Alexandria eats Mediterranean, not Nile: sardines and sea bass straight off the Anfoushi trawlers, sayadeya rice, calf liver fried hard with cumin on the street, and Greek-Italian cafés unchanged since the 1920s. Three days from the fish souk to the sailors' bars.
Alexandria's ful and taameya institution since 1957, on a lane off Saad Zaghloul St. Order ful bel zeit, falafel fried green with parsley, fried aubergine and tahina. Open roughly 06:00–01:00, cash only, no alcohol.
The Bahari wholesale fish souk beside the Eastern Harbour, busiest 06:00–10:00 when the trawlers unload. Bouri, denis, sole, sardines, blue crab and prawns sold by the kilo on crushed ice, with grill kitchens next door.
A pavement seafood grill deep in Bahari that runs past midnight on plastic tables. Choose fish and shrimp by weight at the ice counter; it comes back grilled or fried with tahina, baba ghanoush, salads, rice and hot baladi bread.
A patisserie opened in 1922 by a Greek family, its mirrors, marble and wooden vitrines intact. Gateaux, mille-feuille, petits fours and thick Turkish coffee downstairs; the upstairs terrace looks over the square and the tram lines.
A 1929 coffee house on Saad Zaghloul St where beans are still roasted and ground behind the counter, filling the block with smoke. Stand at the marble bar for Turkish coffee or espresso with basbousa; doors open around 07:00.
Bahari's benchmark seafood house since the 1970s, with no menu at all: trays of sea bass, mullet, sole, calamari and prawns priced by the kilo, cooked to order and served with sayadeya rice, tahina, aubergine and warm bread.
A cavernous grill hall serving kofta, kebab, hawawshi and grilled liver sold by weight, preceded by lentil soup and a table of salads and pickles. Family-heavy, loud and busiest after 20:00, with a shisha terrace running late.
The café-brasserie where Cavafy's circle drank, its 1905 painted ceilings and stained glass restored above the tram terminus. Coffee, om ali and crème caramel through the afternoon, a fuller kitchen once the harbour lights come on.
A village of painted boats on a canal west of the port, nicknamed Alexandria's Venice. Quayside kitchens run by fishing families serve sayadeya, fried sardines, grey mullet and shrimp tagines cooked in the morning's catch.
Kebda eskandarani is the city's signature street dish: calf liver fried hard on a flat iron with cumin, chilli, garlic and lemon, then stuffed into baladi bread. Eaten standing with pickles; sogo' sausage sandwiches share the griddle.
An art nouveau bar of dark wood, brass and long mirrors left from its life as a Belle Époque wine shop. Cold Stella, ouzo and plates of grilled shrimp, calamari or sausage arrive without a menu; cash only, open until late.
A sailors' bar off Saad Zaghloul St, its walls layered with ships' patches, banknotes, flags and crew photographs left since the 1930s. Stella and Sakara Gold, peanuts, no food to speak of, and a jukebox stuck in another decade.