Food In Giza
Dining & Restaurants In Giza
Hati al-Geish
Carnivores will salivate upon entering this place, where the air is heavy with the smell of charcoal-cooked meat. The kastileeta (lamb chops) are splendid, and the tender moza (shanks) good for gnawing – the moza fatta, with a side of rice-and-pita casserole, is very good.
Even items listed as ‘Appetizers’ are substantial. No beer, but fresh juices come dressed up with pink sugar rims, and the waiters are quite dapper too.
Sudan Restaurant
One of several Sudanese restaurants and cafes in this alley, this is the tidiest and perhaps serves the most delicious dishes. Try salata iswid (‘black salad’), a spicy mix of eggplant and peanuts, and qarassa, a stew served in a bread bowl, among other treats.
It’s in the alley connecting Sharia Adly and Sharia Abdel Khalek Sarwat, in a courtyard off the southern end. The sign is Arabic only – yellow letters on a red background.
Located in 2 Juhaina St., Giza, Egypt
Artine 2000
Simple home-style Egyptian food at this little upstairs-downstairs restaurant.
Mulukhiyya, the garlicky green soup is a must, with rabbit or meatballs. Tagens (stews) are hearty, and fried eggplant with loads of garlic starts the meal right. The only English on the sign is the ‘2000’ – look for it in the courtyard of the building at the corner with Qasr el-Nil.
Arabesque
Chic locals consider this place, bedecked with Stella-bottle chandeliers, primarily a bar and lounge, but the food is very good too. There are full classic mains such as stuffed pigeon, but it’s just as rewarding to make a meal of generous-size hot and cold mezze: zingy pickled eggplant, delicate vine leaves, and even cute little shwarma ‘sliders’.
Make reservations on the weekend.
Gad
Gad’s lighthouse logo is fitting: it’s a beacon in the night for hungry Cairenes. The ground floor is for takeaway and arranged by type of food: fiteer (flaky pizza) dough being stretched here, shwarma being sliced there,
salads at yet another counter. Order and pay at the till first, then take the receipts to the relevant counters. You can also sit upstairs, away from the crowds, and order off the menu. The one on Sarwat St. is typically less crowded.
Hawawshi Eid
Just a few pounds gets you a huge round of bread filled with meat (spicy if you like) and baked in a paper wrapper
until molten and delicious, plus pickles galore. There’s no English sign – look for the oven out front, to the right of the counter.
Abu al-Hassan al-Haty
With its foggy mirrors, dusty chandeliers and waiters who look older than the building itself, this is a beautiful relic of Downtown – it’s often used as a set for period TV shows. The food (mostly grilled items) is a bit secondary but
perfectly palatable.
Felfela Restaurant
Attracting tourists, coach parties and locals since 1963, Felfela is an institution that can deliver a reliable, if not wildly delicious meal with good service. A bizarre jungle theme rules the decor, but the food is straight-down-the-line Egyptian and consistently decent, especially the mezze and grilled chicken.
