Category: Food

This is a bit of a weird and confusing drama. SALT, the popular UAE burger concept is NOT coming to Kuwait according to their most recent post. But, according to people on TikTok and Instagram they are supposedly coming to Kuwait.

Turns out there is a SALT opening in Shuwaikh near Mayar Complex with the exact same logo as the UAE one and have the account @salt_kwt. But, it’s supposedly a different SALT and is a franchise of the Qatari concept with a similar logo @salt_qa. To make things even more confusing, the UAE SALT is also available in Qatar and their account is @findsalt.qatar.

So just in case you’re as confused about this as I am, to keep things simple, the SALT opening up in Shuwaikh is different from the Emirati @findsalt.

Update: To confuse things even further, I’ve just been told the Emirati @findsalt is also coming to Kuwait. So we’re going to have both versions somehow open up here.

Medi (@eat.medi) is a small Mediterranean restaurant that just opened in the city. The restaurant has a cozy 16-seat communal counter that serves small sharing plates. Their menu is up on their website along with pictures and the dishes look pretty good. I haven’t passed by yet since they just opened, but if you’re looking for a new place to try Medi seems interesting.

Currently, they only accept reservations due to their limited seating capacity; so no walk-ins. They open at 6pm and the last booking is at 10:30pm.

Medi is located in the same building where Bartone used to be in Sharq (Google Maps). If you want to book or check out their menu, their website is eat-medi.com

An interview with a Michelin Star chef popped up on my TikTok feed last week and he said something really interesting which was basically that food is the third most important thing in a restaurant, with ambiance and service being more important. I think thats true and I realized that while I was putting this list together.

Sometimes I wonder why certain places are always busy while I’m sure other people wonder why I like a certain place, it really comes down to our individual experiences. I eat out pretty much every single day and the list below are some of my favorite places in Kuwait:

Breakfast
Cocoa Room (@cocoaroom) is the spot I go to when I want to have breakfast on a Friday morning while Alf Layla wLayla (@alf_laylawlayla) is the spot I have breakfast with friends midweek when the weather is good (Tip: Bring your own chapati from Sound Indian Restaurant at the roundabout next door).

Healthy-ish
Ever since OVO (@ovokwt) opened their new location in Shuwaikh I’ve loved going there. M.E’AT (@meatkwt) is my don’t think about it, just go build a bowl eat and leave spot.

Kuwaiti
Al Shemam (@alshemam1) is mine and everyones favorite with delicious grilled fish options and kebabs but I also really like Midar (@midar.me) in The Avenues.

Italian
Vigonovo (@vigonovo_kw) has been my go-to spot for the past 7 years ago but this past year I’ve been bouncing between them and Leccino (@leccino.kw).

Asian
EDO (@edo_restaurant) is my favorite Japanese right now while Great China Wall (@chinagreatwallrestaurant) is my favorite Chinese/Hot Pot spot.

Indian
Cardamon Club (@cardamom.club) is my favorite “fancy” Indian place while Paratha King (@paratha_king) is my hole in the wall.

My Comfort Food
Tampopo (@tampopo.ramenshop) because it’s simple and right next to my house. I still love Solo Pizza (@solopn) even though there are a lot more pizza places nowadays. And finally, one of my favorite restaurants in Kuwait, Oak & Smoke (@oakandsmoke). I would also have added Five Guys here if it wasn’t a franchise.

These are my favorite spots, let me know if your favorite place should have been on my list.

Whenever I flip through old newspaper there are random things that always catch my attention. Recently while flipping through a 1976 issue of Kuwait Times I came across this ad for what supposedly is (according to the ad), the first Chinese restaurant in Kuwait. Never heard of it and can’t find anything online about it either. I can’t even find the building it was located in.

If anyone has any information about “Golden Nest”, let me know!

Update: I found another ad (above) and this one has a map. So I tried to figure out where the restaurant used to be located and if Al Shuhada Street used to be called Al Hilal Street back in 1976, then I think Golden Nest was located in the same block as where Al Assima Tower and Solo Pizza are located today. I overlapped the map onto Google Maps and if you line up the streets and roundabouts they match. Whoever drew the map though placed Shaab gate on the wrong corner of the intersection though.

Amorino, the popular French gelato chain is set to open in Kuwait this coming weekend at The Avenues. Thursday and Friday will be by invitation only, but on Saturday it will be open to everyone.

I’m actually excited about this since I like their ice cream a lot. They’re located in Phase III of The Avenues, in the back next to the escalators and where the English Tea Lounge used to be.

Their instagram account is also now live and they’ve started a countdown for their opening @amorinokuwait

This is one of these posts that will mean absolutely nothing to everyone except me. When I was a kid back in the 80s I remember there was a fish and chips place in Salmiya on Baghdad Street that had a wooden interior. That’s all I remember of the place and the fact the name had the word “Captain” in it. I’ve been searching for YEARS trying to figure out what the place was and never could. Until today.

Randomly, while flipping through some old Kuwait Times newspapers from 1984 I came across the ad above for Captain D’s. I was like WTF, right away I noticed the address of the Salmiya (spelled Salmiah) location was Baghdad Street. This was it, I finally found out what the place was called.

Back in the 80s there was a company called “Al-Kazemi Food Company” which had the franchise in Kuwait. I don’t think the company exists anymore today since I couldn’t find any trace of them online but back then they had three franchises: Captain D’s, Popeyes and Pizza Inn.

Interestingly if you notice in the ad above it says that they were opening Captain D’s in Carlton Hotel. Thats the hotel that now has the Korean restaurant KOREA GWAN (previously called Koryokwan).

Anyway, if anyone has any more info or photos please let me know.

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, Yard is holding a food festival in Al Hamra Mall. The ‘Vibe Food Fest’ starts this Wednesday August 2nd and runs till Saturday August 5th from 10AM to 10PM. @yardkw

Back in November, I broke the news that Chipotle had signed with Alshaya and were coming to Kuwait. Now, 7 months later, its finally official.

Chipotle just announced that it had signed an agreement with Alshaya Group, its first-ever franchise partner, to open locations in the Middle East next year. The initial plan calls for two locations each in Dubai and Kuwait.

This is pretty huge news especially since this is the first time Chipotle has enlisted a local franchise retail operator as it moves into a new market. Alshaya really know how to get things done, exciting!

MrBeast Burger is a burger concept by the super popular internet personality MrBeast. If you haven’t heard of him, he has over 165 million subscribers on YouTube and is mostly known for his extravagant stunts and challenges videos.

MrBeast Burger is popping up in Kuwait tomorrow (July 7) and for one day only. Talabat will be hosting MrBeast Burger and they’ll be going live around 11AM. Delivery will be to most of Kuwait except for Mangaf, Sabahiya and Jahra.

The burger reviews online are pretty mixed, but based on MrBeasts popularity, I’d assume Talabat are going to be pretty busy tomorrow.

Al Kawakeb Sweets, the old ice cream and sweets shop in the city that has been open since 1945 has closed down. The whole building is being demolished and so they had to move out of their location which was across the street from blockat.

According to someone who left a review on Google they’re meant to move to a new location but there wasn’t a poster or a note left at the old location saying anything about it. Their Instagram account @alkawakeb1945 also no longer exists so they could be gone for good.

Update: They moved to Aswaq Al Qurain, here is the new location on Google Maps

I’ve been a Caramel customer since the early 2000s, they’ve always been my favorite place to pick up cakes from so I was a bit lost when they closed down for renovation. But, they’re now back and with a brand new very minimal and stunning look that was designed by @atelierazizalqatami.

Caramel originally opened back in 2001 and is run by a mother and daughter. The original store was in Kuwait City but later moved to Bneid Al Qar, where it currently remains. The redesigned space now has a very Japanese design aesthetic, characterized with a monochromic color palette. I imagine the new monochrome look is deliberate so that all the attention is drawn to the cakes.

They just reopened a couple of days ago with all our old favorite cakes, but they’re going to be introducing some new items as well next week. They’re also on Instagram @caramel_kuwait

Those of you who remember when the Korean supermarket Singarea was in Dajeej might remember they had a very cool Korean restaurant upstairs. That restaurant closed in 2012 and since then Singarea has moved out of Dajeej and opened several stores around Kuwait including their most recent one at Boulevard in Salmiya. When I first visited that location, I noticed they had an area in the back for a small restaurant and I got excited since I used to be a fan of the one in Dajeej. Yesterday morning the owner of Singarea got in touch with me and invited me to pass by for a tasting.

The whole invitation thing happened quickly and last minute since I’m traveling this weekend and we were trying to make it work before I left. I even struggled to find a friend to come a long but luckily I did because there was a lot of food to try. Since I was a fan of the previous Singarea restaurant, I didn’t really ask any questions about the place, I just headed there not knowing what to expect but figured it would be the run of the mill Korean restaurant.

But, when I got there and sat down, a few things caught my attention. The first were the expensive Devialet Phantom II speakers hung around the restaurant, then I noticed the heavy brass side plates on the table with handmade lacquered chopsticks. I didn’t think of it much until they brought out the first dish and my friend was like Mark, I think this is fine dining.

They didn’t have a menu because it was still being worked on so they brought out dishes for us based on their recommendation. The first dish was a custard egg with seafood, something I’ve never had before and the presentation looked pretty fancy. Right away they captured my interest and I was now really intrigued about the place. One by one the dishes started coming out, we got a grapefruit yuza salad next, then a seafood pajeon, tteokbokki (the best rice cakes I’ve had), both a beef and seafood Albap served bento box style, and more. It was a lot of food and a lot of different and exciting flavors to try. The seafood pajeon (the pancake like dish) is now probably my favorite Korean dish ever, it was so good and bursting with so many different flavors, it’s the dish thats going to keep me going back. But really everything we tried was visually interesting and delicious except for probably the galbi steak dish which I felt needed some sauce on the side to dip into.

Once we were done I sat with Penny the owner of Singarea, a young trendy looking guy with long hair and cool kicks. His father opened Singarea in Kuwait over 40 years ago and now he’s taken it over. He explained to me his concept of wanting to serve premium Korean dishes but without the high prices usually associated with it. He’s starting off small (the restaurant has only 6 tables) but has the ability to expand later. They hadn’t finalized the prices or menu yet when I visited, but they’re aiming for an average paycheck of around 8-10KD per person.

KI:WA (or just Kiwa) is aiming to open next week on June 1st. It’s located at the back of the Singarea store in Boulevard next to the lake, and they’ll be open for both lunch and dinner. You can stay posted on the restaurant and the opening by checking @singareamarket or @kiwa.q8

Update: So turns out the galbi steak dish came with a pepper cream sauce but I didn’t see it since it was hidden from my sight behind the dish 😅

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, the San Francisco bakery that went viral in 2017 with the invention of the cruffin, officially opened in Kuwait today.

I dropped by yesterday for the soft opening that was hosted by @pltq8 and other than sweet and savory pastries, they also have a few sandwiches, protein shakes, juices and coffee.

They open 6am to 10pm daily and are located in Kuwait City next to Eighty Six burger, on the same strip as Crystal Tower.

iHop, previously an Alshaya brand closed down their physical locations back in 2021 before eventually closing down delivery as well. Now they’re back in Kuwait again but this time they’re Kout Food Group, the same company that has Burger King, Pizza Hut and Subway amongst other brands.

They just opened their first location at CRE Mall in Mahboula and will be opening other locations including one in Avenues. They’ve also started delivery which is being handled by the cloud kitchen operator Kitopi.

I was always a fan of iHop since they had a pretty good affordable no frills breakfast and some great pancakes. Their Mahboula location is completely out of the way for me so I’m not going to be passing by anytime soon, but definitely will once they reopen in the Avenues.

I’m in Saudi this week and yesterday I randomly came across Arby’s while on my way to a meeting. I was a bit surprised to find it because I come to Riyadh often and I wasn’t aware they had Arby’s here. Turns out they’ve only been open for less than a week! Obviously, I ended up passing by and grabbing a roast beef with cheddar.

It sucks they ended up closing down in Kuwait, I don’t eat much fast food anymore but Arby’s was one of the few places I couldn’t resist. No idea why they ended up closing down since they were always busy when I passed by so I assumed they were doing well.

Another brand that they have here which should come back to Kuwait is Popeyes. Like Arby’s, I’m not sure why it closed down since it also seemed to be doing well.