2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

If you’re looking for a place to dine on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, here are some restaurants in Kuwait offering special Christmas menus.

All the options are hotels, except for Vigonovo. The cheapest option I found is the Grand Majestic Hotel at KD 7.5 per person for a buffet, while the most expensive is Riccardo at KD 40 per person for a set menu. Check out the list below:

Courtyard by Marriott
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 16.9 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 18.9 (Buffet)
@courtyardkuwait

Crowne Plaza Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 17 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 18 (Buffet)
@crowneplazakuwaitatc

Grand Majestic Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 7.5 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Dinner: KD 7.5 (Buffet)
@grandmajestichotels

Holiday Inn Salmiya
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 13.900 (Buffet)
@holidayinnkw

Jumeirah Messilah Beach
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 25 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 25 (Buffet)
@jumeirahmessilahbeach

Marina Hotel
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 18 (Buffet)
@marinahotelkwt

Park Inn By Radisson
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 20 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 20 (Buffet)
@parkinnbyradissonkuwait

Radisson Blu Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 19.5 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 21 (Buffet)
@radissonblukuwait

Riccardo
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 40 (Set Menu)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 40 (Set Menu)

Symphony Style Hotel
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 18 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 20 (Buffet)
@symphonystylekuwait

The St. Regis
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 28 (Buffet)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 28 (Buffet)
@stregiskuwait

Vigonovo
Christmas Eve Dinner: KD 15 (Set Menu)
Christmas Day Lunch: KD 15 (Set Menu)
@vigonovo_kw

Waldorf Astoria
Christmas Day Dinner: KD 26 (Set Menu)
@waldorfastoriakuwait

Main photo taken from Jumeirah Messilah Beach

In my previous post about OffTheCoal, I talked about how the restaurant felt more like a passion project than a typical restaurant. From the steampunk and art deco inspired interior to the fire driven cooking, everything felt intentional. That same approach now carries into a new menu called “The Flame Within.”

That new menu was shaped under the direction of a new Culinary Director, Chef Sebastiano Campanelli, whose background includes time in Michelin starred kitchens such as Noma in Copenhagen and Maaemo in Oslo. He was also Head Chef at Savage in Oslo, where he played a key role in the restaurant earning its first Michelin star just six months after opening. He’s now using that experience at OffTheCoal, without turning it into a fine dining restaurant.

The goal by bringing Chef Sebastiano on board wasn’t smaller plates or a formal dining experience. OffTheCoal is still an upper casual restaurant made for the Kuwait market. Portions are big, dishes are meant for sharing, and the atmosphere is relaxed. What has changed is the level of precision in the food, with Michelin level techniques being applied to familiar flavors.

“The Flame Within” is a new menu focused on clearer structure, better consistency, and more controlled use of fire. It keeps the restaurant’s confident and playful feel while improving how the dishes come together.

OffTheCoal’s new menu officially launches tomorrow, Sunday, December 21. Kuwait still doesn’t have a Michelin star restaurant, so this is about as close as it gets for now. If you want to book, head over to @offthecoal

Quite a few outdoor activities this weekend even though rain is expected. Like last week, I’ve mixed in a few indoor options too, just in case.

Thursday, December 18
Chinese Movie Night
The Green Expo

Friday, December 19
Open Air Pilates Pop-up
Al-Farsi Giant Kite Show
The Winter Market at Hessah Plaza
Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra
Cars & Coffee
For the Love of Dogs
The Green Expo
Short Movies Night at Salt

Saturday, December 20
Open Air Pilates Pop-up
Harry Potter Screening & Sketching
The Winter Market at Hessah Plaza
Home Alone in Concert
DAI StoryTime at Amricani
Soof Wool Mill Tour
New Year Vision Board
The Temptation Film Premiere
Anti-Boring Night Out
Cookie Exchange & Tea Gathering
The Green Expo
Mommy & Me: Dino Discovery
Yoga & Pilates in the Desert

Before purchasing this cover for my Ranger I couldn’t find a lot of pictures of info on it for the Ranger, so figured I’d write up a post in case anyone else online is looking to get one as well.

I ordered the cover from Amazon, they don’t ship to Kuwait so had to send it to my Shop&Ship and then have them send it to Kuwait. Luckily I had a 25% discount code they had given me after they messed up the packaging of my vintage Philips walkman. Been saving it for a heavy shipment and this was the one.

There is one place in Kuwait selling the BAKFlip MX4 but for KD525 with installation. I got mine for KD322 from Amazon during their Black Friday sale plus paid KD75 for shipping after the discount. So around KD400 which is a good amount of savings.

Installation was really easy since they have a step by step guide video on YouTube on how to install it. Took around 30 minutes and I only needed a Philips screwdriver and a T30 Torx bit.

I think the cover looks really great. It has a very low profile and looks pretty OEM. On the Hilux I had a roll cover but over time with our dusty weather the rolling mechanism kept getting stiffer and stiffer. This new cover I got won’t have that problem since it flips open in three parts. Also it doesn’t take up any space inside the bed while with the roll cover the box that cover rolled into took space inside the bed. Finally if I need to remove it for so reason it’s super easy, there are two knobs I can loosen up with my hands and then pull off the cover.

So first impressions, I really like it. Now just need to see how good it still looks a year or two from now after dealing with our hot summer and dusty weather.

The Deliveroo annual Restaurant Awards list is finally out, with winners voted for by people across Kuwait in 16 different categories. I just went through the list and nothing felt out of place, check out all the winners below:

Best Local Concept: Pick
Best Healthy: Ananas
Best Coffee: Caribou Coffee
Best Burger: Five Guys
Best Pizza: Pizza Hut
Best Dessert: Overjar
Best Breakfast: Lazy Cat
Best Chicken: Raising Cane’s
Best Lebanese: Mais Alghanim
Best Kuwaiti: Freej Swaileh
Best Shawarma: Shawarma Factory
Best Mexican: Chipotle
Best Italian: Melenzane
Best Indian: Asha’s
Best Asian: P.F. Chang’s
Best New to Roo: Mr. Baker

West Elm is closing down next week, so they’ve been running clearance sales to get rid of their stock. I passed by over the weekend and went back again today, only to find out they just started their big sale. Everything is now at least 70% off. Some of the accessories are even discounted by more than 90% because they have buy one get one free deals on top of the discounts.

I’m pretty sad that West Elm is closing down. It was my favorite furniture store, and we really don’t have many other places that offer a similar style.

They’re closing down on December 25, but I’d head there sooner. The store was super busy when I was there, and I’m sure a lot of the good stuff is going to get sold. Pottery Barn is also having a massive sale since they’re also closing on the 25th.

Videos of this car popped up on my TikTok feed this morning and I really need to know how this happened. Doubt it’s AI, might be an ad of some sort? No idea. My best guess is someone pissed off a guy who had a crane.

Last night, a new exhibit opened at the Amricani Cultural Center titled “Between Two Art Objects: The Emergence of the Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah.” It’s an especially moving one, since it tells the story of the founding of Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah by the late Sheikh Nasser Sabah al Ahmad through two objects: the first piece he acquired for the collection, and the last piece added before his passing. Both objects are on display and serve as the exhibition’s anchor. From there, it takes you through a timeline, highlighting key moments along the way and sharing photos and old exhibition posters.

While “Between Two Art Objects” is on the ground floor, there are two other exhibits located on the first floor of Amricani that you should also check out. The first is called “Art of Ancient Arabia: Heritage of Our Ancestors,” and the second is “Distant and Close: Chinese Art in Kuwait.” I did find Art of Ancient Arabia interesting, but it was the Chinese exhibit that I liked the most.

“Distant and Close” celebrates the individual talent of artisans from both China and the Islamic world, and highlights the impact of shared ideas, technologies, trade, and cultures. If you’re a fan of ceramics, I highly recommend this exhibit. There were a number of pieces I found interesting, but my favorite was a stack of porcelain dishes fused with coral and excavated from a shipwreck. I liked it so much it actually sent me down a rabbit hole into a category of ceramics I hadn’t really paid attention to before, shipwreck porcelain. Since visiting the exhibit I’ve been doing a lot of random research on shipwreck porcelain and even trying to find a similar piece to add to my own collection.

Speaking of shipwrecks and porcelain, does anyone remember an exhibit in Kuwait sometime in the mid to late 1980s that featured ceramic pieces recovered from a shipwreck? I have a vague memory of it, but I can’t find any information about it online.

Anyway, if you want to pass by and check out the three exhibits, Amricani is open Saturday to Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM, and Friday from 2 PM to 7 PM. It’s closed on Sundays, and there’s no entry fee.

Over the weekend I was invited by Toyota to attend the GR Yaris Cup. I didn’t really need an invitation since I was planning to go anyway to meet up with some friends, especially since a couple of the drivers are from our circle.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the GR Yaris Cup, it’s a racing series where 12 drivers compete against each other across multiple races. What makes it different from other races is that all the cars are built exactly the same. They’re Toyota GR Yaris cars that have been modified specifically for racing. With every driver competing in the same car, it becomes a true drivers race since it’s no longer about who has the faster car.

I initially thought this was a race series introduced by Toyota Japan, but this weekend I found out it was actually created by the AlSayer Toyota dealer and later adopted by other countries. This is now the third season of the GR Yaris Cup, and after the success of the first season, other markets wanted to bring the series to their own tracks.

It’s a great event to watch because the races are short and the cars tend to stay close together due to identical performance. That makes every lap exciting, especially when they come past the grand stands as a group. The races take place at Kuwait Motor Town and are always free to attend. There are usually activations and food trucks on site as well.

This past weekend Toyota gave us an early sneak peek at the new 2026 GR Yaris, which is finally becoming available to purchase in Kuwait. The car is being officially launched tonight and will most likely sell out tonight as well since I know a lot of car enthusiasts who want one.

The next GR Yaris Cup race will take place in January and it’s going to be a big one since it will run alongside the popular Gulf Run weekend and White Expo Market. I’ll be posting more about that next month, but for now you can check out some photos and learn more about the series on their official accounts @toyotakw and @gazooracingkw or visit the website.

The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) recently opened the first phase of its Eco Park project, a government initiative aimed at supporting urban greening and promoting sustainability in Kuwait. The Eco Park focuses on improving green spaces in urban areas while also supporting research related to desert development and urban planning.

The park officially opened earlier in the month but I kept postponing my visit because of the weather. But, on Friday when I saw the sun was out I decided to pass by and check the park out and take some photos.

It’s fairly big, depending on what you’re comparing it to. It’s much smaller than Shaheed Park and Shuwaikh Park, but bigger and more interesting than most neighborhood parks.

When you first walk in, you’re greeted with a list of rules, including a no pets allowed notice. I’m actually fine with that. I walk my dog in that area and although I always pick up after him, I know a lot of people don’t. I’d rather have a dog free park than constantly worrying about stepping in poop. Inside the park there are plants and flowers everywhere (but no grass), and two artificial lakes, one large open air lake and a smaller shaded one. On the other end of the park is a large open space that looks like it could be used to host events or activities like yoga sessions or outdoor workouts. There’s also a pathway marked with no entry signs that leads toward the second phase of the park.

I couldn’t find the park’s opening hours listed anywhere, and I didn’t see any security or staff on site to ask about the timings. I reached out to KISR on Thursday to check, but I haven’t heard back yet. That said, I drive by the park daily and haven’t seen the gate closed so far.

If you want to pass by, the park is in Salmiya, facing the Gulf Road, in front of the Cliffs Tower and just before Dar Hamad. Here is the location on Google Maps.

Update: KISR replied, the opening hours are Sat to Wed 6am–6pm and Thu to Sat 6am–9pm

I just found out that the Max Amini comedy show, which was supposed to take place this Thursday at The Arena, has been canceled. According to The Arena, the show was canceled for reasons beyond their control. My guess is that it might be related to issues surrounding some of the recent shows, but if I find out more, I’ll update this post.

On Friday, I woke up to a notice from Instagram saying they had removed one of my posts for violating community standards. Apparently, their AI misread my post about Ozempic prices in Kuwait versus other countries and thought I was “selling prescription weight-loss injections.”

I was given the option to appeal the decision, which I did. A couple of minutes later, I received a message saying my appeal was rejected. I’m guessing the appeal was also reviewed by AI, because I was then given the option to submit the post to an “Oversight Board” for review. I did that, and I’m now waiting for a response.

The issue is that my account now has some restrictions. Most of them don’t really affect me, except for one important one, I can no longer mark my ads on Instagram as a “Paid Partnership.”

I always mark paid posts as paid partnerships and also add my own “Promoted” badge so there’s no confusion to what content is paid for and what isn’t. Yesterday, while posting an ad, I found out about this new limitation, so I ended up added the hashtag #paidpartnership at the bottom. I think that’s a fair compromise for now until Instagram sorts this out.

It’s pretty scary knowing that Instagram’s AI can misinterpret a post and automatically limit your account, or even shut it down. I understand using AI to flag content for a human to review, but I didn’t realize it had this much power. A lot of people rely on Instagram for their livelihood, me included. In this case I was lucky AI didn’t suspend my account or something and just restricted some features. In my previous job Instagram suspended one of our restaurants accounts because AI thought we were pretending to be a pharmacy which went by the same name. Took us forever to get it back online.

It’s one of the reasons I prefer my blog here, I’m in control and if something happens my hosting provider Wavai are a WhatsApp message away. And it’s happened before where the blog went down or I messed something up, I’d just contact them and they sort out the issue for me. When I contacted Instagram support and spoke to a real person about my issue, they couldn’t do anything about this since they told me they didn’t have the authority and I needed to wait for the Oversight Board’s decision.

Hopefully the Oversight Board are real people who will see the mistake and get my account restrictions removed.

One thing I find lacking in Kuwait is luxury men’s spas. I get a manicure and pedicure every couple of weeks, and I used to have a favorite spot in the city, but I stopped going around eight years ago when the quality dropped. So when a new luxury spa called Rainforest Park reached out to me, I was intrigued.

Rainforest Park is located in Burj Jassem across from Al Shaheed Park. It’s a very chill tower in the afternoons with plenty of parking. The spa itself is on the mezzanine floor, tucked away in a quiet corner. Once you walk in, you’re instantly met with a calming interior.

Given the name, you’d expect a connection to the rainforest, and it’s definitely there. The space is filled with lush plants, hardwood flooring, and materials that give the place a premium feel. There’s even a huge aquarium filled with exotic fish.

After checking in, I was led into a large room where my seat was waiting for me, a comfy leather spa chair that wouldn’t look out of place in a private members’ club. I was also served tea, water, and a snack. I then put on my AirPods and caught up on some YouTube subscriptions while getting my manicure and pedicure.

It was a very chill and comfortable experience in a beautiful space. One of the reasons I enjoy getting my nails done is that it helps me relax and slow my pace down. Some people do yoga or meditate, but this is what works for me, which is why the experience matters so much.

Other than manicures and pedicures, Rainforest Park also offers a range of other services including relaxing and specialty sports massages, foot reflexology, facials, a royal Moroccan bath, and body scrubs. Although Rainforest Park itself is new, it’s part of the Kingsley Spa Group (@kingsleymenspa), which also operates @rainforestmenspa (different from Rainforest Park) and @theorganicspakuwait. So while the space is new, the team behind it has plenty of experience in men’s spas and clearly knows what they’re doing.

If you’re a guy looking for a new premium spa, give Rainforest Park a try. The first twenty people to call and book and mention 248AM will receive a special gift. Check them out at @rainforestparkspa

Kim Kardashian’s fashion brand Skims is popping up in Kuwait starting today. The pop up is organized by Ounass, the luxury fashion and lifestyle retailer, and is located at 360 Mall. It will be running until December 20.

The way the pop up works is that you can check out the Skims collection on display, but if you want to purchase anything you’ll need to scan the QR code on the price tag. The QR code takes you to the Ounass app where you can complete the purchase and have the item delivered to you.

Skims has been surrounded by controversy recently regarding new store openings which from what I understand was based on fake news. But for those interested, the pop up is located in the original phase of 360 Mall near Bloomingdale’s.

Hopefully it’s not gonna be raining all weekend because there are a few cool outdoor activities taking place. Check out this weekends events below:

Thursday, December 11
Sahara International Show Jumping Show
Jazz & Coffee Festival
RAPUNZEL – The Panto

Friday, December 12
Sahara International Show Jumping Show
Jazz & Coffee Festival
RAPUNZEL – The Panto
Voltaire Winter Market
GR Yaris Cup 3

Saturday, December 13
Sahara International Show Jumping Show
Al-Mubarakiya Women’s Photowalk
Mirror House 12th Art Festival
Journey to Christmas
Qout Market
Jazz & Coffee Festival
RAPUNZEL – The Panto
Qesati – Owning Your Life
Meteor Showers Stargazing Trip