Cafeography
القاهرة

Cafés in Cairo from the ahwa to the roaster

Tea and shisha in the lanes of Khan el-Khalili, éclairs on Talaat Harb Square, V60 pour-overs on Zamalek's 26th of July Street and late tables on Maadi's Road 9.

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746Cafés listed
8Open by 6am
32Open past 10pm
14Specialty & roasters

Cairo drinks more tea than coffee, though the gap is closing. Egyptians got through about 85,000 tonnes of tea in 2025 and about 80,000 tonnes of coffee, and coffee was forecast to reach 90,000 tonnes by the end of 2026.1 The city proper had 9.8 million residents in 2023, and Greater Cairo more than 22 million.2

The city's cafés come in layers. Next to the ahwa (coffeehouse) and the European-style cafés of Downtown stood a third type that has almost vanished: the Brazilian coffee shop. Levantine traders who had settled in Brazil began shipping its coffee to Egypt, and by the 1910s these shops, a cross between the ahwa and the European café, were part of urban life in Cairo and Alexandria.3 Most were gone by the 1960s; in 2012 a few Brazilian coffee stores still stood in the Kodak buildings on Adly Street.3

The newest shift is generational. Per-capita coffee consumption in Egypt doubled between 2017 and 2021, and cafés have taken over from shisha spots as the social hubs of young Egyptians.4 Sunday has turned into a work-from-home day for many Cairenes, and cafés in Zamalek and Downtown fill with freelancers and students on laptops.5

From Wust el-Balad to Korba

Cairo by area

Downtown's grid goes back to the second half of the 19th century, when Khedive Ismail had a European-style quarter laid out with broad, gridded streets and open squares.13 Metro Line 3 now links the main café districts, from Heliopolis Square through Attaba and Zamalek's Safaa Hegazy station to Gamat El Dowal in Mohandessin.14

Zamalek

Gezira Island's coffee bars: Brazil Street, Bahgat Ali, Hassan Assem and 26th of July.

45 cafés

Islamic Cairo & Khan el-Khalili

El Fishawy's mirrored alley, Sikkat al-Badistan and the ahwa of al-Muizz Street.

21 cafés

Downtown (Wust el-Balad)

Talaat Harb Street, Groppi, Café Riche, Al Horreya and the rooftops of Sherif Basha Street.

68 cafés

Mohandessin & Dokki

Arab League Boulevard, Midan Amman, Ahmed Orabi Street and Dokki's 24-hour ahwa.

111 cafés

Maadi

Road 9's coffee shops, Degla's Streets 232 and 233 and terraces in leafy Sarayat.

112 cafés

Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida)

Korba's arcades, Groppi on Al-Ahram Street, L'Amphitrion and two specialty roasters.

110 cafés

Nasr City

Abbas el-Akkad Street, Makram Ebeid, City Stars and Wi-Fi cafés open until 02:00.

109 cafés
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Browse by mood and hour

Wi-Fi

From Maadi's Road 9 to Dokki's 24-hour ahwa and Downtown's art spaces.

24 cafés

Outdoor seating

Groppi's garden, Maadi's terraces and sidewalk ahwa in Garden City and Shubra.

25 cafés

Open late

Al Horreya until 03:00, Maadi and Heliopolis tables until 02:00, 24-hour ahwa in Dokki.

32 cafés
قهوة مختصة

Specialty coffee

Zamalek's single-origin bars, Heliopolis roasters and Zen Specialty Coffee in Degla.

14 cafés

Zamalek 45 cafés

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Garden City 10 cafés

Islamic Cairo & Khan el-Khalili 21 cafés

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Downtown (Wust el-Balad) 68 cafés

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Sayeda Zeinab 7 cafés

Manial & Old Cairo 16 cafés

Mohandessin & Dokki 111 cafés

More about cafés in Mohandessin & Dokki

Location Cafe

  • 13 شارع جامعه الدول العربيه
  • Open 24 hours
  • 01211187777
  • Wi-Fi
  • Takeaway
  • Air-con
  • 24 hours
  • Open by 6am
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قهوة المعلم احمد يونس

  • 3 ميدان فواد محى الدين
  • Open 24 hours
  • Wi-Fi
  • Vegetarian options
  • Bakery café
  • 24 hours
  • Open by 6am
  • Brunch
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Giza 28 cafés

Caffeine Queen

  • 23 شارع استوديو الاهرام من خاتم المرسلين عمرانيه غربية
  • +201156462240
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Maadi 112 cafés

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Mokattam 29 cafés

Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida) 110 cafés

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Nasr City 109 cafés

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Shubra 30 cafés

Abbasiya & Hadayek el-Kobba 32 cafés

Imbaba & Kit Kat 18 cafés

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Coffee chains in Cairo

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Before you sit down

How coffee works in Cairo

Order the sweetness with the coffee. Most Egyptians take Turkish-style coffee sada (no sugar) or mazbout, also said mazbouta (with a moderate amount of sugar), brewed in a kanaka, a small pot, or in a ramla, a tray of hot sand.1 The same columnist sums up the daily rhythm: coffee is the morning drink, and tea belongs to sunset and late at night.1

Coffee for home comes from a mahal bon (bean shop), which sells it freshly ground. Orouba started that way in 1945, with a shop in Dokki selling freshly ground coffee, and now roasts light, medium, dark and espresso blends.6 In April 2026 a kilo of plain ground coffee cost about E£680, and a kilo of mohawag, coffee ground with spices, about E£935.7

Check the bill before you tip. Many restaurants add a service charge of around 12%, and VAT is 14%.8 The service charge does not always reach the waiter, so E£5–10 is a usual tip at a casual café, more if you have held a table for hours.9

Opening hours follow national rules. Since 26 April 2026 restaurants and cafés may open from 05:00 to 01:00, and delivery and takeaway run around the clock; the decision ended the early closing that had been in force since 28 March.10

What coffee costs in Cairo

DrinkTypical price
Cappuccino
Regular cappuccino at a café		E£35–150
Cairo cafés, October 2026 (average E£93.86)
Water
Small bottle, 0.33 L		E£6–14
Cairo cafés and restaurants, October 2026
Shai
A glass of tea at an ahwa		about E£5
Ahwa price after the December 2022 rise
Ahwa
Turkish-style coffee at an ahwa		about E£8
Ahwa price after the December 2022 rise
Bon sada
Plain ground coffee, per kilo		about E£680
Bean shops, April 2026

Café prices are Numbeo's figures for Cairo, updated 24 October 2026.11 The ahwa prices come from December 2022, when trade sources reported that tea had risen from E£3 to about E£5 a cup and coffee from E£5 to about E£8.12 The kilo price was reported in April 2026.7

Sources

  1. حمدي رزق يكتب: مزاج المصريين.. قهوة سادة!, Akhbar El-Yom (Hamdy Rizk, January 23, 2026), accessed October 2026
  2. Cairo, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Cairo's forgotten Brazilian coffee shops, Cairobserver (October 26, 2012; Internet Archive copy), accessed October 2026
  4. For Egypt's specialty coffee roasters, lower input costs mean stability, not price cuts, Enterprise (April 14, 2026), accessed October 2026
  5. Remote Work Cafés in Cairo: Zamalek & Downtown Edition for Your Next Work From Home Day, Cairo 360 (Nouran Awny, May 10, 2026), accessed October 2026
  6. About Orouba Coffee, Orouba Coffee, accessed October 2026
  7. قفزة 72% في أسعار البن عالميًا.. والقهوة في مصر تواصل الارتفاع, Banker News (April 27, 2026), accessed October 2026
  8. Restaurant Taxes in Egypt, Menuviel, accessed October 2026
  9. Tipping in Egypt: What to Expect, When to Tip & How Much to Give, Egypt Tours Plus, accessed October 2026
  10. Egypt Restores Normal Business Hours After Ending Early Closing Rule, Egyptian Streets (Farah Abbas, April 27, 2026), accessed October 2026
  11. Cost of Living in Cairo, Numbeo (updated October 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  12. المقاهي ترفع أسعار الطلبات بعد زيادة الشاي والقهوة, Al-Tareeq (December 2, 2022), accessed October 2026
  13. Talaat Harb Street, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  14. Cairo Metro Line 3, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ

Cafés in Cairo: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in Cairo?

A regular cappuccino in a Cairo café cost E£35–150 in October 2026, about E£94 on average, and a small bottle of water E£6–14. At an ahwa, tea cost about E£5 a glass and coffee about E£8 after a December 2022 rise. A kilo of plain ground coffee from a bean shop cost about E£680 in April 2026.

Which neighborhood of Cairo has the most cafés?

Maadi and Mohandessin & Dokki have the most cafés, followed by Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida). Maadi's cafés line Road 9 and Streets 232 and 233 in Degla; Mohandessin's gather around Midan Amman and Ahmed Orabi Street; Heliopolis's run along Omar Ibn El-Khattab and El-Hegaz streets as well as Korba.

What do sada and mazbout mean when ordering coffee in Cairo?

Sada is coffee with no sugar, and mazbout, or mazbouta, has a moderate amount of sugar; most Egyptians take one of the two. Turkish-style coffee is brewed in a kanaka, a small pot, or in hot sand. In Cairo coffee is the morning drink, while tea is for sunset and late at night.

Do you tip in Cairo cafés?

Yes. Check the bill first: many restaurants in Cairo add a service charge of around 12%, and VAT is 14%. The service charge does not always reach the waiter, so E£5–10 is a usual tip at a casual café, and more if you have kept a table for hours.

How late are cafés open in Cairo?

Since 26 April 2026, restaurants and cafés in Cairo may open from 05:00 to 01:00, while delivery and takeaway run 24 hours. The decision ended the early closing that had applied since 28 March 2026.

For café owners

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