Ali Baba

This restaurant is behind the Luxor Temple between McDonald's and Sindbad. Its entrance is a few yards along the busy road that sweeps past McDonald's and goes left away from the temple. You go up a wooden staircase and arrive on a first floor rooftop with a trellis and canopied cover.

The seating is all a little cramped. Tables are arranged regimentally and covered in thick cloth. Seating is on benches with rather tatty covers. Overall the place appears somewhat scruffy and the kitchen area quite disorganised. Everything works out OK and the food is fine if not spectacular, but apart from the view there is little to get excited about. A backpacker would be more comfortable here than someone staying at the Winter Palace.

Prices are quite high for a restaurant of this kind. Moussaka is LE45, about 50% higher than at some excellent restaurants not far away. A steak is LE60 and the cheapest pizza is LE30. So here you have the surroundings of a cheaper roadside cafe at prices of the better restaurants, higher than The Roof and a lot higher than nearby Sindbad and Hamees.

This restaurant's main feature is the view. From the end of the restaurant furthest from the entrance stairs there is a superb view of the back of Luxor Temple, similar to the one from the top of McDonald's but without the glass and telephone wires in the way and similar also to the view from the balconies at Snacktime and Roof. It is worth a visit if you want a view of the temple as you eat and do not want fast food but you will be there for the view, not the cuisine.

For a similar outlook, but from a higher viewpoint, and a good menu at comparable prices, we suggest The Roof as an alternative.

 

Review updated March 2010
Prices at March 2010