Joan's

Joan's is a recent addition to the growing number of restaurants in El Roda Street (opposite the Lotus Hotel, not far from the Nile Palace - formerly the Meridien) that also houses Snobs and Casablanca. Joan's is on an upper floor, on the left side of the road as you head away from the main road.

Immediate impressions are good, with fresh decor, well spaced tables and a cozy sitting area where drinks and snacks can be taken on sofas. Prices are above Maxime's and hovering around the Snobs level. It is possible for two people each to have a two course meal with water for around LE100.

When we first visited, soon after Joan's opened in the autumn of 2006, our experience went downhill after the good first impressions. We reported that the service was pleasant, smiling and attentive but not particularly effective. Main course cutlery was served for the starter. There were no steak knives for the steak. The butter was almost frozen and certainly unspreadable and a lack of side plates went unnoticed until we helped ourselves.

We accepted that these may be minor points, due to lack of experience as the restaurant had only been operating for about two weeks when we first sampled it, and forgivable if the food was good. Unfortunately, the salad tasted only of the pre-applied dressing. When we mentioned this to the staff we were told it is the Egyptian way. Strange, as Joan's advertises itself as an English restaurant and we have not had the problem at other restaurants that don't.

The pastry had to be shattered rather than cut. The steak and mushroom pie was curried, or at least heavily spiced, although this was not mentioned on the menu. Presentation was unimpressive. We wondered if we had just been unlucky until we saw food going back to the kitchen from other tables.

We returned when the restaurant had been open for a few months, to see if things had improved with experience.

The bread rolls were hard. We pointed this out to the head waiter who agreed and changed them for some fresh ones. He then picked up the fresh ones and squeezed them to demonstrate that they were fresh, returning them to the basket! It seems that the little touches are still a problem.

Again the dishes were more heavily spiced than one would expect at a restaurant that announces its Englishness - not just the meals that would normally be spiced but also the tomato soup and the pies. The apple 'crumble' was a slab of partly-cooked pastry with a thin spread of apple puree underneath.

The rest of the meals were tasty enough and reasonably well presented - nothing special but OK.

Overall we felt that there had been a slight improvement over a period of about 3 months but that there was more Egyptian than English influence in terms of waiter finesse and food preparation. Nothing wrong with that - it is in Egypt after all - but it claims Englishness. The prices are too close to the prices at nearby excellent restaurants to allow even minor glitches and comparison with Snobs, just a few doors down, is inevitable.

At Snobs, presentation and service are hard to fault. The food is excellent, clearly prepared by a chef with talent and there is more variety. At Joan's we couldn't avoid the impression that the microwave was very busy. Snobs is only slightly dearer and most definitely worth the little extra. With Snobs and Casablanca just down the road, we can't think of a reason to go to Joan's.