This New Alexandrian Spot Serves Premium Açaí Bowls & Zero Regrets

Mirissa isn’t your run-of-the-mill café, it’s a portal to a different pace of life. Here, it feels like time slows to the rhythm of fresh brews and quiet conversations, offering moments, the kind you savor, like the aftertaste of a perfectly brewed espresso.

Mirissa’s menu is a celebration of freshness and flavor. Açaí bowls come piled high with vibrant, seasonal toppings that feel like summer in a bowl. The bagels, hand-rolled and baked to golden perfection, bring warmth and heartiness to the table. Specialty coffee, brewed from meticulously sourced single-origin beans, offers more than just a caffeine boost, it’s a ritual in every sip.

The opening of Mirissa Cafe in Alexandria isn’t just another tale of entrepreneurial ambition; it’s proof that when three friends with zero F&B experience yet boundless imagination set out to create a slice of Sri Lanka in Egypt, something magical brews.

"We were a group of three girls, full-time remote software engineers who loved to travel," Sarah Elboudy, one of the founders, tells Scene Eats. Travel they did, from one exotic locale to another, laptops in tow. But a particular seaside town in Sri Lanka captured their hearts. They recall something about Mirissa, with its laid-back surf-town vibe and no-frills charm, that made them dream of bringing a piece of it home.

Home, in this case, is Alexandria. And what began as a whimsical daydream soon spiraled into a full-fledged cafe. 

Yet, calling Mirissa a cafe would be painfully reductive. Much like its founders, Mirissa has many things all at once: a creative hub, a community cornerstone, and a little boho space where plant-filled corners and curated crockery whisper tales of Fernweh.

The leap from fantasy to reality wasn’t glamorous, no trust funds and no seasoned consultants. Just three women navigating Alexandria’s culinary landscape armed with ideas and the occasional YouTube tutorial. "I passed by this cute little spot one day and sent a picture to the group saying, ‘This could be it.’ Next thing we knew, we were signing a lease and diving headfirst into a world of coffee beans and smoothie bowls," Elboudy explains.

Initially, the team behind Mirissa thought it would be simple, just cute mugs and nice recipes. However, they quickly encountered resistance from three-letter jobs VIP neighbours who opposed a café opening on their street. This setback led them to delay opening a physical location, but they pressed on by setting up a booth at a sporting club during Ramadan. By the fifth day, demand for their smoothie bowls skyrocketed, breaking their German-imported intended-for-home-use smoothie bowl machine.. "We’re first-time business owners," Khaled, one of the cofounders, jokingly admits.

Three months later, Mirissa became a reality. Beyond serving great coffee, every element in the café from mugs to decor was thoughtfully curated, with a focus on authenticity. The founders collaborated with local artisans to create a space that felt more like a welcoming home than a commercial spot. "We wanted it to be an extension of ourselves, a place where people can work, read, or simply breathe," explains Salah, co-founder of Mirissa.

Mirissa is a tribute to mindful eating, with everything freshly prepared in-house, from pesto to baked goods. Even the iced tea and spiced latte are brewed on-site. "Our smoothie bowls are the most photographed," Elboudy laughs, highlighting their goal to offer something vibrant and healthy to Alexandria. Specialty coffee and all-day brunch are rare in the city due to the high cost of quality ingredients. "Even our cheese isn’t commercial," Hegazy, a co-owner, notes, stressing their commitment to premium ingredients, including ceremonial-grade matcha. "If we can’t keep it fine, it shouldn’t make the line," he adds.

In the early days, the founders would personally shop at Metro and Gourmet for supplies, a far cry from a sustainable business model. Youssef, Ingy’s brother and the cafe’s accountant, often finds himself exasperated by the end of the month. "He’s always yelling about costs," Khaled laughs. Their solution? Make everything fresh in limited batches. "If it sells out, it sells out. We’d rather have limited high-quality items than compromise."

Even simple dishes at Mirissa have a unique twist, like their Caesar salad with surprising elements or egg waffles for low-carb seekers. Seasonal specials, such as gingerbread lattes and white chocolate matcha, add a winter charm. To cater to quieter evenings, they introduced lighter bites, including halloumi fingers and nachos.

The cafe is set to collaborate with local Alexandrian artists and display their work on the walls in addition to already hosting events like blanket coloring during Christmas and poetry readings further enrich the communal experience. "We quickly realized that the brand isn’t just the space; it’s us. Customers come in and ask for the owners by name,"  Elboudy added. Some menu items were even perfected with customer input.  

Mirissa may have started as a whim, but it has evolved into a blueprint for what’s possible when passion meets perseverance and a little bit of unhingeness. "We’d love to expand," Hegazy muses. "We dream of having a presence in Sahel, but only if we can do it without sacrificing what makes Mirissa special." As they toy with ideas for seasonal menus and new collaborations, the founders remain grounded by their original vision: to create something personal, purposeful, and magical.

Grab a coffee, grab a seat, and maybe you’ll leave with more than you came from: a story, a smile, or a renewed belief in the beauty of beginnings.