Tap a style to switch the designStyles
Message us on Facebook

31.2° N · Alexandria51.4° N · Margate

Two cities by the sea.
One small café between them.

A husband and wife from Cairo opened this tiny Egyptian café on Market Street, in the old centre of Margate. They called it Alexandria, because Margate, like the Egyptian city, is by the sea.

Message us on FacebookDirections
Alexandria Café on the corner of Market Street, Margate: a sky-blue shopfront with a yellow door, the name in English and Arabic above the windows, and plants hanging by the door

Harbour log

  • BerthA corner plot, 9 Market Street
  • CargoEgyptian home cooking, with plenty that's meat-free
  • Lamp litFriday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 to 4pm
  • InspectionFood hygiene rating 5

“Of all the places I have eaten in Margate, having visited the place many times, Alexandria is the best.”

Adam Yamey, on his blog, July 2025

Set a course

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
A plate of koshari: rice, macaroni and lentils under tomato sauce, topped with a heap of crispy fried onions, on a colourful patterned tablecloth
FacebookDirections
Message us on Facebook

Market Street, Margate presents

Alexandria Café

A small Egyptian café, with old Egyptian films playing on a little TV and photographs of the stars on the walls.

Message us on FacebookDirections
Alexandria Café on the corner of Market Street, Margate: a sky-blue shopfront with a yellow door, the name in English and Arabic above the windows, and plants hanging by the door
Exterior. Market Street. Afternoon.
A bowl of prawns cooked with tomato, peppers and greens, next to a mound of tomato rice, on a white plate
Close-up. Prawns, with rice.

Starring

  • Koshari
  • Falafel
  • Baba ganoush
  • Pickled tomato salad

With

  • Mint tea
  • Turkish coffee

Plenty of the menu is meat-free, and there are meat dishes too.

The reviews

4.8Google · 201 reviews
4.9Tripadvisor · 90 reviews
5Food hygiene rating

“Of all the places I have eaten in Margate, having visited the place many times, Alexandria is the best.”

Adam Yamey, on his blog, July 2025

Showtimes & venue

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
FacebookDirections
Message us on Facebook
Alexandria

Look for the blue corner and the yellow door.

Alexandria Café sits on the corner of Market Street in Margate's old centre: a tiny Egyptian café run by a husband and wife from Cairo.

Open Friday to Sunday, 12:30–4pm

Knock on FacebookSend the café a message
Alexandria Café on the corner of Market Street, Margate: a sky-blue shopfront with a yellow door, the name in English and Arabic above the windows, and plants hanging by the door

Inside the window

Egyptian dishes, “beautifully prepared” and at “very reasonable prices”, in the words of one regular. Koshari, falafel, baba ganoush and mint tea are among them, with plenty that's meat-free.

A plate of koshari: rice, macaroni and lentils under tomato sauce, topped with a heap of crispy fried onions, on a colourful patterned tablecloth

Find the corner

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
Directions
FacebookDirections
Message us on Facebook

Egyptian café · Margate

Built in layers, like a good koshari.

Koshari is Egypt's everyday comfort dish: rice, lentils and pasta under tomato sauce and crispy fried onions. At Alexandria Café on Market Street, it's on the menu.

Message us on FacebookDirections
A plate of koshari: rice, macaroni and lentils under tomato sauce, topped with a heap of crispy fried onions, on a colourful patterned tablecloth
Top · crispy onions

A husband and wife from Cairo run the café.

Tomato sauce

They named it Alexandria because Margate, too, is by the sea.

Pasta

Falafel, baba ganoush, pickled tomato salad and mint tea share the menu.

Lentils

Plenty of it is meat-free, and there are meat dishes too.

Rice · the base

Rated 4.8 on Google from 201 reviews, and 5 for food hygiene.

A bowl of prawns cooked with tomato, peppers and greens, next to a mound of tomato rice, on a white plate

“Of all the places I have eaten in Margate, having visited the place many times, Alexandria is the best.”

Adam Yamey, on his blog, July 2025

Come and eat

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
FacebookDirections
Message us on Facebook

Three afternoons a week, Market Street goes to Cairo.

  1. MonClosed
  2. TueClosed
  3. WedClosed
  4. ThuClosed
  5. Fri12:30–16:00
  6. Sat12:30–16:00
  7. Sun12:30–16:00

Alexandria Café is a tiny Egyptian café in Margate's old centre, run by a husband and wife from Cairo. It keeps short hours, so plan the weekend around it.

Message us on FacebookDirections

12:30

Doors open on Market Street, behind the sky-blue corner shopfront.

Alexandria Café on the corner of Market Street, Margate: a sky-blue shopfront with a yellow door, the name in English and Arabic above the windows, and plants hanging by the door

13:00

Lunch. Koshari, falafel, baba ganoush, or a meat dish if you'd rather.

A bowl of prawns cooked with tomato, peppers and greens, next to a mound of tomato rice, on a white plate

15:00

Mint tea or a Turkish coffee, before the doors close at four.

4.8on Google, from 201 reviews · food hygiene rating 5

This weekend

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
FacebookDirections
Message us on Facebook

Alexandria

An Egyptian café on Market Street, Margate, run by a husband and wife from Cairo. The Eye of Horus on the café's logo keeps watch over the koshari, the falafel and the mint tea.

Message us on FacebookDirections
A bowl of prawns cooked with tomato, peppers and greens, next to a mound of tomato rice, on a white plate

Carved on the tablet

  1. I

    The name: Margate is by the sea, like Alexandria.

  2. II

    The room: photographs of Egyptian film stars, and old films on a small TV.

  3. III

    The food: Egyptian dishes at very reasonable prices, with plenty that's meat-free.

  4. IV

    The marks: 4.8 on Google, 4.9 on Tripadvisor, 5 for food hygiene.

A plate of koshari: rice, macaroni and lentils under tomato sauce, topped with a heap of crispy fried onions, on a colourful patterned tablecloth

How to find it

Address
9 Market Street, Margate
Kent CT9 1EUOn a corner in Margate's old centre
Hours
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 – 4pm
Closed Monday to ThursdayAs listed on Google. Hours can change, so check the Facebook page before a special trip.
Facebook
Alexandria Café, MargateThe café's own page: news and messages
FacebookDirections