Cafeography
Cairo · Downtown (Wust el-Balad)

Cafés in Downtown (Wust el-Balad)

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

Photo: Muhammed Fatih Beki, Pexels License

Wust el-Balad (downtown) is the quarter Khedive Ismail had built in the second half of the 19th century, with broad gridded streets, squares and European-style buildings.1 Its spine is Talaat Harb Street, a mile-long run from Tahrir Square to Talaat Harb Square, called Soliman Pasha Street until it was renamed in 1954 for the economist Talaat Harb.1

The old cafés sit within a few blocks of each other: Groppi on the square, Café Riche and Café Al Bustan off Talaat Harb, Al Horreya in Bab el-Louq and the café named for Umm Kulthum near Tawfiqia Square. Newer places fill art spaces, upper floors and rooftops on Sherif Basha, Merit Basha and Adly streets.

Local tip: For éclairs at a garden table, go to Groppi Garden on Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street, Groppi's first Cairo branch, opened in 1909.2

At a glance

68Cafés listed
6With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
03:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: الحرية, from 06:00 (Daily 06:00–03:00).
  • Most listed streets: Bank Masr (2), شارع هدي شعراوي (2), حارة وسط البلد (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (7%), open late (6%), wi-fi (4%).

Nitocrisse Restaurant and Cafe

  • 10 26 July St, الفوالة، عابدين، محافظة القاهرةu202c، downtown
  • +201096769726
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Coffee chains in Downtown (Wust el-Balad)

Groppi on Talaat Harb Square and Abdel Khalek Tharwat

Giacomo Groppi, a Swiss chocolatier, founded the business in Alexandria in 1890, opened in Cairo on Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street in 1909 and on Talaat Harb Square in 1924.2 His heirs sold it in 1981 to an Egyptian company. The square branch closed for renovation in 2017 and reopened in 2018, still selling éclairs, Chantilly cream and Swiss chocolates alongside coffee and tea.2

Both Groppi branches open daily from 07:00 to 01:00 and have outdoor tables; the Tharwat branch goes by Groppi Garden. On Talaat Harb Street itself, Up Town faces the Miami cinema at No. 33, and Shahrazad is at No. 30.

Café Riche and the Bustan passage

Café Riche opened in 1908 and took its name in 1914, when the Frenchman Henry Recine bought it; under its next owner, the Greek Michael Nicoapolits, it staged performers including Umm Kulthum.3 Naguib Mahfouz was a regular, and the owner closed on Fridays so the writer could hold his meetings there.3

Riche backs onto al-Bustan al-Sa'idi passage, a side street created in 1925 between Talaat Harb and al-Bustan streets. By the 1970s Riche and the local ahwa Zahrat al-Bustan had pushed their tables into its parking spaces, and in the 1980s Riche enclosed its sidewalk extension as a covered hall.4 Café Al Bustan is on the same block, at 5 Huda Shaarawi Street.

Bab el-Louq and the Tawfiqia side

Al Horreya, whose name means freedom, stands on a small square in Bab el-Louq near Tahrir and has drawn writers, poets and artists since it flourished in the 1930s.5 It is a bar as well as a coffeehouse, pouring mostly the local Stella beer, and it stops serving alcohol on Islamic holidays; when it reopened after a renovation in 2010, chess was banned.6 It opens daily from 06:00 to 03:00.

Near Tawfiqia Square, Haj Abdel-Aziz opened Café Tawfiq in 1936. When Umm Kulthum stopped in for coffee in 1948 after a rehearsal nearby, he asked to name the place after her, and she agreed.7 In 2012 it had four floors, her photographs on every wall and her songs on the speakers.7 Omkalsoum Cafe stands at 2 Saraya al-Azbakiya Street in the same block.

Rooftops, art spaces and laptop tables

In May 2026 Cairo 360 pointed remote workers to Kemet Rooftop Café for its open setting, The Jungle Café for a central spot with room to work, and Sip for lighter tasks.8 Kemet is at 30 Sherif Basha Street and The Jungle at 7 Emad El-Deen Street.

Crafted Home, at 26 Adly Street, has Wi-Fi and opens 10:00 to 22:00. Art Space at 7 Shawarbi Street and Studio Café at 22 Youssef al-Guindi Street also have Wi-Fi. Kunst Gallery and Cafe shares 28 Sherif Basha Street with Kapri, Klakit Art Space is at 15 Merit Basha, and Eugénie Cafe bakes at 19 Merit Basha.

Sources

  1. Talaat Harb Street, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Groppi: Cairo's Cultural and Cinematic Icon, Egyptian Streets (Farah Abbas, September 13, 2025), accessed October 2026
  3. Café Riche, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. B12. Al-Bustan al-Sa'idi Passageway, CLUSTER, Cairo Urban Initiatives Platform, accessed October 2026
  5. 5 Historic Cafés to Visit in Cairo, History Hit, accessed October 2026
  6. The changing face of Horreya, Egypt Independent (Benjamin Conant, July 3, 2010), accessed October 2026
  7. In Cairo's Café Umm Kalthoum, Ahram Online (Al-Sayyed Hossein, July 3, 2012), accessed October 2026
  8. 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
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In Downtown (Wust el-Balad), also browse: Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Open late

FAQ

Downtown (Wust el-Balad) cafés: questions

When did Groppi open in downtown Cairo?

Groppi opened in downtown Cairo on Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street in 1909 and on Talaat Harb Square in 1924; the Swiss chocolatier Giacomo Groppi had founded the business in Alexandria in 1890. The square branch reopened in 2018 after renovation. Both Cairo branches open daily 07:00–01:00 and have outdoor tables.

Where is the Umm Kulthum café in downtown Cairo?

The café named for Umm Kulthum is near Tawfiqia Square in downtown Cairo, at 2 Saraya al-Azbakiya Street. Haj Abdel-Aziz opened it as Café Tawfiq in 1936 and renamed it after the singer stopped by for coffee in 1948. In 2012 it had four floors hung with her photographs.

What is Al Horreya café in downtown Cairo known for?

Al Horreya, on a small square in Bab el-Louq near Tahrir, is a downtown Cairo coffeehouse and bar that has drawn writers, poets and artists since the 1930s. It pours mostly Stella beer, stops serving alcohol on Islamic holidays and banned chess in 2010. It opens daily 06:00–03:00.

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