Bab El-Sharq — Restaurant in Cairo

I booked this restaurant as a treat for my husband’s birthday after reading the glowing reviews but honestly we couldn’t have been more disappointed. When we were first seated, we asked to move tables as there is a huge sports tv screen which is so bright it illuminates what should be a lovely atmosphere (pretty fairy lights and outdoor lighting surround the rest of the restaurant). We were told the tv screen stays on all night so instead of an intimate setting, it was akin to a sports bar. Anyway we moved tables to a lesser illuminated spot and hoped the food would live up to the reviews. It started well with the seafood soup and hummus but when the waiter brought our main courses during the starters, it was not appreciated. We told him we were still eating so he returned our seafood platter and mixed grill to the kitchen. As soon as we finished our starters, they returned with the main courses which were clearly the same ones they brought out first time as the seafood and rice had gone cold and our meat platter was dry and tough. We made the best of it as we didn’t want to entirely spoil what had been such a good day (visiting the pyramids earlier had been amazing!) but needless to say we’re not at all happy. The only 2 good things were the Egyptian wine (surprisingly delicious) and the waiter who tried his best to help us after his colleague had messed up. Would NOT recommend and wish we had returned downtown to the street food local area which sells a mixed grill 10 times better for 10 times less. To cap it all, after days of eating in local outlets downtown with no problems, my husband became sick...

What a Splendorous meal we had this evening. They moved the restaurant to their pool side (very pretty) from its usual spot within The Ritz Carlton hotel due to a concert happening on the premises (very noisy). This was our first time here and our first night in Cairo. We didn’t have a reservation and it full, they still managed to get us a table. We were entertained with musicians, singers and a belly dancer - who was star of the night! The service was excellent too and well worth the 12.5% service charge they add to the bill at the end. The food was very tasty - and as someone who is gluten free, there were lots of choices for the main. More limiting for starters. We had the falafels and the grilled halloumi, followed by the Baby chicken - the rice was especially amazing! Our Only disappointment were the weak tasting cocktails and the cold French fries, which the immediately changed for hot ones, although the new portion had shrunk. 1 star lost on the food for that reason. Also no light on the table - difficult to see what you were eating. This is something that could easily be addressed. Would we return here again? Most definitely! Cost of 2 course meal with 1 alcoholic cocktail and 1 non alcoholic cocktail = 4332 Egyptian pounds. N.B. Fellow GF eaters: I never looked at their dessert menu as we went inside to another establishment for desserts as it got a bit too chilly. Sadly this one inside The Ritz Carlton hotel had no gluten...

The only good thing about this place was the atmosphere, everything else is not worth the money. Starting with how horrible the customer service is at this restaurant. I would have imagined that a restaurant at a prestigious hotel like the ritz Carlton would aim to provide a service that went above and beyond but that is far far from the case. The waiters don’t seem to care to provide good customer service. I had to flag the waiter to just put my order in because they had forgotten about us, and it wasn’t because they were busy he was just on his cell phone. Then, when I told the server to come back to take my drink order he never came back. Appetizers came and I had nothing to eat my meal with. The server was no where to be found. We wanted to make an order for a main meal and again no server. Eventually I had to ask for the manager to come and help out which they sent the assistant manager. It did help get things going a bit but by this point I was already upset. They gave us a dessert, without asking if we wanted one, as a way to make things better but honestly by this point I just wanted to go back to my room to sleep.

I would say considering the amount of money we spent the food was just okay. Again, I imagined better.

The only thing this place has going for it is the evening shows and entertainment, but once the bad service and mid food comes in you’ll likely start to forget about it. Not sure I...