There are practically no Egyptian restaurants in Milan. Or rather, most of the time they don't do Egyptian cuisine, but pizza, which has now become their specialty. The Egyptians, in fact, distinguished themselves and made people talk about themselves in particular for the "Egyptian typology": thin, crunchy and without yeast, for this reason also much lighter and more digestible. And there are various theories on the reasons. "I don't know how many people have asked me why Egyptians are so good at making pizza," he says Essam, owner of a moving company. “One of the reasons is that in Egypt there is a bread that is mainly prepared in the countryside very similar to Egyptian pizza .

He also agrees with him Mohamed, founder of Il Nero Distribution, a distribution house for independent films from Egypt, who adds: "When my uncle arrived here in the nineties he was a dishwasher in a pizzeria, then he started working as a pizza assistant and learned to make pizza, and who knows how many others like him. Probably even in this way the trade has spread. But it is undeniable that the Egyptians were already experts in the processing of water and flour. It is enough to enter a bakery in Egypt to find yourself in front of thousands of different bakery products . However, he adds Abdul, greengrocer: "We have to admit that Egyptian cuisine is very heavy, so the idea has spread among restaurateurs that it doesn't like it, that it doesn't work, that it is not required, even more so in a historical moment in which everyone is always on a diet. The pizza, on the other hand, precisely because it is lighter, has made a great success . Thus the Egyptian restaurants and pizzerias, perhaps without even realizing it, have given way to a new formula: to prepare dishes of their own tradition only and exclusively on request; try to enter any place and ask! However, there are also those who, along with pizza and kebabs, also timidly offer various specialties of Egyptian cuisine, always!

Anestom rotisserie

Do not be fooled by the Kebab sign in via Giambellino 132: inside there is something else. First of all, there is no kebab; secondly, you will find the paradise of Egyptian cuisine, just like that of the mother, Essam assures us. The dishes change constantly, always prepared with care by the owner's wife: every day there is basmati rice mixed with a thin paste similar to angel hair, to be seasoned with kofta (meatballs and spices), chicken, stew, legumes, vegetables or fish. They often do too mahshi, rice rolls wrapped in cabbage leaves, eggplant, vine, zucchini or peppers. On Fridays, however, there is almost always couscous even though it is not as widespread in Egypt as it is in the Maghreb. In short, Anestom, which in Arabic means welcome, is very popular in the area, both as a take away and to be consumed on tables with a view of Giambellino.

Egyptian specialties Casa Nostra

A small place in Corvetto, for four years it has been the reference point for the Egyptians of the neighborhood, especially for take-away, but there is also the possibility of sitting in an internal room. Here the Egyptian specialties, as the name of the place says, are all there, such as i broad bean falafel which are always and only done at the moment; or thehawawashi, a kind of sandwich that is often eaten in Egypt, with minced meat and spices; but also salads, grills, skewers, soups, fish, pizzas, kebabs and Egyptian desserts such as kunafa, mahallabia, rice pudding and basbousa (we leave you the taste of surprise). In short, a truly endless menu, all at a shocking value for money.

Dream Cafe

For more than ten years in Piazzale Cuoco (where many Egyptians live) there has been a place of trust that guarantees the freshness of the dishes by preparing a different specialty every day. A must try is the koshari, which they do (divinely) only on Tuesdays and Saturdays: it is the typical Egyptian street food, based on pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, fried onion, tomato sauce and spicy sauce (separately). All other days falafel, mahshi, rice with meat or fish and much more, but always better to order first. Only and exclusively on request they also make one of the national dishes, the molokhia, that is the mallow soup, a soup with a dark green color and a very bitter taste that for this reason may not like it. Molokhia indicates both the plant and the preparation and means "vegetable of the kings", because its use dates back to the time of the pharaohs, when an Egyptian king drank a soup to recover from an illness. Today it grows in abundance on the banks of the Nile, since the river is its ideal environment; in fact, it is consumed a lot in Egyptian cuisine, usually dried in a very fine powder, which is now found everywhere even in Italy.

Pharaoh

North of the city, between Portello and Bovisa, there is one of the first Egyptian clubs in Milan, open for almost forty years. It was 1982, in fact, when this Coptic family started with pizzas, and then added some traditional Egyptian dishes to the menu, given the growing interest. The peculiarity of the place is theAperitif of the Pharaoh: tasting of the scents of Egypt, complete with musical accompaniment.

Il Moro 2

Since 1989 they have always been: Hassan, Mohamed, Mahomoud and Nour. Everyone in the Solari area knows them, in particular for the pizza, which is still a favorite of many: a sort of childhood madeleine, a certainty that remains unchanged over time, always up to remember. In addition to the classic daisies and marinades, he made them known the Italian-Egyptian pizza, prepared with falafel, tahini, tomatoes, rocket and mozzarella, a tribute to the encounter between their origins and the place where they have lived for years. They also always offer theAppetizer of Egypt: falafel, chickpea hummus, tahina, ghebna (spicy cheese), eggplant babaganoush and ful, an Egyptian classic made with beans that is often eaten for breakfast. All, of course, accompanied by white pizza (which looks a lot like that bread made in the countryside). And other Egyptian dishes appear here and there in the rest of the menu, such as grilled lamb skewers, shish kebab, kofta and to top off their delicious rice pudding.

Mido Arabic Restaurant

Navigli area, for years now has presented itself as the spokesperson for Arab cuisine in Milan, with various dishes that draw a little from the Maghreb countries and a little from the Middle East. But the owners are Egyptians, so in the wide choice on the menu, you prefer some of the specialties we have already talked about, such as mahshi, falafel or koshari.

Garden City

In the Gambara district, this is one of the many Egyptian restaurants where you just have to ask and the owners will be happy to prepare everything they can specially for you. From falafel, mahshi, kofta and koshari alla chakchouka, a kind of vegetable ragù with onion and tomato, which is found in many variations, for example with red lentils or peppers; usually it is eaten in accompaniment to fresh fish, which is marinated for hours with spices and a huge amount of garlic, so much so that they even apologize for putting in too much (think how badly we are used to). Once marinated, the fish is then breaded in flour and baked in the oven with lemon, oil, salt and parsley. This is why it is always better to notify them well in advance, so that they have all the time they need to cook, but above all to marinate the fish.

Therefore, like the Garden City, almost all Egyptian restaurants in Milan they prepare dishes from their own kitchen only to order, also because over the years the Egyptian community has only grown, so activities have also increased, particularly in this sector. Think that today there are more than 110 thousand Egyptians in Italy, of which about 40 thousand in Milan alone. "Italy was for years the main European country of immigration for Egyptians and continues to always be among the favorite destinations", the owner of the Ristorante Pizzeria San Marco tells us. «This is also why we prefer to do Italian cuisine. But if someone asks us… you don't know how happy we are to prepare our traditional dishes too .