Cairo Downtown Food Walk: Koshary, Taameya & Ful
Day tour
Food tour
Standard
Departure point
→
Destination
Cairo, Egypt
Cairo
1N (Participation Duration)
Walking (Transportation)
English (Language)
Number of participants 0/10
0 booked
Tour description
Downtown Cairo was built in the 1860s to look like Paris and now looks like nowhere else: Belle Epoque facades, ten million people, and some of the cheapest good eating in the world.
We start with koshary, which is Egypt's national dish and an argument in a bowl - rice, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, fried onion, garlic vinegar and chilli, layered by a man who has done it ten thousand times. Then ful medames, fava beans slow-cooked overnight and dressed with olive oil, cumin and lemon, and taameya, Egypt's falafel, which is made with fava beans rather than chickpeas and comes out green inside.
We also eat hawawshi - spiced minced meat baked inside bread until the fat soaks into the crust - and shawarma from a vertical spit, and finish with roz bel laban, the rice pudding Cairo does better than it has any right to, and umm ali, bread pudding with nuts and cream.
Your guide explains the Ottoman, Levantine, Italian and Greek threads in Cairo's food, and how a city this size feeds itself for a dollar a meal.
Small group, maximum 10 guests, entirely on foot.
We start with koshary, which is Egypt's national dish and an argument in a bowl - rice, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, fried onion, garlic vinegar and chilli, layered by a man who has done it ten thousand times. Then ful medames, fava beans slow-cooked overnight and dressed with olive oil, cumin and lemon, and taameya, Egypt's falafel, which is made with fava beans rather than chickpeas and comes out green inside.
We also eat hawawshi - spiced minced meat baked inside bread until the fat soaks into the crust - and shawarma from a vertical spit, and finish with roz bel laban, the rice pudding Cairo does better than it has any right to, and umm ali, bread pudding with nuts and cream.
Your guide explains the Ottoman, Levantine, Italian and Greek threads in Cairo's food, and how a city this size feeds itself for a dollar a meal.
Small group, maximum 10 guests, entirely on foot.
Meeting point:
View on map
Talaat Harb Square, Downtown Cairo
We meet in Talaat Harb Square in the Downtown grid. Your guide will have a small sign with your name. Sadat metro is a 5-minute walk.
Detailed itinerary
Stop 1 - Koshary: Egypt's national dish, layered in a bowl - rice, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas, tomato sauce, crisp fried onion, with garlic vinegar and chilli added at the table. At a shop that has been doing this since the 1950s.
Stop 2 - Ful medames: Fava beans slow-cooked overnight in a copper pot and dressed with olive oil, cumin, lemon and tahini, eaten with baladi bread.
Stop 3 - Taameya: Egyptian falafel made with fava beans rather than chickpeas, green inside, fried to order and stuffed into bread with salad and tahina.
Stop 4 - Hawawshi: Spiced minced meat with onion and chilli baked inside bread until the fat soaks into the crust.
Stop 5 - Downtown walk: A guided pass through the Belle Epoque arcades and passages with your guide on how Khedive Ismail built a European city on the Nile.
Stop 6 - Shawarma or kebda: Meat from a vertical spit, or Alexandrian-style liver fried hard with chilli and garlic, from a downtown counter.
Stop 7 - Roz bel laban and umm ali: Rice pudding and a hot bread pudding with nuts and cream, with mint tea or a karkade hibiscus drink.
Stop 2 - Ful medames: Fava beans slow-cooked overnight in a copper pot and dressed with olive oil, cumin, lemon and tahini, eaten with baladi bread.
Stop 3 - Taameya: Egyptian falafel made with fava beans rather than chickpeas, green inside, fried to order and stuffed into bread with salad and tahina.
Stop 4 - Hawawshi: Spiced minced meat with onion and chilli baked inside bread until the fat soaks into the crust.
Stop 5 - Downtown walk: A guided pass through the Belle Epoque arcades and passages with your guide on how Khedive Ismail built a European city on the Nile.
Stop 6 - Shawarma or kebda: Meat from a vertical spit, or Alexandrian-style liver fried hard with chilli and garlic, from a downtown counter.
Stop 7 - Roz bel laban and umm ali: Rice pudding and a hot bread pudding with nuts and cream, with mint tea or a karkade hibiscus drink.
Tour price includes
• Small-group English-speaking local food guide
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One local drink at the final stop
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout the walk
• All taxes and service fees
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One local drink at the final stop
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout the walk
• All taxes and service fees
Tour price excludes
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off unless stated
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours are non-refundable. Tours run rain or shine.
Other notes
Runs daily at 10:00 and 17:00. Between May and September we recommend the evening departure - Cairo between noon and four in summer is genuinely punishing.
Ramadan: daytime eating essentially stops and Cairo's evenings become extraordinary, with iftar tables set up in the street. We run an evening iftar version during Ramadan, which is the best time of year to eat here. Note that the hour before sunset is complete gridlock, so we walk rather than drive.
Water and hygiene: bottled water only. Ice is safe at established venues and we avoid it elsewhere. Every stop on this route cooks to order or turns stock over fast.
Cash: Egyptian pounds are essential for street stalls and ATMs are frequently empty. Your guide pays for everything on the tour.
Photography: avoid photographing government buildings, police and military installations. Your guide will tell you where it is fine.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Egypt is an easy country for vegetarians - koshary, ful and taameya are all meat-free.
About 2 km of walking on flat but busy streets; crossing Cairo traffic is part of the experience and your guide does it with you.
Ramadan: daytime eating essentially stops and Cairo's evenings become extraordinary, with iftar tables set up in the street. We run an evening iftar version during Ramadan, which is the best time of year to eat here. Note that the hour before sunset is complete gridlock, so we walk rather than drive.
Water and hygiene: bottled water only. Ice is safe at established venues and we avoid it elsewhere. Every stop on this route cooks to order or turns stock over fast.
Cash: Egyptian pounds are essential for street stalls and ATMs are frequently empty. Your guide pays for everything on the tour.
Photography: avoid photographing government buildings, police and military installations. Your guide will tell you where it is fine.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Egypt is an easy country for vegetarians - koshary, ful and taameya are all meat-free.
About 2 km of walking on flat but busy streets; crossing Cairo traffic is part of the experience and your guide does it with you.
Detailed price list
| Guest type | Price |
|---|---|
| 大人 | $45 |
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