What to eat in Cairo: 10 dishes and where to find them

What to eat in Cairo starts with koshari, a carb-on-carb bowl of rice, pasta and lentils the city treats as a birthright, and runs through stewed fava beans, paper-thin fried liver and a dessert soaked in hot milk.

Cairo cooks on legumes, bread and the Nile Valley's seasonal vegetables, a diet shaped by economy and ingenuity rather than spectacle. Ottoman, Levantine and Bedouin currents passed through the city for centuries, but the base stayed Egyptian: fava beans, lentils, rice and baladi bread pulled hot from clay ovens.

The real eating happens standing up at a cart or packed into a three-storey koshari hall that has not changed its menu since 1950. Fine dining arrived late and loud: in February 2026, Khufu's beat four Dubai restaurants to the top of the Middle East and North Africa's dining scene, a region Gulf kitchens had dominated for years.

Koshari is Cairo's proof that carbs stacked on carbs can still be a cuisine.

Koshari at Koshary Abou Tarek, Downtown

Rice, macaroni and lentils go into the bowl first, then chickpeas, a vinegar-spiked tomato sauce and a thatch of fried onion on top. It is Egypt's national dish and, done right, cheap enough to eat twice in one day.

Koshary Abou Tarek has worked the same corner of Qasr El Nil since 1950, spread over three packed floors that barely empty between noon and midnight. A large bowl costs roughly 60-90 EGP; sizing up is the only decision to make.

Ful medames and ta'ameya at Zööba, Zamalek

Ful medames, stewed fava beans mashed with garlic, lemon and cumin, is Egypt's breakfast before it is anything else, scooped up with baladi bread at carts open from dawn. Ta'ameya, the Egyptian falafel made with fava beans rather than chickpeas, rides alongside it.

Zööba reworks both without losing the point, serving ful and ta'ameya sandwiches with pickled lemon from a bright counter in Zamalek. A sandwich runs about 35-55 EGP, breakfast money anywhere else in the world.

Fiteer meshaltet at Fatatri El Tahrir, Downtown

Fiteer is Egypt's layered flatbread, pulled and folded until it flakes like pastry, then baked to order sweet with sugar and ghee or savoury with cheese and minced meat. Egyptians call it baladi pizza, which undersells it.

Fatatri El Tahrir, a five-table canteen just off Tahrir Square, has fed Downtown office workers and backpackers for decades with no printed menu. A fiteer for two costs roughly 150-250 EGP depending on the filling.

Kebda eskandarani at El Refaay, Sayeda Zeinab

Kebda eskandarani, Alexandria-style liver, is sliced paper-thin, flash-fried with garlic, chilli and cumin, and stuffed into bread with tomato and pickles. It is the dish Cairo's street carts cook fastest and loudest.

El Refaay has run the liver counter in old Sayeda Zeinab for generations and is still the reference point cited across the city. A sandwich costs around 40-70 EGP.

Hawawshi and fatta at El Prince, Imbaba

Hawawshi packs spiced minced beef or lamb into baladi bread and bakes it in a wood-fired oven until the crust shatters. Fatta, rice and bread soaked in garlicky vinegar broth under slow-cooked veal, is the dish Cairo saves for celebrations.

El Prince, open nights only on Talaat Harb Street in working-class Imbaba, does both alongside bone-marrow rice, drawing queues from across the city. Expect to pay 150-300 EGP a head.

Molokhia and mahshi at Fasahet Somaya, Heliopolis

Molokhia, jute leaves chopped fine and simmered into a garlicky green stew, is ladled over rice with chicken or rabbit. Mahshi, vegetables stuffed with herbed rice, demands more patience than any other Egyptian staple.

Fasahet Somaya cooks a rotating home-style menu in Heliopolis, built around whatever a Cairo mother would put on the table that day. A full plate runs 120-220 EGP.

Kofta and mixed grill at Abou Shakra, Garden City

Kofta, hand-minced beef and lamb seasoned with parsley and onion, is grilled over charcoal and served with tahini, salads and bread still warm from the oven.

Abou Shakra has grilled it since 1947, opening in the old Kasr El Einy district before expanding across the city; the original remains the version locals send visitors to. A grilled plate costs roughly 250-450 EGP.

Om Ali at El Fishawy, Khan El Khalili

Om Ali layers puff pastry with milk, sugar, nuts and raisins and bakes it until the top turns gold, Egypt's answer to bread pudding and its most-ordered dessert. It arrives bubbling hot in its own baking dish.

El Fishawy, a coffeehouse running through the lanes of Khan El Khalili since the 1700s, serves it with sweet tea under hanging lanterns that have not moved in decades. A portion costs about 80-130 EGP.

Basbousa at El Abd, Downtown

Basbousa, a semolina cake soaked in sugar syrup and studded with almonds or hazelnuts, sits at the centre of Cairo's patisserie counters alongside kunafa and baklava.

El Abd has baked it on Talaat Harb Street since 1943 and still weighs sweets by the kilo from behind glass cases. A kilo costs roughly 200-350 EGP, enough for a small crowd.

The tasting menu at Khufu's, Giza

Khufu's sets its tables in sight of the Great Pyramids and builds its tasting menu from rural Egyptian cooking read through a fine-dining lens, under executive chef Mostafa Seif.

In February 2026 it became the first Egyptian restaurant named the Middle East and North Africa's best, a first for the country in the ranking's five editions. A tasting menu starts around 3,500 EGP before drinks.

Markets, neighbourhoods and when to go

Four areas cover most of what matters, and each works on its own schedule.

• Khan El Khalili, Islamic Cairo - spices, sweets and the oldest cafés, best after 4pm once the heat breaks
• Downtown (Wust El Balad) - Art Deco blocks packed with koshari halls, fiteer canteens and juice stalls, open late
• Zamalek - the Nile island for modern Egyptian kitchens, juice bars and a calmer pace
• Garden City and Giza - grill houses and the fine-dining rooms near the plateau
• Best time to go: October to April, when daytime heat drops below 30°C and outdoor seating holds up

Cairo food FAQ

Is Cairo expensive to eat in? Not by European standards: a full street meal rarely passes 150 EGP, and a sit-down grill house stays under 500 EGP a head. Khufu's is the exception that proves it.

Is street food in Cairo safe to eat? At the busy stalls, yes: high turnover means food rarely sits, and bottled water is sold everywhere. Favour carts with a queue of locals over the empty ones.

What is Cairo's national dish? Koshari, the rice, pasta and lentil bowl sold on nearly every street corner, holds that title by popular consent rather than decree.

Is tipping expected in Cairo? Yes. Ten percent is standard in sit-down restaurants, and small tips for street vendors and parking attendants are part of daily life.

Where to book first

Reservations matter only at the top of the market; everywhere else, a seat opens within minutes. For more on how the wider region eats, see what to eat in Istanbul and what to eat in Marrakech.

• Khufu's, Giza Plateau - book weeks ahead for a table with pyramid views
• El Prince, 79 Talaat Harb St, Imbaba - fills up after 9pm, no booking, just patience
• Koshary Abou Tarek, 16 Sharia Marouf, Qasr El Nil - walk in any time between noon and midnight