Best Patisserie in Alexandria: What to Look For

Looking for the best patisserie in Alexandria? Here is how to judge one, which classics to try, and why a century-old shop on Saad Zaghloul Street is a good start.

The best patisserie in Alexandria is the one that does the classics well: crisp mille-feuille, fresh éclairs, honest baklava, good coffee and consistency over years. The city has a long tradition of Greek, French and Italian-trained confectioners, and several historic shops still trade downtown. Délices, on Saad Zaghloul Street since 1922, is one of them.

How to judge a patisserie

Look at the pastry, not the decoration. Puff pastry should shatter, choux should be hollow and crisp, syrup should be absorbed rather than pooled, and cream should taste of milk and vanilla, not of sugar alone. Ask what was made today. A good shop is happy to tell you.

Alexandria's patisserie heritage

Through the early twentieth century, Alexandria was home to large Greek, Italian and French communities, and its confectioners shaped Egyptian taste for European pastry. Many of the cafés around Raml Station and Saad Zaghloul Square date from that era.

The Délices story in brief

Greek confectioner Cleovoulos Moustakas began trading in Alexandria in 1907 and established Délices in 1922. Délices baked King Farouk's coronation cake in 1937 and his wedding cake for his marriage to Queen Farida in 1938. The same family has owned it since 1922, and a small on-site museum keeps the old cash registers, typewriters, the first telephone and early Arabic and French menus.

A century on the same street is its own kind of review.

What to order on a first visit

Try the pistachio mille-feuille, an éclair, a piece of baklava or galaktoboureko, and a Greek coffee. In summer, add gelato. For something newer, the kunafa cheesecake.

Visit or call Délices

Come and see for yourself at 46 Saad Zaghloul Street, Raml Station, open daily 8 AM – 1 AM, or call us to order ahead: +20 3 486 1432.