimum charge. Cheaper restaurants will normally not serve alcohol as well as some more expensive outlets.
In general, downtown is good for budget eating, while for higher quality eating you should head to Zamalek, Mohandesin or any of the other more affluent parts of town. Most guidebooks and food critics agree that Cairo is not a great culinary destination. Ingredients are often low quality, and even the "best" restaurants might serve questionable dishes. That said, there are still a few good places to eat.
For those with a greater interest in Cairo's culinary life, look for
Cairo Dining, a magazine with a half-yearly update of 1000 Cairo restaurants (and places to go out) sorted by price, kind of food and area. It is sold in chain cafes like
Cilantro and
Beanos.
Otlob.com delivers food from a large number of Cairo restaurants, and is also practical because it offers a list of restaurants by type of food, area, and even covers menus, conveniently all in English. Almost all but the highest quality Cairo restaurants offer delivery or takeout.
Egyptian and oriental foodTraditional Egyptian staples are available almost everywhere. In stalls and street restaurants you will find traditional dishes like
foul (bean paste),
taamiyya (falafel),
muzagga'a (spicy aubergines)
kushari (macaroni, lentils and chick peas),
fatayeer (Egyptian pancakes with different fillings) and
shawarma (a recent import from Lebanon and Syria — pieces of roasted meat usually wrapped in bread). Cheaper places will only serve up vegetables and maybe beef hot dogs or corned beef. Eggs, fried potatoes and salads are also usually available. Hygiene varies wildly and the best advice is to go for the most visited places. Avoid empty outlets as the food will be less fresh. Especially downtown you can find many good Kushari outlets.
In the medium and upper price range your choice of traditional Egyptian food will be more limited. Although the situation is improving, traditionally Egyptian gastronomical experiences are still mostly restricted to private homes. Quality chain restaurants like
Felfela (several outlets) and
Abou Sid (Zamalek and Doqqi) offer authentic Egyptian food. Otherwise Arabic and oriental restaurants tend to mix styles or completely go for more Lebanese-style eating, considered more stylish by rich Cairenes. The good side of this is that Cairo is blessed with many quality Lebanese outfits, from chains like
Dar al-Qamar to stylish restaurant establishments. Additionally, Turkish food and restaurants catering to gulf visitors can be found.
Western and Asian foodCairo has a growing number of Western
fast food outlets available - these are, incidentally, some of the best places to see...
