Egyptian food is one of the world's great comfort cuisines: humble, herbed, bread-based and built for sharing. It rewards travelers who eat where Egyptians eat, from ful stalls at dawn to koshari joints at midnight.

This guide introduces the dishes you will meet everywhere, plus a few treats to hunt down.

The Everyday Classics

Two dishes anchor Egyptian life. Ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans with olive oil, lemon and cumin, is breakfast of pharaonic pedigree. Koshari, the national dish, layers rice, pasta, lentils and chickpeas under a spiced tomato sauce and crispy fried onions, carb-stacking genius found in dedicated shops at all hours.

  • Ful medames and taameya (Egypt's falafel, made of fava) with baladi bread
  • Koshari, the beloved national carb-tower
  • Molokhia, the jute-leaf stew Egyptians adore and visitors learn to love
  • Feteer, the flaky layered pastry served sweet or savory

Meat, Fish and Bedouin Flavors

Kofta and kebab, grilled over coals, anchor restaurant menus; hamam mahshi, stuffed pigeon, is a festive classic; and in the oases and desert camps, Bedouin-style chicken or lamb slow-cooked in the sand or over fire, with rice and zatar bread, is unforgettable. On the coasts, Alexandria and Port Said do fried fish and sayadeya (fish with rice) famously.

Sweets and Drinks

Egyptians take their sweets seriously: basbousa and kunafa, om Ali, a bread-and-cream pudding, and fatir with honey. For drinks: karkade (hibiscus, hot or iced), doum and sugarcane juice, mint tea and Turkish coffee. In Cairo, drink shops downtown press sugarcane before your eyes.

Eating Safely and Well

A few common-sense rules keep stomachs happy:

  • Eat where turnover is fast and food is freshly cooked
  • Stick to bottled water and skip ice in very basic places
  • Peel fruit yourself and enjoy cooked street food hot
  • Vegetarians will eat wonderfully in Egypt

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Egypt's national dish?

Koshari, a hearty mix of rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas with tomato sauce and fried onions, sold in dedicated shops across the country at almost any hour.

Is Egypt good for vegetarians?

Excellent. Much of everyday Egyptian food is meatless: ful, taameya, koshari, molokhia with rice, and vegetable stews with baladi bread.

Is street food safe in Egypt?

Generally yes when food is cooked fresh at high heat and eaten hot. Follow crowds and turnover, peel your own fruit, and drink bottled water.