El Kababgy (sometimes spelt El Kebabgy)

There are six restaurants and cafes on the lower level of the Corniche between the Iberotel and the Luxor museum. Three of them are quite close to each other, along the part of the corniche that is opposite the Winter Palace and Luxor Temple, down the steps from road level. El Kababgy is the most southern of this trio - the left as you face the Nile. To the north (the Luxor temple end) is the Metropolitan cafe and between them is the Metropolitan bowling club.

Groups of feluccas are moored only a few metres away from El Kababgy. This has the attraction that it provides a picturesque backdrop as you relax with a cold drink or snack. However, it also means that you are likely to be approached by their captains with offers of Nile trips. The owners of the restaurants have forbidden felucca touts, but they seem to get through, either by calling you from a distance or by trying to sell a trip as they pass through. You may also be approached by people selling scarves or souvenirs.

During the day most customers go to El Kababgy for drinks and sometimes a light snack rather than a full meal. There is a wide variety of beers at a range of prices that appear to depend on the strength of the beer. To eat you can choose from a range of salads and the varied menu also includes jacket potatoes, soups, grills and pastas. You can get better food elsewhere but the snacks are reasonably well prepared and presented and brought to you by attentive staff but it can take a while if you order more than a drink with light refreshments.

If you want the best meal you would probably choose not to eat at any of these restaurants, but for daytime refreshments and snacks with a Nile-side view we prefer the El Kababgy to the nearby alternatives. It has better shelter from the sun (but there is an uncovered area for those who prefer it); the menu is more varied, it is a little more difficult for the felucca trip sellers to disturb you and the toilets are excellent and always available.

As well as the drinks and snacks, El Kababgy serves a full meal menu including some options that are not often seen in Luxor, so the menu is worth a look in case you are missing duck à l'orange. More traditional steaks, varieties of chicken and meat and vegetable tajines are also on the menu, but not everything is available all the time, so have a second choice ready.

If you are eating after dark it may be best to take your meal at one of the few inside tables or to stick to the meals that do not need too much attention. Although there are lanterns, and candles are sometimes brought to the table as well, when sitting at the Nile's edge we found ourselves leaving more meat than we intended from various on-the-bone meals, not because of any fault with the meat but because it was difficult to see what we were eating in sufficient detail.

Overall, prices line up with the better traditional restaurants and dearer than many Luxor favourites. We thought the food was OK but not special and you don't get some things that you might expect at these prices - side plates for the bread and napkins instead of tissue, for example. Nevertheless, what you lose in sophistication you gain in view and location, so it makes a pleasant change from the norm. If you like to eat in the open and choose carefully from the menu you will enjoy the experience, but when you want an excellent meal rather than an outdoor holiday experience you would probably prefer one of the many traditional indoor restaurants.

El Kababgy is open from 8.30 am until after midnight. We think it is a good Nile-side restaurant for daytime refreshment and snacks and worth considering for the occasional novelty in the evening, offering a good variety of reasonable meals. But you do pay for the view. If you are happy to pay a premium to be right on the Nile, and to put up with sometimes slow service and 'OK' rather than excellent food, then fine. Otherwise, there are lots of better value restaurants serving better food not far away.