Stuffed and grilled pigeon — hamam mashwi — is one of the quintessential dishes of Egyptian cuisine, and the restaurants near the Giza Plateau are among the best places in Cairo to eat it. The birds are stuffed with seasoned freekeh (green wheat) or rice, then grilled or fried whole and served with flatbread, salad, and tahini. The meat is darker and richer than chicken, with a slight gamey quality that Egyptian cooking counterbalances with spice and lemon.
Several restaurants in the Ahramat area (Pyramids Road) specialise in pigeon, with birds rotating on outdoor rotisseries that make finding them easy. Order by the half-pigeon or whole bird; the eating is messy and finger-based and completely delicious. This is not a tourist-trap dish — it is what Cairenes order when they want a proper meal. Arriving hungry is advisable.