Even further than Mex is Agami, the summer resort for both Alexandrians and Cairenes. Long hot summer nights were relieved by outdoor dining, often accompanied by music and dancing. Chakos, with a cosy, familial atmosphere added all the more to the friendly amateur feel of the place with customers at the mercy of the day's providence. If Mr. Chakos, who did the fishing himself, was lucky enough, dinner was secured, if not, perhaps the George's then, or the Agami Palace and later Andrea which also once boasted a beautiful spot on the Alexandrian seafront where the Sheraton now stands. The Andrea of Agami was beautifully decorated but two elements at the entrance could have been severe drawbacks: a pool of stagnant water, and a selection criterion for entering. The pool of stagnant water did not dissuade anybody, but the owner turned many away. The criterion for selection? Whether the owner liked you or not! If he didn’t, you were told, not often politely, that the place was full.

Today, Andrea is gone, having migrated first to Agami and Cairo, and is now open along the affluent North Coast. So too has Chakos shut down the business, but Chez Michael's, run by the Greek owner of Santa Lucia, is going strong with a loyal following not just among hardcore Agamists, but commuters who are willing to drive back to Alex after a meal had there. The setting, it has to be noted, is a simple villa owned by the Spendjians, an Alexandrian practice echoed by the Au Privé, once Cordahi office premises, all of which lend a special Alexandrian flavor otherwise obtained by much contrived efforts. In a reversal of direction, the Tijuana bar so popular in the recent years in Agami, is rumored to have shut down and its manager has, effectively, recently re- inaugurated the Au Privé now aptly called the Déjà Vu.