Sinouhe and Dragon restaurants

The combined Sinouhe and Dragon were closed in October 2009 but reopened at the end of August 2010 under new management as separate restaurants.

Sinouhe (pronounced shin-oo-ee) is a first floor restaurant on the southern side of town, on the main road that serves most of the hotels. It is on the left side of the road when you have your back to the town centre, opposite the Nile Palace hotel. Once up the stairs from street level, the Sinouhe opens into a larger space than you first expect. The decorations are bright, adding to the feeling of openness. Separated from the main restaurant by a glazed screen is an open balcony overlooking the main road, where drinks and snacks can be taken on conservatory-type furniture and where you can smoke.

We used to like the Sinouhe. Once it offered mostly Egyptian dishes and the prices were very keen indeed. Then things changed a little. The Dragon chinese restaurant, which used to be almost opposite, next to the Nile Palace hotel, closed and merged with Sinouhe. Sinouhe still had its largely egyptian menu but also a separate chinese menu based on the Dragon one, and a third menu linked to the Red Lion pub, which used to be part of the complex. During its long closure in 2009 - 2010, the restaurant was remodelled. The Red Lion pub has gone and the space has been given over to a separate chinese restaurant, still called the Dragon. it is accessed via Sinouhe but closed off from it. So instead of the rather weird combination that lasted from the closure of the original Dragon until the temporary closure of the Sinouhe, it is now essentially two restaurants; one a reversion to the original Sinouhe and the other, a relocated Dragon.

The restaurant can cater for large groups including coach parties and, when numbers justify, can offer a self-service buffet as well as the more normal waiter a la carte service. The restaurant can become busy when coach groups are in, but most of the time, between the large groups, it is quiet, with plenty of waiting staff to provide attentive service.

The furniture is comfortable although the chairs lean back a little and serviettes are paper rather than the linen we would expect in a restaurant that calls itself '5 star'.

One we ordered 'fresh' orange juice. It was not fresh orange juice. After querying, we were shown a carton, which confirmed it was not fresh orange juice. It was not even real juice in a carton, but clearly an artificial juice. The waiter accepted that it was not fresh juice and it was exchanged, at our request, for water. Both the juice and the water were charged on the bill. There may be some interpretation issues, but to charge 'fresh juice' price for something that is closer to the cheap artificial juices provided for breakfast in 3 star hotels is more than a little naughty. Charging for it after it has been declined is unwarranted, too.

The food appears freshly prepared and is served hot. Soups at LE8 - LE12 are served with a generous bread basket but are disappointing. The tomatoe tasted like cup-a-soup and the onion soup could have been onion gravy. By and large the local main courses are fine. Although the moussaka tagen has a little more potato and a less aubergine than we have come to expect, portions are reasonably good. Unusually, for Luxor, tahina and green salads come as part of the meal and both rice and fries are served with each meal. Overall the Egyptian meals rarely disappoint. We have been less pleased with international dishes. A 'fillet steak' resembled the sole of a shoe, and tasting did not reassure. The prices are high for the type of restaurant. Most tagen meals are well over LE40 - some closer to LE50. A steak with pepper sauce is LE64. You can get much better meals in a more sophisticated restaurant for those prices..

Although the Chinese restaurant has the same name as the well-reputed Dragon that used to be next to the Nile Palace, there is no evidence of any other connection. Although the Dragon is closed off from the Sinouhe part of the restaurant it shares waiting staff and appears also to share kitchen and chefs. You can eat Chinese in the Sinouhe part of the restaurant or international meals in the Chinese part, so groups can choose from different menus but sit at the same table.

The chinese food is OK, but no better than OK and overall prices are quite a lot higher than the competition, including the new Fortune Cookie, opposite Puddleduck. Soups start at LE14, main courses are mostly between LE42 and LE52, rices start at around LE8 and desserts are from LE15. The chinese traditional fried banana with ice cream is LE25.

If you want to eat Chinese, there are now plenty of choices and the Dragon is no longer the obvious place to go. For local and international meals the Sinouhe lacks the atmosphere of other restaurants that offer better food at better prices. Sinouhe used to be on our 'worth a try' list but now, if you do go, we suggest to stick with the local dishes. Better still, leave it to the coach parties.

 

Updated October 2010
Prices at October 2010