Blu Blu Sidi Bou — Restaurant in Tunis

We visited Sidi Bou Said thinking it would not be too crowded, as we were in low season. But nope: it's a very busy spot with locals too. So the restaurants we wanted to try were fully booked. Blu Blu has a very large outside seating area and an upper seating area, and while both were packed, a helpful waiter found us a small table (we are a couple) on the space between the kitchen and the outside seating. Not the best table in the house... but ok when the alternative was to go to sleep with an empty belly.

And then the service was painfully slow. I think our table didn't officially belong to any waiter, so we were waited by whoever happened to walk nearby, which made for a very long wait. Or perhaps they were simply overwhelmed with customers. In the Northern African tradition, they were many people who appeared to be managers, and most (not all) were more interested in chastising the waiters than giving a hand themselves.

Eventually we got our grilled dorada fishes, not particularly tasty. And the bill -rather expensive for Tunisian standards.

The tables outside are very nice (though we could not use them) and the place itself is very clean and nice looking. Combined with the Sidi Bou Said location, I guess that's what you pay for more...

Two toilets for men yet none had toilet paper nor paper to wipe hands. I reported the matter to one young man who couldn’t care less saying it was not his responsibility. Even though it might not have been he should have offered to refer to the person in charge. He started arguing in an aggressive way. I had to remind him that he was part of the restaurant so in a way it was his responsibility to portray a good image of the restaurant. They took their time to provide paper. One male was on his phone even though i had informed him too. Not very reactive staff. The toilet should be checked every hour at least to make sure it is fully equipped. When I asked the same male employee to speak to the manager he lied saying he wasn’t their..Finally he was there. That unprofessional aggressive employee is very irresponsible and does not fit to be in your team. He is damaging the image of your restaurant . The other employees were wonderful especially the two that served us the food they were good. Going to a restaurant is not only the food but also the general service. Pay attention to your toilet. Get rid of unfit aggressive employees.. Make the right decisions if you want to remain...

Pros: very nice indoor area, live music, good location.

Cons: we waited forever for our drinks (just 3 mint teas and a bottle of water)... Which only came after we asked twice about them. I had to apologise to my foreign friends as this was their first night here in Tunisia, and I was very embarrassed that this was the welcome they received (especially after a very bland meal at another establishment nearby). The mint teas came not very hot and obviously rushed as we complained it was taking more than 20 minutes to be served tea and water. The tea was very watered down... And they forgot our bottle of water, which they then added to our bill anyways 😂 all of this added to their insane prices (7x normal price for a tea) and honestly a rude welcome to the place by the waiters who seemed lost and dazed, made this a place I'm definitely not...