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Food and Dining Guide
Cairo's street food and established eateries offer reliable options across multiple neighbourhoods with prices ranging from 5 to 300 EGP per dish.
How we reported this
Koshari remains Egypt's unofficial national dish, a vegan bowl of rice, macaroni, lentils and chickpeas topped with tomato sauce and fried onions that sells for 30 to 65 EGP at Abou Tarek in Downtown Cairo.
Residents and visitors rely on these long-standing food options because they provide consistent, affordable meals in a city where dining patterns follow fixed daily rhythms. Lunch crowds peak between 1pm and 3pm while late-evening service runs strongest from 9pm to 11pm, with Thursday and Friday nights drawing the largest numbers of diners.
Street Food Areas
Key locations include Talaat Harb Square and Abdin side streets in Downtown Cairo, El Hussein Square near Khan El Khalili in Islamic Cairo, and Sharia Port Said in Garden City for shawarma and grilled meats. Additional dishes available at these spots include ful medames priced 30 to 60 EGP, taameya from 5 to 15 EGP, hawawshi between 50 and 100 EGP, and stuffed pigeon from 150 to 300 EGP.
Established Restaurants
Long-running venues feature Abou El Sid in Zamalek with its vintage decor from 1958, Andrea El Mariouteya in New Giza operated by the same family since 1958, and El Sheikh Mohamed in Kerdasa known for camel liver. These addresses continue to draw customers seeking sit-down meals alongside the street options listed above.
Prices and operating hours listed here come directly from verified local guides that track Cairo venues. Diners can arrive during the documented peak windows or visit the named neighbourhoods to sample the dishes at the stated price ranges without needing further reservations at most street locations.