Queens Coffee

Queens Coffee Bistro

Like many restaurants in Luxor, this one has been through a few transformations. It is owned by a local Egyptian lady and not long ago it was run by Dean, helped by Whalid. Dean moved out and took over the bistro further up the road which used to be Tramps. Whalid remained at Queens coffee and now runs it with the original lady owner.

Apart from the management, nothing much has changed. Queens is a very small cafe with wooden bench seats against uncovered wooden tables. The only noticeable difference is a new and efficient air conditioning system. The cooking area is at the end of the one room, behind the counter. So you can see how clean the kitchen area is - and it is.

Queens Bistro

Surprisingly, bearing in mind that the owner and manager are both Egyptian, the menu is about the most English in Luxor, offering fish & chips with mushy peas (LE24), bangers and mash (LE18) and liver (LE20) as well as a full English breakfast (up to LE30 depending on your choices). The only thing missing is the bacon, for religious and cultural reasons.

Queen's strength is in its breakfast menu: ideal if you are staying in one of the restaurants that isn't too good at English breakfasts, such as the Lotus or the New Pola. They are also quite strong on low cost snacks and lunches with grills, pastas (spaghetti bolognese LE19) and a choice of omelets from LE15, or LE20 with chips. There are also salads from LE14.

The bistro is also open for the rest of the day, but is usually quiet for the evening dinner period, although the same meals, including chicken and chips, are available if that is what you want in the evening. Like several others in the area they also do takeaway snacks including sandwiches, which is handy if you are on a no-meals flight or if you are going on a day trip.

Whalid is very ebullient, will talk to you for as long as you want and will put the world to rights with you. If there is something you fancy that is not on the menu - just ask - he is very keen to please. But this is very much a no-frills cafe, egg on toast - fine. Bangers - fine. Quick fry-up - fine. But if you want a good omelet with chips for lunch, for example, you may as well go over to Snobs, where the price is about the same but a chef will be in charge - and it isn't really the place for your evening meal, unless you want an all-day breakfast.