Zephyrion

The most famous fish restaurant in the Alexandria region — a long-running Greek-Egyptian seafood place on the shore at Abu Qir, 20 km east of the city. The dining room is genuinely atmospheric: high ceilings, marble tables, waiters in white aprons, and a wall of glass doors that open onto the sea.

The menu runs through the day's catch — usually grouper, sea bass, sole, calamari, prawns, and a couple of unusual local fish. Fresh oysters are sometimes available. Order the fish grilled (mashwi) or in tarator (tahini sauce). Mezze plates of salads, hummus, and pickled vegetables come unbidden. Lunch is the better meal, with afternoon sun on the water. Allow a long, slow visit — Zephyrion is the kind of place where Egyptian families settle in for three hours. Taxi from Alexandria takes about 45 minutes; allow 30 minutes more on a summer Friday.

eating out restaurant
A story
Zephyrion opened in 1929 in Abu Qir, when the small fishing village east of Alexandria was a Greek-Egyptian summer resort. The same family has run it for four generations. The huge dining room — open onto the sea, with whirring ceiling fans, marble-topped tables, and waiters in white aprons — has not been substantially altered since the 1950s, and the menu has the feel of a 20th-century Greek seaside taverna that happens to be in Egypt.

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