"The Giza pyramids in the window and the Middle East's No.1 kitchen on the plate — book months ahead to impress a client."
The Great Pyramid fills the window, floodlit gold after dark, and the kitchen on the terrace below it is the first Egyptian restaurant ever ranked No.1 in the Middle East and North Africa. Khufu's opened in 2022 inside the Giza plateau, the project of restaurateur Giovanni Bolandrini of the Pier 88 group, built to argue that Egyptian cooking belongs beside the region's grandest tables. By the 2026 awards the argument was settled.
Executive chef Mostafa Seif, who won Top Chef Arabia in 2017, cooks the food he grew up with and then sharpens it. His koshari — Egypt's street-corner staple of rice, lentils and pasta — comes plated with quail eggs, crisp chickpeas and fried onions, a version no other kitchen in Cairo would serve at this register. The pharaonic duck is the headline: dukkah-crusted, set on freekeh with orange and apricot pure and a duck jus, it is the dish people fly in for. The mu'ammar rice baked with smoked beef is the other course regulars order without reading the menu.
A set lunch starts at EGP 1,950++ per person, and the larder leans Egyptian rather than imported. See where it sits among the best fine-dining restaurants worldwide, browse the full Cairo dining guide, or read our ten best restaurants in Cairo.
The space splits in two: an indoor room in muted stone and a long terrace pointed straight at the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. After sunset the monuments are floodlit and that terrace is the only dinner seat on earth with this view. Sound is warm and busy rather than hushed, the lighting low and candle-led, the tables generously spaced. Dress is smart, and most guests have booked weeks out for a sunset slot. Reserve the terrace, not the inside room.
Book Khufu's to impress a client because the setting does work no boardroom can: a terrace facing the floodlit Great Pyramid, food that tells a national story, and a No.1 regional ranking your guest will recognise. Brief the team for a sunset table, order the pharaonic duck and the reinvented koshari to share, and let chef Mostafa Seif's flight carry the conversation. It signals taste and ambition at once, and almost no table on earth photographs like it.
Not for a quiet, low-key dinner — the draw is the floodlit pyramids and a buzzing terrace, so book elsewhere if you want intimacy and silence.
Is Khufu's worth it?
Yes, if you want a meal with a view and a point of view. Khufu's pairs an unobstructed look at the Great Pyramid with chef Mostafa Seif's modern Egyptian cooking, and in 2026 it became the first Egyptian restaurant named No.1 in the Middle East and North Africa. The food earns the setting rather than coasting on it. Book a sunset terrace table, order the pharaonic duck, and treat it as the centrepiece of a Cairo trip.
How hard is it to book Khufu's?
Book well ahead, especially for the sunset seating that faces the pyramids. Reservations run through the Khufu's website, and the prime terrace tables for weekend evenings go weeks in advance. Weekday lunches and the indoor room are easier on shorter notice. If you want the floodlit-monument view over dinner, request the terrace explicitly and aim for the slot just before dusk.
What should I order at Khufu's?
Start with the reinvented koshari, garnished with quail eggs and crisp chickpeas, then build to the signature pharaonic duck with freekeh and apricot pure. The mu'ammar rice baked with smoked beef is the other dish regulars never skip. The set lunch from EGP 1,950++ is the simplest first visit; for dinner, let the kitchen send a spread of mezze before the mains so the table can graze.
Is Khufu's good for impressing clients?
Yes, it is one of the most memorable client tables in the region. The floodlit Great Pyramid view, the No.1 MENA 50 Best ranking and chef Seif's narrative menu give you a setting and a story in a single booking. For more options around the city, see our guide to the ten best restaurants in Cairo.
Brought two investors for a sunset table on the terrace. The pyramid was floodlit by the time the duck arrived and the table went quiet. The koshari with quail eggs drew more questions than the deal did. Book the terrace weeks out.
Did my husband's birthday on the indoor side and slightly regretted not pushing for the terrace. The food held up regardless; the mu'ammar rice was the surprise of the night. Service unhurried and proud of the menu.
Reserve through the Khufu's website. Request the pyramid-facing terrace for the sunset seating; weekend evenings book weeks ahead.
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