The tremendously popular (and noisy) Abou El Sid is a nostalgic ode to Egyptian comfort food and Cairo's prerevolutionary heyday. The original, best-loved branch (there are now four) has dining rooms in an Art Deco apartment building on Zamalek island decked out with marble tables, gilded Louis Farouk furniture, brass lamps, and Andy Warhol–esque portraits of Cairo icons such as Singer Om kulthoom. Shisha pipes await a post- or preprandial smoke of scented tobacco (the extensive shisha menu includes apple, mango, and pineapple). The cuisine is mainly Egyptian with a few Lebanese and Ottoman dishes. Try molokhiyya, Egypt's famous garlicky, viscous stew of greens and rabbit or chicken; lemony grilled quail; and the Circassian chicken in walnut sauce. Egyptian wine and beer and foreign alcohol are served here—a fact you'll appreciate during the long wait at the bar should you fail to make a reservation. Watch out for the house cocktail, fresh sugarcane juice with a shot of tequila: It packs a wallop. Open daily 1 pm to 2 am

Although it is known as a traditional Egyptian restaurant, it is often full of tourists and expats. The food is wonderful, especially the signature dishes like chicken in walnut sauce. the atmosphere is also very comfortable, especially in spring ( March/april) when one can still sit outside