Deans Bistro
Deans Bistro
Luxor has plenty of restaurants competing for 'evening out' clients, amongst which the best known are probably Snobs and Lantern. There are also plenty of economy restaurants, such as Maxime's. There are Egyptian restaurants, Chinese restaurants and fast food restaurants. There are fewer casual eating places where you can eat a full English meal but don't have to be too worried about dressing up or minding your etiquette. Deans describes itself as a bistro rather than a restaurant and fills that gap.
Deans is in El Rawda El Sherila Street, opposite the Lotus hotel, where you will also find Lantern (next door), Snobs and Casablanca, amongst others. It is a reincarnation of Tramps, once part of much-respected Snobs but now British-run by Dean (who used to run Queens Coffee down the road). Most of the other staff, including the chef, are the originals from the Tramps / Snobs days. The mixture of the Snobs cooking legacy and the British casualness works if this is what you want.
When we first visited Deans it was lunchtime. The small 24 seat bistro was laid out much the same as it was in the pre-Dean days, with wooden tables dressed in green checker cloths and paper napkins. On the right as you enter is the counter beyond which is the open cooking area. It all seemed to suit lunchtime.
Evening meals are generally a little more formal, so we wondered how it would appear for the evening clients. Single-colour table cloths and cotton napkins, perhaps? No. Exactly the same. The casual regime continues throughout the day, so you can eat at lunchtime, in the evening, or both, and be equally informal. This will suit clients who are happy to be addressed across the room from behind the counter, checking on their order or offering more chilli with the sauce. In other restaurants the query would be raised a little more quietly at the table, but no ceremony here.
Whenever we visited we had the impression that many clients were loyal regulars, to the extent that the room often had the atmosphere of a English family kitchen-diner where friends and neighbours had popped in for lunch.
But what about the food? Fine. A fair variety of mostly British fare including burgers, baked potatoes, pies and excellent steaks, all well cooked and well presented. Prices were on a par with the more formal restaurants that provide the competition - no discount for the relaxed setting. But if white table cloths, waiters with bow ties and attention to etiquette are too pompous for you, and you just want honest to goodness British food without the ceremony, Deans is worth a try. On the other hand, if Dean's individual personality doesn't suit or if you think that at these prices you should have a little more sophistication, there are plenty of options within a few metres.