Al Wuheida Road is located near Al Qiyadah Metro Station, is nearly 1.5 kilometres long and extends into Hor Al Anz East, Deira. 

The road is paved with the distinctive low buildings that dominate most of the older parts of Dubai.

The other well-defined feature of this road is the strong Egyptian character it has acquired over the years. This is probably due to the fact that a large number of Egyptians reside in that particular area of Dubai.

In Dubai's Al Wuheida area, you will find numerous Egyptian cafés and restaurants that serve genuine and authentic Egyptian cuisine.

The name of each venue also tells a story that represents an aspect of Egypt.

If you're looking for a true Egyptian cultural experience, here are a few places we recommend:

1. The Arab Republic of Shatta

I should probably start off by saying that, in general, Egyptian cuisine is not for the faint-hearted, and neither is Shatta.

This restaurant is what we Egyptians call a "Masmat", which literally means the "insides" or the "fillings". 

On offer are a variety of items, including fried spleen, liver, joints, and brains...

As I said, not for the faint-hearted... 

The menu resembles an Egyptian passport and the Arabic cover reads "The Arab Republic of Shatta", which translates to "hot chilli".

2. Al Harafeesh

Right next to Shatta, you will find Al Harafeesh Coffee Shop, another Egyptian Masmat that also serves shisha, and plays much-anticipated football games on large TV screens.

Harafeesh is an archaic derogatory term which refers to lower-income members of the society.

It was revived in 1977 when Egyptian author and Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz published an epic novel that carried the same name. The story is a narrative of a family that falls from the height of power to the depths of decadence.

3. Al Aumdah

Along the small strip of Al Wuheida street - where Al Harafeesh and Shatta are located - is Al Aumdah. Another restaurant that offers a wide selection of Egyptian dishes, including the national dish, Koshary.

Other items on the menu include all-day breakfast dishes like foul, falafel, and bakeries.

Al Aumdah usually refers to the chief appointed by the government to administer an Egyptian village.

4. Al Basha Coffee shop

Al Basha offers coffee and shisha, two fundamental elements of any Egyptian café. 

Shisha has been a part and parcel of Egyptian life since it was introduced by the Ottoman Empire in the 1600’s. 

Originally, Turkish sultans made it popular by having portraits taken with their shishas, which they smoked after royal dinners and diplomatic meetings.

Basha, a title used in the Ottoman times, is another Turkish adaptation that has become inherently associated with the Egyptian culture.

5. Um Aldonia

One shisha stop in an Egyptian corner is, of course, not enough, which is why there is Um Aldonia just around the corner from Al Basha.

It’s not really clear when Egyptians started calling their homeland "Um Aldonia", or "mother of the world"...

6. Al Prince Al Ammor

Less than a kilometre down the street from the previous establishments is where the first branch of Al Ammor opened in Dubai.

Today, the restaurant is a well-known and widely popular Egyptian food outlet with branches in Discovery Gardens, Karama and Al Barsha.

Before Al Ammor launched in the UAE, Dubai hardly knew the taste of Egyptian cuisine.

Serving traditional dishes like koshary, foul, falafel, and fatayer, this place is an all-day breakfast restaurant that caters to all tastes.

Feel free to leave your comment if you know of any other Egyptian gems in Dubai.