Edible Food Find: Luxor Café

Photos by Michael Piazza

Drop by Luxor Cafe late on a Friday afternoon and you’ll be met by a crowd of Muslims, all fresh from Friday prayer. They’re not the only ones at the new café, just a street away from Harvard University; Luxor is also full of the regular Cambridge crowd sitting at small tables or in armchairs drinking coffee and enjoying baklava from Luxor’s pastry cases.

Abdelrahman Hassan founded Luxor with this diverse crowd in mind. “In Egypt, the whole concept of a café is a social space. I wanted a space to bring people together. There aren’t that many [spaces like that] … in Boston. I wanted to create that spot where someone could play board games, cards or catch up with someone. Cafés are more designated now for finishing work and then you leave; it’s a work-from-home space. [Instead,] I wanted to re-create that Egypt atmosphere.”

Luxor’s Harvard Square address was once occupied by Darwin’s, a local chain of popular cafés, which closed in 2022. Hassan did not want to lose that critical customer base, so his strategy with the menu was to focus heavily on sandwiches, like Darwin’s. However, Luxor’s newfound popularity with diverse audiences is partly because of its ability to balance café classics with Egyptian character.

Hassan intentionally drew on his heritage for Luxor’s identity: He named the café for the iconic city in his parents’ native homeland known for its archaeological sites. It doesn’t stop there: A mix of ’70s Egyptian classics and contemporary mahraganat hits play in the background. No matter where you sit, you’ll catch sight of either two gallery walls of Egyptian prints and photographs or a large installation of hieroglyphs. But, perhaps most importantly, there’s a projection screen in the seating area, echoing Egypt’s café culture where similar screens are set up to communally watch live sports.

When Luxor opened in May 2024, its menu was heavily influenced by Hassan’s Egyptian roots, too. The pastry cases stock different baklavas in addition to standard café treats supplied by Iggy’s Bread. Egypt shows up most in the made-to-order menu. Back in May, Hassan started with a few standout items, like eggs with pastirma, a sliced Egyptian cured beef related distantly to pastrami, and the French toast selection. One version of the French toast is dressed in pistachio paste and almonds, an homage to the classic dessert Umm Ali. Luxor is continuing to slowly integrate more Egyptian items into the menu, including rice platters for dinner, hawawshi and kibda sandwiches, inspired in part by Egyptian street food.

In many ways, Luxor Cafe is filling a gap in the market: Egyptian food is still relatively unknown in North America. There are only a handful of Egyptian restaurants in the Greater Boston area. And Luxor’s thoughtful approach to slowly integrating Egyptian staples into its menu is also successful because Hassan has a much broader sense of community than just the Harvard crowd.

Most of all, Hassan wants Luxor to be a place where people can meet each other. The café has already hosted poetry nights, fundraisers, and—just like cafés in Egypt—watch parties for different sports games.

Hassan beams when talking about his business and his customers. “It’s a third space: You feel it here when people are talking and getting to know each other. People who wouldn’t even be in the same circles are connecting here.”

148 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge
luxorcafee.com

This story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue.