My friend Myron and his dive buddy introduce me to Jackie, their instructor from Red Sea Relax (Neptune Hotel). Jackie informs me that he is the only PADI-certified Sudanese dive instructor in the world. As a resident of Dahab for many years, he promises to show us good local food.

Jackie leads us inland. While the food at the seaside restaurants is of good quality and flavor compared to the mainland, it's usually Western-style or attempted fusion. I am not impressed with Egyptian food, but I'm still willing to try. Away from the shore, there are more Egyptian-style options and low prices.

Sea Bride has a walk-up window packed with fresh seafood on ice. I drool looking at bargain-priced octopus and eel (even barracuda!), but my companions prefer fish. Jackie gets us the "Egyptian price" of 15EP for grouper filets. The four of us choose two grilled and two fried.

The restaurant area is to the right of the window. Within minutes of seating, we are given an incredibly fresh-tasting, light fish soup. We have plates of tahini and babaghanouj, bowls of rice, and warm pita bread. Then the fish arrives with tomato-cucumber salad and the table overflows.

It doesn't sound complimentary to say this is the best restaurant I've visited in Egypt, so I'll just say it is excellent, period. The food is simply but perfectly prepared, and it is really too much for us to finish; we force it down because it is too good to waste. For 15EP plus a small tip, it's quite a deal.

The service at Sea Bride is friendly and quick. It's a popular place for locals, and the first night, we actually see some local bigwigs. Of course we don't recognize them, but Jackie points them out. They order something in a towering dish that is then set on fire. Impressive.

The next day, Myron and I are still licking our lips over Sea Bride. We gather a larger group of divers to go again. Jackie cannot join us the second night, so I make sure the guys at the window remember us from our previous visit and ask politely for Egyptian price. I don't actually know if the price we get is different than anyone else's price.

On the second night, we have six people. We get whole grouper at 25EP per kilo and snapper at 20EP per kilo. We choose two red snappers, two white snappers, and a 2-kilo grouper. This time, the soup is just as tasty, but instead of babaghanouj, we get cucumber yogurt sauce. It is gone in a flash, but refilled on request. Once again, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, as we struggle to finish the delicious fishes... and fail. Total damage was 25EP each, including tip.

I promise that this is the best value in Egypt if you like seafood! Do not miss it when you're in Dahab.

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