Best Eats in Dahab - Breakfast

10 Best Eats in Dahab – for Breakfast

Dahab is full of restaurants, and finding a decent breakfast place seems to be even more challenging. I love a good English breakfast, but the options seem to all include a ratatouille type mush of vegetables which I find oily and uninspiring. So what are the options for the best eats in Dahab for breakfast?

Your choices include the Egyptian breakfast, English breakfast, American breakfast with pancakes or French toast, and some other varieties.

So what is a typical Egyptian breakfast?

The basis is foul - pronounced fool - which is a dip of fava beans roughly mashed, loaded with garlic and other spices. If you are a westerner like me who shies off beans because they’re usually a boring ‘health’ option, let go of your reservations. This part of the world is gourmet with beans, chick peas, and lentils. You are in for a great range of foods to explore.

So besides foul for breakfast, what else are options in an Egyptian breakfast?

Foul - fava bean dip or filling for a sandwich (pocket bread)

Falafels - split peas mixed with herbs into a small ball and deepfried

Aubergines or eggplants - fried with spices

Cheese - typical of the region, a soft white cheese

Eggs - generally hard boiled, but could also be a scramble or an omelette

Pickles - mostly carrots, radish and chillies

Salad - typically lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers, in beautiful fresh colours, or sliced cabbage

bread - the lovely pocket bread of Egypt

Here is my list of the best eats in Dahab that have been recommended to me and I have tried. Can I say you would be a fool not to try foul and an Egyptian breakfast…

NB: As a rule, I post a blog when it is finished. But people are already asking me for recommendations, so I’m posting it up with continued updates until I have the list complete.

The Cairo Pharoah, theatre actor breakfasting in Dahab

My 10 Best Eats Dahab - Breakfast

1 The German Bakery – So far I’ve only tried a few, but I’m ready to put this right at the top of my list without question. You find it by taking the intersection past the taxis to El Fanar St. The German Bakery is on your left just past them. It has an amazing looking range of pastries for the continental breakfasters. There are a variety of sandwiches – I had an egg and bacon one which totally satisfied, with some chips and a small salad of peppers and lettuce. But I was already won over by the size of the cappuccino!

Ralph’s German Bakery

Egg and bacon sandwich with a great cappuccino of decent size. I ate the chips before I remembered to take the photo.

 2 Athanor – This has often been recommended, and today I found out why. With a great range of breakfast options, not only good food, but good prices. There were a variety of egg breakfasts, as well as some without. From the Lighthouse intersection, head along the street which runs past Red Cat and the Chinese Kitchen and behind all the beach cafes. It is just past Red Cat on the other side of the street.

Athanor egg and bacon breakfast for 110 Egp at this point, about $1. Without the bacon, their egg breakfast is just 55 egp.

3 Fresh Fish – This one has a superb Egyptian breakfast. With brilliant green falafels from the herbs in them, humus, amazing Egyptian bread with black sesame seeds, a small salad with a splash of the fresh red tomatoes, and some scrambled egg with its lovely yellow contrast, the meal is a feast for the eyes, and even better with the eating. Take a dip in the crystal clear sea, dry off over an excellent breakfast. There are worse ways of starting your day. Fresh Fish is run by Jimmy. As with many of the places along the water, this one is attached to a dive school. It is just past Nirvana on the beach side, just before Red Sea Relax Resort.

The excellent Egyptian breakfast at Fresh Fish

4 Nirvana – A place I love to hang for any number of reasons. Their food is one of them. You can have a breakfast with a difference. They have Indian food, and it’s good food. Everything from an Indian breakfast through to a great range of Indian dishes, with bread or rice. I also really enjoy their Indian spiced chai. It is right on the water, just 2 shops along from the intersection.

5 Abu Ahmed – This is your classic Egyptian eatery, this time with the prices to match. It has your typical breakfast and snacks – foul (said fool, a course fava bean dip), eggs, salad, falafels – your choice of foods in a pocket. Not just a breakfast place, but open all day, also with a range of dips. This one is up El Fanar St. Go to your left – it is on your right just before the taxis.

Omelette, foul, tahina, falafels, salad and chips - the Egyptian breakfast of champions

2 champions from Cairo, bread as spoons you can eat

 6 Tim’s munch – a recommendation, especially for a very elaborate and huge spread on its two specialities – the Egyptian breakfast, and the American breakfast. They are highly recommended, though be warned. They are huge breakfasts – you are doing well to finish them. But they will keep you going for the day. Other options include pancakes, French toast, and shakshuka. From the intersection head back towards the bridge along the beach road. It is just before the Shark Restaurant, on your right and upstairs above the dive shop. It has a nice terrace view looking over the sea.

Shakshuka at Tim’s Munch

7 Bayside – sought after by homesick Americans, this has a great range of familiar foods – pancakes, muesli and yoghurt bowls, Egyptian breakfasts. This one is just past Nirvana on your right, easy name and label.

8 Mahalawy – This is a great juice shop. I regularly get one of their juice cups – a mix of mango, yoghurt and strawberry, filled with pieces of fruit. They also have some very basic breakfasts of hard boiled eggs etc.

The Mahalawy fruit juice shop with an invitation that can’t be ignored

Three I haven’t yet tried but which get regularly recommended are:

Breakfast cafe

Every Day Café, and Flat White - just across the bridge on your left next to each other

Planet Divers - just past Fresh Fish, with a menu which looks very good.

Best Eats in Dahab - Restaurants

10 best eats in Dahab – Restaurants

Dahab is so full of restaurants, where to find the best eats in Dahab becomes daunting. The street along the beach – the Lighthouse area – is all restaurants and cafes, breakfast, lunch... How to choose one?

It is usually a reliable strategy to choose the busiest. That, of course, assumes that all the customers have worked out which are the best eats in Dahab. However, there is not much difference between most of the restaurants along the water. They very quickly become a blur of sameness.

There are of course, lists such as with Tripadvisor. But I found all the lists had the same restaurants. I like to look at a few different sites, then pull out the names which are repeated, a consensus of places which are thought the best by different people.

The OzzyHopper list of best eats in Dahab is designed to contrast with the other lists. There are too many to try them all, and there are so many good ones. I also love food, and I have maybe been spoilt. Some of the recommended ones I haven’t found amazing.

So these are the ones I’ve come across, the ones which have been recommended to me, and the ones that call me back.

NB: As a rule I post a blog when it is finished. But I’m finding people already asking me for recommendations, so I’m posting it up with continued updates until I have the list complete.

My 10 Best Eats in Dahab – Restaurants

1 Red Sea Relax – Actually, Churchill’s, but it’s through the front gate of Red Sea Relax Resort, and above Red Sea Relax Resort dive shop. Red Sea Relax Resort makes it easy to find. It’s close to the intersecting street, on your right on the way towards the bridge. A bar with open terrace drinking. A good place for the evening.

 2 Lemongrass – This is an amazing little Thai restaurant which is very popular. I apologise here - I love Asian food. But this one is seriously delicious. The owners and chefs are 3 brothers. They have made an agreement that each of them gets 3 months of the year for a working holiday, which means exploring food in SE Asia and learning new recipes from the original chefs. Whatever their secret, I have no arguments. Their food is excellent. They also have vegetarian and vegan options. You find them just past Athanor, just a little further up the same street on your right.

Basil Shrimps

3 Nirvana – a place I love to hang for any number of reasons. Their food is one of them. They have Indian food, and it’s good food. Everything from an Indian breakfast through to a great range of Indian dishes, with bread or rice. I also really enjoy their Indian spiced chai. It is right on the water, just 2 shops along from the intersection.

Nirvana

I think it is only fair at this point to add the restaurant Namaste. I haven’t yet tried it, but I find the opinion divided - either swearing by Nirvana, or swearing by Namaste. This suggests to me that both are good and worth the try. To find Namaste, turn into El Fanar St, but go left past the taxis. It isn’t far, on your right, just past the Mexican.

4 Fresh Fish – run by Jimmy. As with many of the places along the water, this one is attached to a dive school. Like Nirvana, easy access to the water, chill while drying off. They have a pretty decent club sandwich, an excellent Mexican salad, and I love their sahban. It is just past Nirvana on the beach side, just before Red Sea Relax Resort.

Above: Mexican salad

Left: Mix salad with white babaganoush, humus, tahina and soft Egyptian bread

Below: Club sandwich and pasta

5 Athanor – This one is in the Lighthouse area. Go up the street which runs off the beach road, past the Chinese Kitchen and Red Cat Russian. There are quite a few restaurants and eat places in this area, and they’re a little cheaper than along the water. Athanor would be one of the better ones, with great pasta and burgers. I have had some excellent breakfasts, and can recommend the pasta and pizza.

6 Darwish Seafood – For amazing seafood, there is also Darwish Seafood. It is a good walk, or a taxi ride past Asalah (Arse-a-la), but well worth the trek. With a backdrop of a mosque at the edge of town and below the desert hills, it has seating on the street, and great food. You go and choose your fish and how you want it cooked.

Darwish Seafood

Darwish has been so successful that their prices have gone up significantly. I have been told there is another excellent seafood restaurant - some think even better - called Miami. It is on the same street just before you get to Darwish, on the right next to a Sina market and opposite a gmart.

7 Seaweed – This is also up the street off the beach street – El Fanar St. At the split in the road, go to your left. It backs onto Fanar, where the taxis are. It’s a little Japanese one. I’ve found the sushi quite ok, and I’ve been told the noodles are also good.

8 Eel Garden – Walk along the beach road away from the bridge and past El Fanar St, maybe 10 minutes. If you’ve been diving, you will already know about it. A bit past Mirage, it has 2 parts – an Italian pasta part, and Eel Garden View. I’ve been told the pasta is good at the first part, also called Happy Hour, and had the pizza highly recommended by a Sardinian Italian. I had some pasta at the View part, the second half, as well as some grilled chicken in lemon, and found it quite decent.  

9 Mexican – on the way to Namaste on El Fanar St. This little spot was very cosy, and the food was good.  Especially loved the enchiladas. But be ready for slow service.

10 King Chicken – For a classic Egyptian meal, this one is hard to beat. Head across the bridge, take the fork in front of the big supermarket and you will find it along there, on your right, before you hit the tarred road. BBQ chicken, the Egyptian style rice, beans, maqlouba (the green herb sauce that is uniquely local in these areas), potatoes in tomato, great humus, salad, soups, Egyptian bread… King Chicken is a nearby cheapie that your stomach will love!

 10 Red Dragon Kitchen -

Some other places I have been recommended which I am looking forward to try include:

El Primo – I am reliably told that it is owned by 2 brothers, the food is good, but if the younger one is cooking it’s excellent. The chicken fettucine and pastas, and slow cooked BBQ were recommended. It’s just across from Nirnava and Fresh Fish.

Red Cat – Russian, in Lighthouse across from Athanor.

Ali baba – along the beach road towards the bridge, next to Green Valley

Namaste – another Indian restaurant. Views seem to be divided between the Namaste fans and the Nirvana fans. That just tells me I need to try it.

There is also a Lebanese restaurant at Mirage which I need to try

Others mentioned, but not yet tried:

Blue house

Shark

Isfahan tajines

Pescatori Italian

Coral coast burgers

All input welcomed. Do you have a favourite which I haven’t mentioned?