Abou El Sid

One of Cairo’s legendary restaurants, Abou el Sid is located on Zamalek island, an upper-class enclave of embassies and mansions. There’s an Ali Baba quality to the restaurant, which is decorated with Oriental carpets and lanterns and is always filled with a smoky haze. It’s a great place to sample Egyptian delicacies or sip a cup of coffee in the late evening, but the real reason to come is to soak up the scene and old-world atmosphere. The specialty of the house is molokhiyya, a green leafy vegetable cooked in oil with onions and chicken stock.