King Dude II

Description:

• Buried deep in the Gaddis Hotel, the King Dude is the kind of place that will either make you smile or roll your eyes and walk out. Kids should love it; it's done up like a tomb under excavation. Suspended walkways carry tables a couple of meters in the air, and the walls are covered with spoof hieroglyphs featuring, I guess, King Dude himself (a Tutankhamun-esque figure with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth). The theme continues onto the menu, where the drink list includes lethal-looking items such as the Embalmers Special, a mix of ouza, rum, vodka, and fruit juices. The food is certainly not on a par with Sofra (below), but there's lots of it. Ordering is a matter of choosing between two or three set menus, which will take you through three or four courses of Egyptian favorites including lentil soup, vine leaves, tagine, or grilled pigeon.

• © Frommer's 2013