Have you ever innocently walked into a restaurant and encountered a strange new world? Neither had I, until I entered the doors of the Genesis English Pub in Luxor, Egypt.
I’d passed by this restaurant a few times while staying at the Hilton Luxor Resort and Spa earlier this year and one night decided to enter, hoping only for a meal of hearty shepherd’s pie. Instead I found colorfully decorated pub with stuffed chairs, cozy nooks and hilarious décor.
Since most restaurants in the U.S. forbid people from bringing in animals, I’m always amused to see cats and dogs hanging out at tables elsewhere in the world.
The house pets roaming about were just the tip of the iceberg. The owner Gamal told me to check out the back of the restaurant, so I walked through a doorway and what did I see? More cats and dogs? Not exactly. To my delight, just through the doorway a waterfall awaited.
But the waterfall turned out to be the most boring part of the restaurant’s back half. What lie beyond the water? Why a camel and an ostrich, of course.
The camel was sedated, I was told, because it had had minor surgery earlier in the day. The ostrich, on the other hand, was quite active and had even laid an egg recently. Gamal brought it to my table for me to hold. Don’t worry, you won’t hurt it, he said. It was born dead.
The Genesis Pub has a huge menu, although unfortunately shepherd’s pie wasn’t one of the choices. I had a club sandwich instead and it was quite good.
If you ever find yourself in Luxor, Egypt, you must check out this restaurant. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is the most unique and interesting I’ve found anywhere on earth. Unlike some other restaurants which try hard to amuse customers with various themes and interesting décor, the Genesis English Pub isn’t even trying to be incredible. It just is.
Location: 187 Hilton Road, approximately one block away and on the opposite side of the street from the Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa.
Website, inluding full menu sans prices: Genesis English Pub
I received nothing from Genesis English Pub in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are my own.
What a wild and whacky pub, loved that. I specifically look for odd places like this!
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Sabina Reply:
May 2nd, 2012 at 00:08
It was so wild, Ryan! And it was a great surprise. If you ever go to Luxor, don’t miss it.
Sabina recently posted..8 Things You Need to Know Before Traveling to Israel
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I would love to visit this restaurant! I love it when a restaurant gives you a full experience, and this one sounds like a very fun place to go.
Ayelet – All Colores recently posted..Buenos Aires Photos: The Opera House that Became a Book Store
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Sabina Reply:
May 16th, 2012 at 02:46
Ayelet, this was no doubt the most interesting restaurant I’ve ever been to. I hope you can go some day
Sabina recently posted..On The Road to Dahab
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Gotta love a restaurant with an ostrich and camel in the back. Seriously, that’s a pretty cool feature to have.
I also love places that have dogs and cats in them. You don’t see that much in the US. Although there is this one liquore store where I live with a huge dog that walks around in it. It really brightens the place up and the dog is so friendly. I love walking in there for that one reason.
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Sabina Reply:
May 18th, 2012 at 02:25
Steve, it was wonderful having the animals there. It’s even cooler to dine at the restaurants in Dahab where I am currently, because there are stray cats which sometimes come sit in your lap. If you don’t like it you can just shoo them away, but I love it
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