CAIRO: Through streets strewn with rubbish where laundry lines hang from shabby apartment blocks, the tantalizing smell of grilled kebabs lures patrons from across Cairo.

Kaber Subhi, in the Egyptian capital’s northern suburb of Shubra, is one of a number of eateries that have become hits across the vast metropolis despite their decrepit surroundings.

One specializing in spicy sausage sandwiches even goes by the name Zizo Natana — the second word meaning “fetid” in Arabic.

These restaurants are becoming magnets for discerning diners, appealing not only to residents of Cairo’s poorer neighborhoods but also drawing well-to-do clients willing to travel across town.

At Kaber Subhi, the patrons may arrive in expensive cars but they sit at tables in an alleyway shooing away tenacious stray cats.

The restaurant is one of thousands in the city offering the staples of kofta, ground meat grilled on a spit, and kebab, pieces of beef or mutton, but customers say the dishes here are special. “It is a mix of secret sauces,” says owner Subhi Al-Sayyid.

Nurridin Gevara, a pharmaceutical student who traveled to Kaber Subhi from an affluent Cairo suburb, sits at a table and orders kebabs, kofta, fried liver and an array of small plates of tahini sesame paste, salad and pickles.