Cafeography
Cairo · Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida)

Cafés in Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida)

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

Photo: Yossra Fakhr ElDeen Farouq, Pexels License

Heliopolis began in 1905 as a joint venture of Édouard Empain and Boghos Nubar, planned as a luxury desert oasis and redrawn as a garden city after Empain's money troubles of 1907.1 The architect Ernest Jaspar gave it its own Heliopolis style, and the suburb, long since absorbed by Cairo, is now split between the Masr El-Gedida and El-Nozha districts.1

Cafés run along two kinds of street here: the arcaded blocks of Korba, where lattice screens sit beside Art Deco facades, and the long avenues of Omar Ibn El-Khattab and El-Hegaz streets.2 Two specialty roasters, Dancing Bean and ORIGINS, run their own shops in the district.

Local tip: Dancing Bean's shop on Ibrahim Salem Street closes at 16:00 and on Fridays, so go in the morning for beans roasted to order.4

At a glance

110Cafés listed
3With opening hours
09:00Earliest opening
02:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Quadro Cafe, from 09:00 (Daily 09:00–02:00).
  • Most listed streets: شارع عمر بن الخطاب (3), El-Sayed El-Merghany (2), شارع الماظة (2).
  • Most common features: specialty (2%), open late (2%), takeaway (1%).

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Coffee chains in Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida)

Korba: Baghdad and Al-Ahram streets

Korba was the first part of Heliopolis to be built. When the suburb turned 100 in 2005 several of its buildings were renovated, and Baghdad Street became the venue of an annual street fair each May.3 Groppi's Heliopolis branch is at 21 Al-Ahram Street; in 2009 Monocle found it faded, far from its days as one of the eastern Mediterranean's most famous cafés.2

On Baghdad Street, Bouchée at No. 22 is smoke-free and takes cards, and Ninetwonine is at No. 7. The ahwa Qahwet al-Korba (قهوة الكوربة) is at 15 al-Somal Street, near Talla cafe at No. 6. When Monocle walked Baghdad Street in 2009, the florist Le Paradis des Fleurs at No. 20 had been trading since 1938.2

L'Amphitrion and the old suburb

L'Amphitrion, at 18 Ibrahim El-Laqany Street, started as a beer garden and was a haunt of Allied soldiers in the Second World War.2 Empain is buried beneath the Byzantine-style basilica on Al-Ahram Street, and about three-quarters of Heliopolis's pre-war buildings were still standing in 2009.2

His own house, the Baron Empain Palace, was modeled on Hindu temples such as Angkor Wat. The presidential palace was built as the Heliopolis Palace Hotel.1

Two specialty roasters

Dancing Bean, at 44 Ibrahim Salem Street in Al Golf, roasts specialty coffee to order. The brand began in Australia, launched in Egypt in 2012 and calls itself the country's first specialty roaster; besides its own shop it trains baristas and roasts for other cafés.4 The shop opens Saturday to Thursday, 10:00 to 16:00.4

ORIGINS Coffee Roastery is at 12 Gamal Nouh Street.

Omar Ibn El-Khattab, El-Hegaz and the metro

Omar Ibn El-Khattab Street has Aroma Lounge at No. 112, Carlos Cafe at No. 102, Bab Tooma at No. 95 and Il Pennello Ceramic Café at No. 2. On El-Hegaz Street, Regency Café is at No. 63 and Sorriso at No. 173. El-Merghany Street has Jazz Cafe at No. 149 and Salsa cafe at No. 95, and Kava Eatery is at 72 El Horreya Street. Quadro Cafe, at 77 Abd El-Aziz Fahmy Street, and The Location, at 20 Asmaa Zaghloul Street, both open 09:00 to 02:00.

Metro Line 3 reached Al-Ahram station in 2014 and Heliopolis Square in 2019.5 The suburb's tram network was closed and removed around 2015.1

Sources

  1. Heliopolis, Cairo, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. El Korba, Heliopolis, Monocle (Jack Shenker, Issue 21, April 2009), accessed October 2026
  3. Cairo Guide: Life in Korba, Cairo 360 (Aleksandra Sekinger, July 12, 2010), accessed October 2026
  4. Dancing Bean Espresso Specialty Coffee Roasters, Dancing Bean (official site), accessed October 2026
  5. Cairo Metro Line 3, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida), also browse: Open late Specialty coffee

FAQ

Heliopolis (Masr El Gedida) cafés: questions

Where is Groppi in Heliopolis, Cairo?

Groppi's Heliopolis branch is at 21 Al-Ahram Street in Korba, the first part of Heliopolis to be built. Nearby, L'Amphitrion at 18 Ibrahim El-Laqany Street started as a beer garden and was a haunt of Allied soldiers in the Second World War.

Which metro stations serve Heliopolis in Cairo?

Cairo Metro Line 3 serves Heliopolis at Al-Ahram station, opened in 2014, and Heliopolis Square station, opened in 2019. The suburb's old tram network was closed and removed around 2015.

Where can you buy specialty coffee beans in Heliopolis, Cairo?

Dancing Bean, at 44 Ibrahim Salem Street in Al Golf, roasts specialty coffee to order; it launched in Egypt in 2012 and its shop opens Saturday to Thursday, 10:00–16:00. ORIGINS Coffee Roastery is at 12 Gamal Nouh Street.

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