Best Food Experiences to Have in Sharm El Sheikh

Most Sharm El Sheikh itineraries are built around diving, beach time, and the Naama Bay promenade. Food is usually an afterthought. That's a mistake — the food experiences in Sharm are genuinely distinctive and worth planning around. Here's what not to miss.

1. Have a Proper Egyptian Breakfast

The Egyptian breakfast — ful medames with olive oil, ta'meya (falafel), fresh bread, and sweet tea — is one of the great meals of the Mediterranean world. It's also almost entirely absent from hotel buffets in any authentic form. Find it at a local Egyptian café in Hadaba, or order via Bringit from 7 AM.

2. Eat Grilled Red Sea Fish by the Water

The seafood caught in the Red Sea is exceptional. Choose your fish at a Naama Bay restaurant, watch it go on the charcoal grill, and eat it with tahini, lemon, and pita while looking at the water. There is no more Sharm experience than this.

3. Order Midnight Shawarma

Sharm doesn't sleep, and neither do the shawarma shops. Freshly carved chicken or meat shawarma, warm bread, and cold garlic sauce at 1 AM after a beach club evening is one of those travel memories that sticks.

4. Find Your Koshari Shop

There's always one koshari shop that becomes a regular for every person who stays long enough in Sharm. Find yours — the one with the crispiest fried onions and the most aggressively tangy tomato sauce. Then order it three times.

• Egyptian breakfast at a local café in Hadaba
• Grilled whole fish on the Naama Bay promenade
• Midnight shawarma from a rotisserie spit
• Koshari at a dedicated koshari shop
• Fresh-squeezed juice from a market stall
• Konafa for dessert — eaten warm, not cold