Mohamed Ahmed

Shakour Street runs off Saad Zaghloul Street, and the shop is beside Alex Bank, near the Metropole Hotel. It is an easy walk from most central hotels, and the city's old yellow trams stop at Raml.

Fodor's calls it the best place in Alexandria for falafel and ful. Ful medames, stewed fava beans, comes in several styles, and the ta'ameya is the crisp Alexandrian falafel made with fava beans. A full spread adds eggs, tahini, roasted aubergine with tomatoes and tahini, baba ghanoush, chopped salad, pickled vegetables and fresh bread. It remains one of the cheapest sit-down meals in central Alexandria.

A narrow doorway opens onto a simple, clean and bright room. Service is fast. The downstairs seating is the more comfortable choice, since the upstairs room can feel stuffy on hot days. Takeaway is available.

The shop keeps long hours, and one guide says it is open around the clock. It closed suddenly in January 2015 and a reopening was announced shortly afterwards, so check current hours locally before planning around it.

Breakfast is when locals eat here. Afterwards the Corniche and the Eastern Harbour are a few minutes away on foot.

The founder, Mohamed Ahmed El-Sammak, died in 2021, and the shop carried on under the family. Its reputation reaches beyond Alexandria: Queen Sofia of Spain is among the guests who have eaten ful and falafel here.

Sources: Cairoscene, Queen Sofia at Mohamed Ahmed. Facts checked November 2026.