Metropolitan Cafe

[FABlux]

Brilliant Hepzi. :

Next time you're over Tim make sure you bring an assortment of carrier bags & you can try 1 each day to see what effect they each have

[Mimimay]

Don't use a 'Poundland' carrier Tim

[HEPZIBAH]

Don't use a 'Poundland' carrier Tim

[face=Comic Sans MS]
I went to a shop called 'Cirlcle 7' yesterday - I guess that may mean that you'd lead them a right merry dance.

As for 'Happy Shopper '- Don't even think about it! [/face]

[Goddess]

Good Lord!!!!

But as usual my mind is boggling!!! If this carrying a carrier bag is a sign - what do they have in it?!?!?! Surely it isn't just an empty bag??? Or does it not matter - so long as you have the bag!??

(And is this a universal sign!?!? ie ALL interested parties carry the bag - or just the buyer?!)

Love the Bag signs Hepzi!!!

[Horus]

Only just read this thread and I am so glad that I did It is a perfectly good reason for me not to help Mrs H with her shopping.
"Carrier bag! oh no my dear, you have no conception of the danger I would be putting myself in"

[HEPZIBAH]

I was just nicely dropping off to sleep last night when All the carrier bags started dancing through my brain! The 'Next' carrier is definately one to avoid:

Next - I have an eye for whats in fashion at realistic prices, sale opens at 5am so form an orderly queue.

Primark - Cheap but won't last long.

QS (formerly known as Quality Seconds) - need I say more!

[TIM]

I wonder what my Gaddis & Co. carrier bag said about me on my final day on the Corniche? (didn't get any offers that day.... )

Gaddis &Co - Literate, prepared to put money into the local economy but spends more time & interest over the past than the present, not to comfortable with bartering, prefers to know exactly what he's getting and for how much.

Ooh, spookey!

Memo to self: be careful not to give too much away when Hepzi's around....

[Geraldine]

I have a feeling that Metropolitan hasn't been very good for some time now (it is always almost empty too), but my mother and I tried it yesterday. They had a new menu, really nice and looked very impressive. But my first thought was that perhaps they do not actually have any of those delicious sandwiches, salads, pizzas, desserts etc that are shown on the menu.

Well, they didn't. For example, they have two dessert sections, western type (at least 10 different delicious sounding desserts) and Egyptian one. They only had few Egyptian desserts "No we don't have that" - "Oh, we don't have that either" In the end my sandwich wasn't like described on the menu. Metropolitan is extremely expensive as well. American coffee with milk is 20 LE and you should have seen that coffee Not even half a cup.

I asked for a check and we got the amount told us, not a receipt. Of course I asked for a receipt.

One place to avoid, for me anyway.

[Winged Isis]

You are 100% correct G! This is exactly how I have found them. I have given them a go each time I visit over the last 6 yeras, and am always disappointed. The food is rubbish (if you can actually get what you want, as they have a huge menu, but little of what is listed): tasteless and lukewarm. You pay for the view. The problem is, they have a captive market as there is no-where else in town with such a location on the East Bank (that I know of), other than in the big hotels. Never again for food, only drinks.

[Moonstone]

Yes, agree with Geraldine and WI. I popped in two weeks ago as I wanted one of their strawberry drinks as a special treat. It was not busy but the waiter thought that cleaning the tables was more important than dealing with customers. So, I sat - and I sat - and I sat.... more out of bloody-mindedness than anything else to see how long it would take him to come over to me. The other waiter was extremely busy hosing down the stonework as it was the day following that awful sandstorm and he had no intention of serving anyone. Eventually I got my drink and asked for a menu. Another ten minutes passed before it arrived. I asked for a tuna sandwich. I waited 20 minutes for it to appear. It was only when I brought out a notebook and started writing in it that the waiter thought I might be writing critical notes about the service and brought the food! And it certainly wasn't worth the wait. Normally I would not tolerate this lack of service but I was on Egyptian time. However, one lost customer - I shall NOT go back. You're right about the location - but enough is enough.

[Jo]

We visited a few weeks back and again service was beyond slow. We ordered some deep fried egg plant which we expected to come in batter and be hot as in many places in Luxor but when it came it was inedible it had been fried many hours ago and was now cold and greasy so it went back as it came. Not sure if this is just a taste thing and this is how it is meant to be served but we weren't impressed, neither was the waiter when he didn't get his tip!

[drwho]

I know of no better place to watch every-ones antics whilst causally sipping a moderately priced ice-cold Stella or Saqquara before hopping a very handy motor boat away from la-la land.
When the going gets hot! One needs to plot ahead of One's way-points, now that the new winta has gone, Sinbads is to hot, Anyhow they have to support an ice-cold but customer-less bowling alley and a few flash cars. Me I love the the 'MET........5 stars......

[Angela]

I have never had anything decent to eat in the Metropolitan it is awful. Once I ordered Chicken in a BBQ sauce. When I got the meal it was just a piece of chicken with no sauce. When I asked where the BBQ sauce was they pointed to a bottle of Hot sauce and said 'there it is'. When I demanded BBQ sauce they finally gave me a pot of tomato ketchup, watered down with hot water. Nice!

Before the days of the Metropolitan, the Anubis near the Mummification museum used to be great for a drink and reasonably priced too. They let the furniture get a bit scruffy though. I haven't been there for a few years. Has anybody been there recently?

[drwho]

Who said anything about eating, we are talking survival at 45oC of heat, 500ml of Stella evaporates within 15 minutes once ingested thereby making it critical to have ice with ones drink, on a regular basis, water just doesn't hack the minerals, a Dr told me.
It beggars belief, why would anyone would want to eat in the Met anyhow?.......
So Dr say's 'drink more to stay alive....

[BBLUX]

Problem is you cannot taste your drink for the exhaust fumes from the bloody cruise boats.

Never, ever, use any of the places along the waterfront for that reason alone.

[LivinginLuxor]

Agreed totally - it is purely a place for tour boat passengers! And appears to be a haunt of all of the local gigolos after some unsuspecting female tourist.

[EmmaG]

Do not go to Metropolitian during any major sports event!!

Went there last night to watch Algeria and England play, some of the people in my party ordered Stella, it said on the fridge that a bottle of Stella was 15LE ( expensive but they are holiday makers so didn't mind), when we asked for the bill they had charged us 25LE for each Stella, when I questioned the price and asked to see the drinks menu the waiter got out his pen, scrubbed the 15LE price off the menu and wrote 25LE, we were told it was 'because of the match'. To add to that the satellite signal was no good so half of the match was fuzzy. Metropolitan was packed with holiday makers and Thomson reps so wondered if commission was being made - hence the hotel prices being charged for drinks.

[BENNU]

- Sounds like you are right about the commision, in any case it is greed! The match attracts people who probably drink more beer than normally (I know I would), so it is really unfair!

[Glyphdoctor]

I had a conversation with some Egyptians here in Cairo today who told me that one of the cafes here charged 10LE cover during the match between Egypt and Brazil last year and that was for Egyptians. Apparently for popular matches charging cover is not unheard of.

[LivinginLuxor]

Why you would go there is astonishing, when most bars in Luxor are showing matches for free!