Alfi Bey, Cairo

I went to this restaurant last night and my how it has changed. I have been eating there for years and suddenly it has turned into a complete tourist restaurant with prices to match. All of the main items on the regular menu were unavailable - no chicken, no fish, no pigeon - they were only offering the high priced items for dinner on the "dishes of the day" part of the menu - all at the same price: 45 EP per dish, excluding the combined 22% sales and service tax, which makes this a far cry from the "people friendly" introduction on the first page of their menu. The food here is great, if you want to pay the high prices. The service is classical and polite. The ambiance is zero - hardly anyone eats here. The only customers I saw were two or three Egyptians drinking a glass of beer. It is sad when a restaurant changes. I will miss this restaurant a lot.

When I was a child, from 1970 to 1983 I lived in Egypt. My father would take us once a week to Alfi Bey's restaurant as a special treat. The staff there have been there forever and always greeted us like family. We would have Kofta and Kebab, Pidgeon, all kinds of Mezze that we at with great gusto! I went back once as a young woman at the university and I asked after the waiter who always attended my family. I was greated with great love and attention by all the staff. I am a grandmother now and have not been to Cairo in 30 years but I remember this restaurant with great fondness.