The streets of Cairo tell stories spanning 5,000 years, where 16 million people move through ancient alleyways and modern boulevards. Between the honking taxis and street vendors' calls, a remarkable culinary story unfolds in the city's downtown district. This article delves into the history of Abou Tarek, an iconic Koshary restaurant in Cairo, exploring its rise to fame and its significance in Egyptian cuisine.
A delicious plate of Koshary, Egypt's national dish.
Koshary: Egypt's National Dish
Koshary, also spelled Koshari or Kushari, is known as the national dish of Egypt. It is a traditional Egyptian staple, mixing pasta, Egyptian fried rice, vermicelli and brown lentils, and topped with chickpeas, a garlicky tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and crispy fried onions. Koshary is to Egyptian cuisine as the pyramids are to its culture: emblematic, iconic, beloved. This dish is considered the "poor man’s food" in Egypt, costing about $1 USD for a hefty serving.
The best thing about Koshary is how universal of a dish it is. Although it’s extremely affordable, all kinds of people across Egypt eat it whether it’s school children, wealthy families, or grandmothers cooking for the family. It’s a unique, hearty, comfort food for most Egyptians. Koshary is vegetarian, delicious, and cheap. You can see why it’s the best option in times like these.
This national vegetarian dish consisting of a mix of pasta-tomato sauce-lentils-rice-onion and chickpeas, was created in the mid-19th century. The word "Koshari" is derived from the Hindu word "khichri," which designates a rice and lentil dish. This dish was cheap and filling, and it was brought to Egypt by the British when they arrived in the late 1800s.
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The Origins of Abou Tarek
Abou Tarek Koshary is located on the corner of Maarouf and Champollion streets in the heart of downtown Cairo’s hectic car mechanics district. Champollion Road captures the raw spirit of downtown Cairo. Office workers dash past colonial buildings, while students from nearby universities fill sidewalk cafes. The Egyptian Museum stands nearby, its presence a reminder of the neighborhood's historical significance.
In 1950, a food vendor named Youssef Zaki, now known as Abou Tarek, started serving koshari from his cart. His dedication to perfecting this one dish created a food empire. What started as a food cart in 1950 is now a bustling, four-story restaurant. The restaurant now spans four floors, with construction underway for a fifth level. This single-dish success story shows how excellence in simplicity wins hearts.
Abou Tarek Restaurant in Cairo.
The Rise to Fame
At night, the multistory building, fashioned mostly from concrete, is lit up with hundreds, if not thousands, of neon-colored lights. Making my way through the crowd of truck drivers, car mechanics, vegetable sellers, and loitering teenagers at the entrance, I find one of Abou Tarek’s youngest sons manning the cash register, surrounded by images of his father. He directs me up the stairs. On the second floor, I’m confronted with an older son, similarly surrounded by pictures of his famous father in all manner of crystalline and gilded frames.
This son directs me farther, up to the third floor, where the father himself, Youssef Zaki - otherwise known as Abou Tarek, a man of considerable girth - sits at the cash desk amid portraits of himself, along with various framed articles that have been written about him and his business over the years. He recalls his early days: "When I was thirteen, my father died. I had to leave school to support my mother and the rest of the family. Back then, most young people dreamed of leaving for the Gulf to make their fortunes, but for me, leaving wasn’t an option. That’s when I started selling koshary in a little cart. I would stand with my cart on this very corner, where the restaurant is today."
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He didn’t have a proper permit to run a business, at first, so he used to hide his cart from the police. It was harassment from the police that pushed him to start looking for a shop. There was an old man from Upper Egypt who had a small coffee shop here. There wasn’t much to distinguish it from any of the other cafes on Champollion Street, and by 1989 he started to think of retiring and returning home. Besides, the coffee shop was not doing so well. One day he started letting people know that he was thinking of selling his space. Of course, he didn’t have the money to buy the shop, but he knew that this was an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. He went to him one day and suggested giving him a small down payment and then paying off my debt through monthly installments. Surprisingly, he agreed, and suddenly he found himself inside rather than on the street.
It took him about three years to pay off the debt, but even then business was good and all his customers knew him. Having a space also meant he could serve koshary for most of the day, not only at lunchtime. Once he owned the place, he started to think about expanding. It was more of a dream than anything - but as you can see, a dream that came true.
Abou Tarek Today
The distinctive blue building commands attention at its downtown corner location. Each floor buzzes with energy and conversation. The space fills with an eclectic mix - local workers, curious travelers, and even government officials. Table sharing happens naturally here, creating unexpected connections. Old newspaper clippings and family photos add character to the walls.
Abou Tarek is “Malek El Koshary,” or the King of Koshary. Journalists from a French newspaper gave him this name. They once wrote an article about me, and the title of that article was “The King of Koshary.” From then on, everyone started to call him by that name. It stuck. He has a sign outside that says, “We have no other branches,” because in the past others have tried to use his name. He wants people to be sure that they are eating at the one and only Abou Tarek.
Today, Abou Tarek stands as a cornerstone of Cairo's food culture. The restaurant maintains its reputation through consistent quality and authentic flavors. Sometimes doing one thing perfectly beats doing many things well. He says: "We don’t just offer koshary - we provide what I like to think of as five-star surroundings. We’re like the Four Seasons of restaurants! We’re a mall of koshary, where people come for the food as well as for the atmosphere. Imagine - foreigners pay up to fifty Egyptian pounds for a plate of koshary in one of the big hotels, and yet they get better treatment and food for a fraction of that here."
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The facilities are clean, and they don’t allow smoking because there are many families coming and going. They offer koshary from three pounds a meal to ten pounds a meal, catering to everyone’s budget. People from all areas of the city come to eat here, including the upmarket areas of Zamalek and Mohandisseen. Local Egyptian companies also order lunch for their staff in the morning and send people to collect it throughout the day. In the summer, many families come downtown to walk around - especially at night - and again, they are especially busy then. Tourists are finding their way here, too. They have tour buses coming every day, bringing mostly Japanese and Emiratis. Even the ambassador to Germany comes and brings his wife and his friends. Some Egyptian actors, the late director Youssef Chahine, and the ministers of health and the environment are others who have come here.
Abou Tarek Koshary is not just a place where one man makes koshary and sells it. There are over twenty women from the neighborhood who work together making the food - everything from the macaroni to the secret sauce. Some of them were forced from their homes and sent out to the outskirts of the city to live in cheap government homes, yet they still come in every day to work with us.
Abou Tarek has earned global recognition, ranking among the top 1% of tourist establishments worldwide, according to TripAdvisor. In 2015, Abou Tarek made headlines by serving the largest Koshary dish ever prepared, setting a record in the Guinness World Records.
Key Highlights of Abou Tarek:
- Cairo's original koshari powerhouse serving Egypt's beloved national dish since 1950
- Four-story culinary landmark drawing both locals and food enthusiasts
- Named among TasteAtlas's top 100 most legendary restaurants globally
Quick Facts about Abou Tarek
| Fact | Description |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1950 |
| Founder | Youssef Zaki (Abou Tarek) |
| Location | Downtown Cairo, corner of Maarouf and Champollion streets |
| Known For | Serving Egypt's best Koshary |
| Guinness World Record | Largest Koshary dish in 2015 |
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