6 Best Restaurants in Sharm el-Sheikh and Red Sea Coast, Egypt

Candlelight and live traditional music make the dining room here romantic, and the menu highlights the varied cuisine of India. Choose from entrees such as the rich palak paneer (homemade cottage cheese in spinach) or the flavorful fish curry featuring sea bass; sides include several type of naan as well as fragrant biryani (saffron rice with chicken). Top off your meal with a refreshing kulfi (dense, Indian-style ice cream) for dessert.

Probably the most unusual restaurant in the northern Sinai, this is to the eye a ruined medieval castle on a bluff above the Sinai Coast; however, it was built from scratch starting in the late 1990s by architect Hany Roshdy. Eat in the stone-and-wood interior or on the terraces, which have magnificent views. The menu focuses on traditional slow-cooked dishes, including melt-in-your-mouth lamb shank or skirt steak. Since these dishes take a while to prepare, it's best to book at least a day in advance—to ensure the food is perfect. There's a pool on-site, and the set price includes time for lounging and swimming.

One of the most upscale restaurants in Sharm, Fish Restaurant serves a short menu of nouvelle-style seafood, and your food is like a picture on a plate. Popular choices include expertly prepared fillets, calamari, and lobster. The silver service and outdoor terrace out in the mature garden just off the beachfront boulevard let you know that this restaurant is all about image and special occasions, and accordingly, the dress code is casual-elegant. A splurge here is rewarded with a better wine list and more attentive service than you'll find at the more mainstream restaurants.

A good option in the heart of El Gouna, this restaurant serves a wide range of seafood as well as steaks in the evening. During the day, you'll find light snacks and sandwiches like their delicious shawarma (thin-cut meat and salad wrapped in unleavened bread—like a gyro). There's a terrace overlooking the square, so you can watch the world stroll by or grab your sandwich to go and head to the water.

While finding sushi and Japanese food isn't too terribly difficult around the Red Sea, finding Vietnamese food—and good Vietnamese food, at that—is a rarity. Saigon serves excellent roasted duck and noodle soups, and it has a good selection of vegetarian options.

Inside the Maritim Jolie Ville Hotel, this Italian restaurant has been serving some of the best food—the lamb chops and the spaghetti with fried garlic and shrimp are especially good—in town since 1998. Grab a table by the window for a nice view of the shopping promenade. Note that the restaurant is in what was formerly the Movenpick Hotel, which is what might still appear on maps.