El Andalous - The Social Dining Scene

Cafe Coffee Day

I sometimes think that I’m here living the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or maybe I’m just back in my student days when I lived in halls. Most of the people at El Andalous are sociable and, of course, we’re all living in the same block, so we’ll be round at each others for meals or drinks, or we’ll go out together to socialize.

I hosted hummus, bread, and chicken, plus some Arabic dessert, as a farewell to Kathleen and Tom who were leaving for good (very sad!). After a lot of trauma (this is Egypt, after all), they finally managed to sell their flat amidst changes in the law, struggles to set up a bank account, negotiating with the buyers, getting a visa, and sorting out how to transfer the money back to Ireland, to mention only a few things. It’s disappointing that there last memories of El Andalous are ones of stress, but I hope to visit them in Ireland at some point.

Of course, with there being so many new places opened up in Sahl Hasheesh, I had to try some of these. Kathleen, Nicole and I tried out Café Coffee Day. They hadn’t quite got their full menu out yet, but I think I tried the steak. The weather was still warm enough to sit outside (even at night) and we got the waiter to take a photograph of us. They worked hard to make us feel welcome and create a family-type atmosphere.

Nicole and I tried out Sailors Beach Club (also sitting outside); the food was good but pretty expensive after you’d added on the service charge and tax (not included in the printed prices – it’s a bit annoying but I think nowhere includes them because it’s too expensive to keep on changing the menus in line with changes in tax).

Jeff and Ness had reported that the Indian at the Tropitel was good, so I went there with Nicole. It was a set menu and very nicely presented, but was again pretty expensive (and the wine was extortionate). I felt I’d had better curries, but it’s always a treat to be able to eat an Indian (being so used to the UK!).

Ann was over and she hadn’t yet tried Bus Stop, so I went there with her. Bus Stop is now almost the oldest establishment in Sahl Hasheesh, so much has changed. It’s quite a confusing name as at least one person has thought it was an actual bus stop (given all the new bus stops being constructed in Sahl Hasheesh).

Safi, Ann, and I took a trip into Hurghada to Thai Garden, which is Safi’s favorite restaurant (and it is good); that was the same as ever.

Nicole and I went to have a Chinese at the Sunrise Romance and discovered that the hotel had now opened up an Indian restaurant. This is potentially fatal as I’ve already fantasized on one Friday evening of popping over and seeing if they can do a take-away. Janice and Chris had tried it and were only luke-warm about the food, but what I had was good. I asked for it to be spiced up a bit and I avoided the lamb (which is often a bit chewy over here and Chris had said his lamb could have been stewed for a few more hours) and the end result was very nice. They even had peshwari naan, which is my favorite. All in all, it’s a great addition to the Sahl Hasheesh offerings.

I think the only places I haven’t yet tried are the Mexican in front of the Pyramisa, and Fisawy, which isn’t so news, but is really more of a snack place, so I’ve not done too badly!