Cairo restaurants
 

Any ideas for interesting non-hotel restaurants in the city?

You will probably get some more upscale suggestions, but I personally love the kushari restaurants just outside the Khan el Khalili (the main market). Kushari is a rice/lentil/macaroni dish with a tomato sauce -- very cheap and very delicious. I also love the fateer (pancakes) place inside the market -- it's on the left-hand side of the market from the main entrance and down a block or two.

Both of these are hotel restaurants, but I felt the Thai restaurant at the intercontinental (the Birdcage) as well as the Lebanese restaurant (Sabaya) were excellent. Prices were about 100 Egyptian pounds (~$20 US)

Sabaya is terrific
 

I was in Cairo in December and ate twice at Sabaya. Amazingly good food at a modest price.

I know - I've done the Sabaya on previous trips :) - very :) I just wanted to get out of the hotel-dining circuit, while avoiding the chain places.

Thanks to you all for the suggestions!

I remember there was a great Korean restaurant in the Zamalek area but I cant remember its name.

It's Hana.

See: http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...perty_id=31316

And for an interesting review: http://diandalyssa.blogspot.com/2005...lek-cairo.html

A terrific see-and-be-seen place with excellent Lebanese food to boot is Maroush, on Lebanon Square in Mohandesseen. (Just ask the taxi driver for 'Midan Lubnan' and you can't miss it.) Very pleasant al fresco dining. The menu is exhaustive -- and I mean exhaustive -- with literally dozens of hot and cold mezza (appetizer) choices as well as many, many main courses. What makes it fun is (a) going to a part of the city you might otherwise not see, (b) watching young, upper-class Egyptians do their social strutting, and (c) partaking in what are arguably the best shishas in Cairo. It's certainly not cheap by Cairo standards, and they are notorious for padding the bill, but it really is worth the trip.

Try this:

http://www.cairodining.com/CD/index.php

One of my personal favourite non-hotel restaurants is Kandahar in Mohandeseen. A quick Google search reveals one review here:

http://uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com/p-...ndahar_cairo-i

For a different hotel restaurant meal one of my favourites is the Friday Dim Sum Buffet at the Four Seasons, Garden City.

thanks - cairodining has some intereting ideas ... :)