2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
OVO, the vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian restaurant located in Bnaid Al Gar is opening their new location next month. The new location is located in Shuwaikh, inside the Design District, the same complex where the restaurant Cure and the gallery CAP are located.
The new location looks really great and will have both indoor and outdoor seating. It’s also located in the back of the complex overlooking a courtyard so once you’re inside it doesn’t feel like you’re in Kuwait.
If you’re a fan of Pret you’re probably aware that in the UK, any unsold food is always donated through the Pret Foundation.
So this got me thinking, what about Kuwait? Last week I reached out to Pret to find out and it turns out that in Kuwait it’s no different.
Locally, Pret A Manger has partnered up with the local non-profit organization re:food to try and make a difference. Every day any unsold food is donated by Pret to re:food who then take it and pass it along to the people who need it the most.
It’s a win-win for everybody and so I hope more places start doing this.
Kei, the first and oldest Japanese restaurant in Kuwait is reopening next month outside Assima Mall.
Kei first opened in Kuwait in 1980 and was initially located at the now-demolished Hilton Hotel in Bneid Al Gar. When the hotel got demolished, they moved to JW Marriott where they remained for 20 years until they had to move out again because the hotel was undergoing a major renovation. Kei is now moving to Assima Mall and for those of you who’ve been long-term customers, you’ll be pleased to know the majority of the old staff will be coming back as well.
The new Kei will be called Kei Downtown to differentiate it from the Kei Restaurant that will eventually reopen again at the JW Marriott. The new Kei will be a more casual dining experience with a more relaxed atmosphere.
The new location is in Assima Mall but on the outside and on the back with no mall access and adjacent to the entrance of the soon-to-open Marriott Executive Suites. To stay posted on the opening, follow @kei_downtown
I’ve been told that Chipotle is finally coming to Kuwait and it looks like Alshaya are the ones that could be bringing the brand.
I’ve been sitting on this news for a bit now waiting for a second source since I got this news wrong the first time back in 2013. That rumor never materialized so hopefully, this time around it will.
Chipotle for those who don’t know is an American Mexican grill chain specializing in bowls, tacos, and burritos made to order in front of the customer. Chipotle operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France.
I reached out to Alshaya to confirm this rumor but they did not want to comment on it.
Heineken’s 0.0 non-alcoholic beer is now available in Kuwait and Sultan Center has them for sale. I love the way the cases look stacked up because for just a second, it helps you visualize what a supermarket in Kuwait would look like if alcohol was actually legal. The price for a 6-pack is KD3.9 or 650 fils per bottle.
Deliveroo have updated their Deliveroo Plus subscription, instead of subscribing for 3.5KD a month and getting unlimited free deliveries for orders of 5KD and more, it’s now free deliveries for orders of 3KD or more.
That’s a way better deal now and they probably changed it because of the new competition in the market from the likes of Cari and Jahez, another new delivery app that is launching next week.
Saudi Arabia’s leading online food delivery platform is launching in Kuwait next week. Jahez is the Saudi equivalent of Talabat and if you download the app right now you browse through the available restaurants. But, when I tried to register for an account, it wasn’t sending me the OTP code so that will probably start working next week. @jahezapp
Back in August, I posted that Beefbar, the popular meat-focused restaurant from Montecarlo was coming to Kuwait. When I originally posted they hadn’t chosen a location yet but now it looks like they’re hoping to open in Al Hamra Tower. If this location is confirmed, they’re expected to likely open by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Beefbar is already available in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and they’re also opening soon in Bahrain.
Thanksgiving is in a couple of days so I’ve put together two lists, one of restaurants that are serving Thanksgiving dinner, and the other of restaurants that have turkey to take home. If there is a place you know I haven’t listed, let me know so I can add it:
Dine-In
Four Seasons Hotel @fskuwait
Hilton Garden Inn @hiltongardeninn_kuwait
Hilton Kuwait Resort @hiltonkuwaitresort
Radisson Blu Hotel @radissonblukuwait
Take Away
Dean & Deluca @deandelucame
Four Seasons Hotel @fskuwait
Little Deli @littledeli
Madison & Heig @madisonandheig
Monoprix @monoprixkwt
Radisson Blu Hotel @radissonblukuwait
Sultan Center @sultan_center
The St. Regis @stregiskuwait
Waldorf Astoria @waldorfastoriakuwait
Blast From The Past, the burger concept born out of the Oak and Smoke kitchen launches today. I generally don’t post about new burger places because they’re a dime a dozen now, but, Oak and Smoke actually make really good burgers, probably some of the best of any restaurant so I have very high expectations.
Their new concept Blast From The Past is only delivery to begin with, and only on Cari. If you’re looking for a new burger place to try you can check out their menu on Instagram @bftpkw
Singarea, the popular Asian supermarket has officially opened their new location in Salmiya. This is their third location in Kuwait, the other two being in Shuwaikh and Mahboula.
The new location is around the lake in Boulevard Park, right next to the restaurant Izmir. When I dropped by they were still unpacking some boxes but the space was looking good although didn’t seem as big as their Shuwaikh location, neither did it have as many freezers and fridges will all those food items.
Their Salmiya branch is open daily from 10AM to 10PM and if you want to pass by and check it out, here is the location on Google Maps. Just a note, at the time of this post there was no signage outside but just head to Izmir and it’s the building right next to it.
Honest Grocer is a new local grocery store that sells only healthy food products. That’s not really new in Kuwait but what sets Honest Grocer apart from the competition is the fact that their selection of products is curated using their stringent nutritional and ethical guidelines. These guidelines include:
Navigating their different products is really simple on their website since their interface is very basic. So for example, if you’re looking for keto products or products that are sugar-free, you can get access to them easily from the main page with just a click. They’re also located on Deliveroo which makes ordering from them easy although their products are only categorized by brand on that platform.
The only downside like everything healthy is the price. Because you’re getting the best quality ingredients you’re going to have to pay for it and that can mean 5KD for a chocolate spread or 600fils for a bag of chips. They sent over goodies to my office and the first thing we did was replace all the unhealthy snacks we had in our pantry with their products. Now I just need to convince the accountant why he needs to increase our pantry budget so we can continue to stock up on these healthier but more expensive snacks.
If you can afford it, then definitely check out Honest Grocer either on Deliveroo or their website myhonestgrocer.com
Maryool is a new contemporary Lebanese eatery that opened up last week in Kuwait City. It’s not a local brand, it’s a Lebanese one created by the same guys behind some other popular spots in Lebanon like Meat the Fish, By Skirt and The Backburner. The Backburner is actually open in Kuwait and Maryool just opened up next door to it so I’d assume they would eventually open up their other brands in Kuwait as well.
My two favorite Lebanese spots recently have been Babel and Em Sherif Cafe at The Avenues. Both are your classical Lebanese restaurants while Maryool tries to give a new twist to classic dishes. Nothing crazy or weird like dark chocolate hummus, but for example, their shawarmas are all tacos (including a vegan portobello shawarma) while their tabbouleh had lentils. They’re minor tweaks that give dishes you’ve tried a million times a new flavor profile or a new look.
I was invited to their opening event and so got to try a lot of dishes. Everything tasted really good with maybe just one dish that I felt was a bit bland which was their arayess. There were no prices on the menu so I’m not sure what the average check per person would be but I will update this post in the future once I go back again and actually pay for my meal.
If you’re interested in checking the place out they’re located in Khaleejia Tower, the same building as Vigonovo. It’s a cute place and the whole storefront opens up so a great place to go to now since the weather is great. They’re open from 12PM to 12AM and they’re on Instagram @maryoolkuwait
Picture on top by @inspirededibles
Every time I post about Khyber, I get comments about other places with supposedly better tikka, the two most popular ones being White Rose and Paratha King. So, I decided it was time to give them a ranking:
First Place: Paratha King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second Place: Khyber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Third Place: White Rose ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Paratha King
Khyber
White Rose
It’s really close between Khyber and Paratha King but based on the overall experience, I think I’d lean towards Paratha King more. Paratha King has a better-tasting tikka but Khyber’s location is a nicer experience. The seasoning and marination of both tikkas are very different with Paratha King having a more thicker coating while Khyber doesn’t which is why some people might think Khyber’s tikka is drier (it isn’t).
With White Rose, I think it’s just overhyped. Under every tikka post I usually get a few comments saying I should try White Rose and that White Rose has the best tikka. I don’t think it does. Of the three places listed here, I find the White Rose tikka the least flavorful. Their location is also not great so the dining experience isn’t very appealing either.
Pricewise, Khyber and Paratha King are similar and White Rose is the cheapest.
Paratha King: 1.000 KD per piece
Khyber: 1.000 KD per piece
White Rose: 0.900 KD per piece
If you want to check the places out, here are their locations on Google Maps:
Khyber Location
Paratha King Location
White Rose Location
There is one more place I need to try (I think) and that’s White House. If there is any other place that has good tikka let me know in the comments, if there are enough places I might have a part 2 battle.
Update: After visiting Paratha King for a second time I decided to update the review and ranking and give Paratha first place.
Last week Cari, the new food delivery app soft launched in Kuwait. It was more of a beta launch than a soft launch since the app was constantly crashing at first, there were barely any restaurants and there was no sign of one of their most aggressive features which was 30 minutes delivery. Since then there have been at least two software updates sorting out the bugs so I decided to finally try them out.
Inside the app there are two main categories, one for all the restaurants and then another one just for restaurants that offer 30 minutes delivery. I decided to try out their 30 minutes delivery by ordering lunch from BBT. It wasn’t the most scientific experiment since my office is only a couple of blocks from BBT in the city, but I also wasn’t trying to make Cari fail the test or anything. Here is how the timeline looked like:
12:06 PM – Order placed
12:14 PM – BBT started preparing my order
12:29 PM – Driver arrives
12:31 PM – Order delivered
My order took 25 minutes to deliver from the moment I placed the order which is pretty cool and fast.
Right now they’re also not charging a delivery fee which is great for us. Not sure how long this is gonna last but it gives us a good reason to use Cari for now at least. There aren’t that many restaurants on the app that offer 30 mins delivery, in the city, there were like 10 only and they were either burger or coffee places.
As of this post, Cari still hasn’t officially launched so if you want you to try it out you need to click the download link on their Instagram page @getcari and follow the instructions.
Update: I’ve been told that the official launch of Cari will be happening today
Update2: They’ve officially launched, here is the direct link to the app on the Google Store and Apple Store.