Restaurants used by local tour companies in Egypt

[Jade13]

Ramses said they use the following restaurants,

Happy Dolphin
Queen Cleopatra
Betk Restaurant

Has anyone eaten at any of these and have an opinion on any of them. Are they buffets? The set price paid to the tour company is $15.00 per person.

We will be at the pyramids, including Sakkara on one day, old Cairo one day, and on an afternoon tour to the museum directly from the airport on another.

[Goldygolfer]

Hi Jade - I have hesitated posting in reply to your above question, because I thought my information was a bit out of date.

However, no one else has come forth, so thought I would go ahead and reply.

We did a full day tour from Alexandria to Giza, Cairo, pyramids, sphinx, etc
with Ramses Tours in December 2010.
We were taken to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch in Cairo. It was attached to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Yes - it was buffet style.

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Goldygolfer

Hi Jade - I have hesitated posting in reply to your above question, because I thought my information was a bit out of date.

However, no one else has come forth, so thought I would go ahead and reply.

We did a full day tour from Alexandria to Giza, Cairo, pyramids, sphinx, etc
with Ramses Tours in December 2010.
We were taken to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch in Cairo. It was attached to the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Yes - it was buffet style.

Hi Goldgolfer - December 2010 was not too long ago. The Hard Rock was never mentioned as one of their typical locations. Did Ramses have it as one of their $15.00 options or whatever they were charging in 2010?

Also, when Ramses includes lunch (or adds lunch) with their tours, have they been including a drink?

Thanks for posting. It is appreciated.

[Goldygolfer]

Hi Jade - Lunch was included in the price of the tour, so was not offered as an addition or an option.

We did Ramses Tour No. 2 from the Port of Alexandria (as listed on their website). I cannot remember the exact price, but I think around US$100pp.
It was a full day (12 hrs) and included a 1hr cruise on the Nile in a Felluca.

Perhaps Rames uses this particular restaurant for that tour as it was in very close proximity to where the fellucas were located. We did the cruise immediately following a late lunch - we had been to the pyramids, sphinx in the morning.

I'm sorry, but I don't clearly recall whether a drink was included with lunch, but I think not. Bottled water was freely available (at no additional cost) on the mini bus.

[GoVolsTB]

Unfortunately, the Hard Rock is closed. We also need to make a choice of lunch stop with Ramses Tours. Any assistance would be appreciated.

[bamondo]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Ramses said they use the following restaurants,

Happy Dolphin
Queen Cleopatra
Betk Restaurant

Has anyone eaten at any of these and have an opinion on any of them. Are they buffets? The set price paid to the tour company is $15.00 per person.

We will be at the pyramids, including Sakkara on one day, old Cairo one day, and on an afternoon tour to the museum directly from the airport on another.

Found someone who mentioned Happy Dolphin on tripadvisor:
Make sure you go for lunch to the Happy Dolphin- best food we had in Egypt simple and delicious (posted July 2012).

[dinoman]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Also, when Ramses includes lunch (or adds lunch) with their tours, have they been including a drink?

I am using Ramses for my Egypt tour next month, and as per their latest quote no drink is included in the meal.

[Cruise4Sunshine]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Ramses said they use the following restaurants,

Happy Dolphin
Queen Cleopatra
Betk Restaurant

Has anyone eaten at any of these and have an opinion on any of them. Are they buffets? The set price paid to the tour company is $15.00 per person.

We will be at the pyramids, including Sakkara on one day, old Cairo one day, and on an afternoon tour to the museum directly from the airport on another.

Just back from a GREAT Ramses Tour. We ate at the Happy Dolphin in Cairo, lovely buffet right on the Nile. Many food choices, drinks extra but reasonable, maybe $3.

Out near the pyramids, we ate in a fantastic place, the name escapes me, but we were greeted by a woman making fresh flat breads in a wood burning oven, and Egyptian musicians. There were grilled meats on a grill brought to the table and several meza on the table. Great experience. Pharoh's Restaurant????

[Hlitner]

There are a couple of basic rules about restaurants used by tours in Egypt. A majority of them will have some kind of buffet or a standard menu and they all will give kick-backs to the tour operator for bringing them business. Does that mean your tour company will take you to the best restaurant? Nope. But they will take you to decent places where the food is safe and the rest rooms are clean....because they need to protect their own reputation. Just keep in mind that in this part of the world tour companies and guides do not take you to many places that do not generate an additional profit for the tour company (and guide).

Hank

[Keith1010]

Welcome back Cruise4Shine.

Any issues while in Egypt?

Keith

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Hlitner

There are a couple of basic rules about restaurants used by tours in Egypt. A majority of them will have some kind of buffet or a standard menu and they all will give kick-backs to the tour operator for bringing them business. Does that mean your tour company will take you to the best restaurant? Nope. But they will take you to decent places where the food is safe and the rest rooms are clean....because they need to protect their own reputation. Just keep in mind that in this part of the world tour companies and guides do not take you to many places that do not generate an additional profit for the tour company (and guide).

Hank

Thank you to everyone for the recent updates.

Hlitner, I am not as worried if the place is OK for lunch since the fact the guide will be provided lunch means we do not have to pay for his/her lunch. In our case it will be just the two of us. My DH normally does not eat lunch which is why he is not concerned.

We will be flying from Africa to Egypt. The Nile cruise part of our trip will be with A&K-Egypt, but we have hired Ramses for 3 of our 4 airport transfers, as well as our first and last days in Cairo and one half day. They are also booking our hotels since the rates for locals is significantly less than what we can book from here.

Ramses mentioned 3 restaurants that they use and add $15.00 per person for lunch. I wanted to know if anyone had eaten at any of these, and which they preferred, and locations, etc.

Happy Dolphin
Queen Cleopatra
Betk Restaurant

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by bamondo

Found someone who mentioned Happy Dolphin on tripadvisor:
Make sure you go for lunch to the Happy Dolphin- best food we had in Egypt simple and delicious (posted July 2012).

I saw that post a while back as well. Thanks.

[Hlitner]

Originally Posted by Jade13

Thank you to everyone for the recent updates.

Hlitner, I am not as worried if the place is OK for lunch since the fact the guide will be provided lunch means we do not have to pay for his/her lunch. In our case it will be just the two of us. My DH normally does not eat lunch which is why he is not concerned.

We will be flying from Africa to Egypt. The Nile cruise part of our trip will be with A&K-Egypt, but we have hired Ramses for 3 of our 4 airport transfers, as well as our first and last days in Cairo and one half day. They are also booking our hotels since the rates for locals is significantly less than what we can book from here.

Ramses mentioned 3 restaurants that they use and add $15.00 per person for lunch. I wanted to know if anyone had eaten at any of these, and which they preferred, and locations, etc.

Happy Dolphin
Queen Cleopatra
Betk Restaurant

You sure cannot go wrong with A&K. Hope you enjoy your Nile cruise as much as we did.

Hank

[Cruise4Sunshine]

Keith,
No problems whatsoever while in Egypt. Ramses Tours did a wonderful tour without armed guards, and we felt perfectly safe at all times. Prepare yourself for wild traffic, and to see the remnants of the Arab Spring uprising. Our guide prepare to us for the vendors at the pyramids, not unlike the beaches in Mexico. Keep an open mind, parts are still very third world, and enjoy.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Hlitner

You sure cannot go wrong with A&K. Hope you enjoy your Nile cruise as much as we did.

Hank

Were you on Sanctuary IV? We went with A&K to Antarctica in 2009.

Hope to meet you one day.

[Hlitner]

No, have never been on that vessel. Actually we did not do A and K in Egypt but were on an Oberoi boat where we booked our own fare (we were on our own). We thought it interesting that there was a Travcoa group (from the University of Texas) on that same boat and after some dinner conversation we were shocked at how much they paid for their trip (it was very high).
Hank

[Jade13]

Originally Posted by Hlitner

No, have never been on that vessel. Actually we did not do A and K in Egypt but were on an Oberoi boat where we booked our own fare (we were on our own). We thought it interesting that there was a Travcoa group (from the University of Texas) on that same boat and after some dinner conversation we were shocked at how much they paid for their trip (it was very high).
Hank

I found out by going through Sanctuary Retreats (A&K outside the US, including Egypt) prices are much less than A&K US, plus we could work on our own time frame. We tried to do this through the US since we booked with them for Africa and they refused to sell us the Nile cruise only, and would only sell their full group tour even though with the dates we needed the tour started while we would still be in Africa. After waiting for them for 6 months to come out with their 2013 Egypt schedules, I found out by chance we could book exactly what we wanted directly through Egypt. Plus, all of my questions were answered immediately, whereas A&K US often has to go to their local operators to get any questions answered.

Travcoa is way expensive.