Short answer: The five Egyptian dishes not to miss are koshary, ful medames, ta’meya (Egyptian falafel), molokhia and feteer, with om ali or basbousa for dessert and a glass of fresh sugarcane juice or hibiscus tea. Eat street breakfasts and koshary in Cairo, seafood by weight in Alexandria, and home-cooked Nubian food in Aswan.
Egyptian food is the cooking of the Nile Valley and the Delta: bread, beans, lentils, rice and vegetables grown along the river, with lamb, chicken and pigeon for special days and fish from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Centuries of trade and empire added Ottoman pastries, Levantine grills and Mediterranean seafood, but the everyday staples, fava beans and flatbread, go back thousands of years. It is hearty, filling and among the cheapest good food in the world, and much of it is vegetarian by nature. This guide covers the 15 dishes and drinks we would order first, where each one is best, and how to eat well on any budget. For the bigger picture, start with our Egypt travel guide.
Street food and breakfast
1. Koshary (koshari)
A bowl of rice, pasta and lentils topped with crispy fried onions, then dressed to taste with a tangy tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and hot sauce; many places add chickpeas. It is Egypt’s great everyday meal, sold in busy koshary halls and from street carts, and in December 2025 UNESCO added koshary and the practices around it to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, noting how it is shared in family life and at national events. It is vegan, cheap and filling; add the hot sauce a little at a time.
2. Ful medames
Fava beans stewed slowly overnight, then mashed with cumin, olive oil, lemon and garlic and topped with tomato, onion or a boiled egg. It is the national breakfast, scooped up with aish baladi, the round whole-wheat flatbread that comes with every meal, and sold from street stalls and carts from early morning. Ask for it “bel zeit” (with oil) or with tahini.
3. Ta’meya
Egypt’s falafel, made with crushed fava beans rather than chickpeas and plenty of herbs, so it is bright green inside, often coated in sesame seeds. It is eaten for breakfast with ful, pickles and tahini salad, often stuffed into a pocket of bread as a sandwich. Buy it hot from a busy stall where the fryer never stops.
4. Feteer meshaltet
A large, flaky pastry of many thin, buttery layers, baked in a hot oven and served either sweet, with honey, powdered sugar or cream, or savory, with cheese, minced meat or sausage. Feteer shops (fatatri) bake it to order, and it is big enough to share. It is a classic late-night snack in Cairo.
5. Hawawshi
Flatbread stuffed with minced meat seasoned with onion, peppers and spices, then baked until the bread is crisp and the juices soak in. It is a street-food favorite in Cairo and Alexandria, served with pickles and tahini, and a filling lunch on the go.
6. Alexandrian liver sandwiches
In Alexandria, small sandwiches of beef liver fried with garlic, cumin and green chili (kebda iskandarani) are the city’s favorite street snack, eaten several at a time, especially in the evening. Ask for them less spicy if you prefer.
Home cooking and mains
7. Molokhia
A green soup of finely chopped jute mallow leaves cooked in chicken or rabbit broth and finished with garlic fried with coriander. It has a silky, slightly slippery texture and is served with rice or bread and the meat on the side. Egyptians love it as home food, and it is on the menu of most traditional restaurants.
8. Mahshi and vine leaves
Vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, peppers and cabbage leaves, and vine leaves (wara’ enab), stuffed with rice, herbs, tomato and sometimes minced meat, then simmered in broth. It is a dish of family lunches and holidays, and the vegetarian versions are easy to find.
9. Fattah
Layers of crisp bread and rice soaked in broth, topped with a garlic-vinegar tomato sauce and pieces of boiled lamb or beef. It is the festive dish of Eid al-Adha and family celebrations, and some traditional restaurants serve it all year. It is rich, so share it.
10. Stuffed pigeon (hamam mahshi)
Small pigeons stuffed with spiced rice or freekeh (green cracked wheat) and roasted or grilled until the skin is crisp. It is a special-occasion dish and a traditional restaurant classic in Cairo and the Delta. Expect small bones and to eat with your hands.
11. Kofta and kebab
Grilled skewers of spiced minced meat (kofta) and cubes of lamb (kebab), cooked over charcoal and sold by weight in grill restaurants, with bread, tahini, salads and pickles. It is the meal to order if you want something familiar, and the salads and dips make a good vegetarian spread.
12. Fish by weight
On the coasts, you choose fish, prawns, squid and crabs from an ice display, pay by weight, and they are grilled, fried or baked with rice cooked in fish stock (sayadeya) and salads. Alexandria’s Anfushi district and Corniche are the classic place; on the Red Sea, Hurghada and Dahab have simple fish restaurants. Check the price per kilo and the cooking charge before you order.
Sweets and drinks
13. Om ali
Egypt’s bread pudding: pieces of pastry or bread baked with hot milk, cream, nuts, coconut and raisins until golden on top. It is served warm and is the dessert to order after a traditional meal.
14. Basbousa and konafa
Basbousa is a dense semolina cake soaked in syrup, often with coconut and an almond on top; konafa is shredded pastry baked with cream, cheese or nuts and drenched in syrup. Both are sold in pastry shops everywhere and are especially popular during Ramadan evenings. Rice pudding (roz bel laban) is the lighter choice, and koshary shops often sit next to a dessert shop that sells it.
15. Sugarcane juice, karkadeh and mint tea
Juice stalls press fresh sugarcane (asab) and mango in season, and both are cheap and very sweet. Karkadeh, a deep red hibiscus tea, is drunk hot in winter and iced in summer, especially in Aswan. Black tea with mint or sugar and thick Turkish-style coffee are what Egyptians order in the traditional cafés (ahwa), often with a water pipe.
Where to eat: Cairo and beyond
- Cairo: the city eats late and well. Start the day with ful and ta’meya at a street stall, try koshary at one of the big downtown koshary halls, and eat hawawshi, grilled kofta, stuffed pigeon, molokhia and fattah in traditional restaurants. In the medieval city, Al-Muizz Street and the lanes around Khan el-Khalili have cafés and simple places to eat; Zamalek and Garden City have international restaurants.
- Alexandria: Egypt’s seafood capital, with fish chosen by weight in Anfushi and along the Corniche, liver sandwiches, ful and ta’meya, and the cakes and ice cream of its historic patisseries and old cafés.
- Luxor and Nile cruises: most Nile cruise boats include meals on board, so compare what is included; in town, the riverfront Corniche has restaurants, and simple local places serve koshary, ful and grills.
- Aswan: the market street sells spices, hibiscus and dates, and a boat trip to a Nubian village such as Gharb Soheil often ends with tea and a home-cooked dinner with a family. Riverside restaurants on the Corniche are lovely at sunset.
- The Red Sea coast: in Hurghada, El Gouna, Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh, grilled fish by weight and Bedouin-style dinners in the desert alongside resort buffets.
- Siwa Oasis: dates of many varieties, olives and olive oil from the palm and olive groves fed by the oasis springs.
Food etiquette and tipping
Bread is eaten with every meal and is used to scoop food; eat and pass food with your right hand. Lunch, eaten mid-afternoon, is the main family meal, and dinner is often late, especially in Cairo, where restaurants and cafés stay busy past midnight. Many traditional places do not serve alcohol; beer and wine are available in hotels, tourist restaurants and licensed bars.
During Ramadan, most sites stay open, but many local restaurants open only for iftar at sunset, when the streets fill up and stay lively late into the night. Eating and drinking discreetly in daytime is a courtesy.
Tipping (baksheesh) is part of daily life. Restaurant bills often add a service charge and 14% VAT on top of menu prices, especially in tourist restaurants and hotels, so read the small print; waiters still expect a small extra tip of about 5–10% in cash. Our tip calculator helps you work it out, and our phrase cards have Arabic for “thank you” (shukran) and “the bill, please” (el-hesab, law samaht).
Eating on a budget
Egypt is one of the cheapest countries in the world for good food. Our Egypt trip cost guide notes that a bowl of koshary costs roughly EGP 40–80 at well-known spots, according to 2026 food guides, and an October 2026 price survey for Cairo puts a restaurant lunch at about EGP 250 and a three-course dinner at about EGP 750 per person. Street breakfasts of ful and ta’meya, koshary halls, feteer shops and juice stalls let you eat very well for little, while hotel and Nile-view restaurants cost more. A food walk through downtown or old Cairo is a fun way to try many dishes in one evening; browse food tours in Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor in our tour finder.
Food also shapes when to go. In 2027, Ramadan is expected to begin around February 8, with festive evenings and sweets; and Sham el-Nessim, the national spring festival on the Monday after Coptic Easter (May 3 in 2027), is celebrated with picnics and traditional salted fish and colored eggs. Our best time to visit Egypt guide covers the seasons and holidays month by month.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan around Cairo, Luxor and Aswan with time for street food and long lunches. Then see our Egypt itinerary for 7, 10 and 14 days, and our top 10 places to visit in Egypt to decide where to go.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Egypt?
Koshary is the dish most Egyptians would name, and in December 2025 UNESCO added it to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Ful medames is the national breakfast and just as much part of daily life.
Is Egypt food spicy?
Mostly not. Egyptian food is seasoned with garlic, cumin, coriander, lemon and vinegar, and the heat comes from the hot sauce you add to koshary or the chilies in some street snacks, such as Alexandria’s liver sandwiches. Ask for “mish harr” (not spicy) when ordering.
What do people eat for breakfast in Egypt?
Ful medames and ta’meya with aish baladi bread, pickles, tahini, cheese and eggs, usually bought from a street stall or cart and eaten standing up or at home. Feteer with honey or cheese is the treat version, and hotels add buffets of fruit, pastries and eggs.
Is Egypt good for vegetarians?
Yes, it is one of the easiest countries in the region. Koshary, ful, ta’meya, mahshi, lentil soup, salads, dips and feteer are all vegetarian or vegan, and Coptic Christians keep long fasting periods without animal products, so many dishes have meat-free versions. Molokhia and some stews are made with meat stock, so ask.
What should I drink in Egypt?
Fresh sugarcane or mango juice from a juice stall, karkadeh (hibiscus tea), sweet mint tea and Turkish-style coffee in a traditional café, and sahlab, a warm milky drink, in winter. Bottled water is widely sold, and Stella and Sakara are the local beers where alcohol is served.
What is koshary made of?
Rice, pasta and lentils, sometimes with chickpeas, topped with crispy fried onions and dressed with a tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and hot sauce to your taste. UNESCO notes that black lentils are typical, and regional versions vary.