Local Middle Eastern restaurant putting out plea to team Egypt: We want to serve you food!

A local Middle Eastern restaurant in Seattle is making a plea to serve the Egyptian national soccer team during their visit for the World Cup.

Koshari, a restaurant in Ballard, hopes to attract team members, specifically soccer star Mo Salah, to try their Egyptian street food while they are in the city for their match against Iran.

Co-owners Ayman Almasri and Amani Abouammo hope social media helps encourage the team to visit.

Koshari, the restaurant’s signature dish, is a staple of Egyptian street food. The dish is based around rice, garbanzo beans, noodles, and crispy onions.

“We actually don’t only sell food, we give the culture,” Abouammo said.

The husband and wife duo built their business around Lebanese and Egyptian traditions, which they hope will help lure in Egyptian soccer players during their Seattle stay.

“We’ve been finding strangers literally tagging every one of the players and specifically Mo Salah, like Mo Salah you’ve got to go there!” Abouammo said.

“His favorite food is koshari,” said Almasri.

No bites from players yet — but they have been able to serve up a slice of home from fans visiting from overseas.

“We actually have a few customers that came here, they flew all the way from Egypt and on their flight, they heard about us,” Abouammo said.

For fans not familiar with the food, the World Cup has offered a chance to learn more about a new culture.

“They get to know more about the culture, something that usually Arabs make,” Abouammo said.

If the stars, like Mo Salah, walk through their door during their stay?

“I would take tons of selfies with him, first of all, before I feed him,” Almasri said. “And then I would make sure I give him the best koshari bowl he has ever tasted. Hopefully have an everlasting memory.”

The Egyptian team is in Seattle on Wednesday for a training session and will play a match against Iran on Friday.