Yaba Serves a Father's Love Straight Off the Grill

Forget trendy chefs; the true masters of the grill, in most Egyptian households, are the fathers. That sacred, smoky rite inspires Yaba, a gourmet food truck with a name that’s a colloquial nod to every ‘baba’ who ever perfected a kebab—a title brimming with warmth, familiarity, and the promise of seriously good food reflected by the same contented sigh uttered when happily full. “We chose the name because anybody, anyone, can relate to it,” Founder Noha Hanoura tells SceneEats.Spotting a gap for quality in the mobile market, Hanoura and her partners asked a simple question: why can’t street food be better? “We are not fast food,” she states, defining their ethos. “We are a ‘real meat truck’. We use 100% beef, with no fillers.” This is their gourmet creed: sophistication through integrity.

Founded in 2023, their menu is a cleverly curated homage, offering everything by the kilo for the purist—Tarb, Kofta, Shish—or tucked into fresh bread for the perfect grab-and-go feast. The commitment to nostalgia extends to their drinks, served in iconic plastic bags with a straw—a delightful, authentic nod to the way sugarcane juice has been enjoyed on Egyptian streets for generations. “We kept it that way for the authentic experience."
From a classic Hawawshi Baladi to the indulgent Cheese Mix Hawawshi, each sandwich is a study in robust flavour. They even offer a cheekily named ‘Alia El Marra Di’ meal box, translating to “This time on me.” For the truly ravenous, the ‘El Baba Tray’ delivers a family-sized spread worthy of its name. It’s all accompanied by a suite of homemade sauces, including a mysterious ‘Whisky’ and their signature ‘Yaba’ sauce, the recipes for which are, one suspects, guarded as fiercely as any family secret.
From its beginnings as a single truck in Rehab, Yaba’s quietly loyal following has fuelled expansion. The future, Hanoura reveals, holds plans for a restaurant to sit alongside their mobile units. But the heart remains the same: serving the kind of expertly grilled, honest food that would make any baba quietly proud.