2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Last November, I broke the news that Pret A Manger was coming to Kuwait and now a year later, they’re finally opening up their first store. Pret will be officially opening next Monday, October 17 in Al Hamra Tower. To stay posted on their news, you can follow their Instagram account @pretkw.official
via @inspirededibles
Last night Over Jar, the local chocolate concept launched a new branding and interior look for their stores. The new look feels a lot more modern and futuristic, unlike their older look which felt a bit more rustic. I hadn’t tried them before last night and although chocolate and crolls are their thing, I think they might have the best banana bread in Kuwait.
The first location to get the new facelift is their 360 Mall branch, so if you want to check it out that’s where you should head to. They’re in the old 360 Mall, right next to Asha’s. @overjar
The other day I posted about a new rule regarding delivery companies that went into effect yesterday. The new rules had to do mostly with delivery companies like Talabat, Carriage, and Deliveroo not being allowed to use third-party drivers amongst other things. I posted how this was going to cause a major disruption in the food delivery service and yesterday, it did.
When the new rule was announced, companies were given less than a month’s notice which meant they didn’t have enough time to implement all the new rules. Thankfully the Ministry of Interior just announced that they will be putting a hold on the new rules, and instead implement them starting January 1st, 2023.
So food deliveries should go back to normal today.
If you’re a bubble tea fan, a Redditor posted a list of popular boba places in Kuwait. I’m not a fan of bubble tea but ironically like half the places on her list are located on my street in Salmiya.
Check out her list by clicking here.
LPM
Since getting a visa to Saudi is so easy now I figured I’d share a list of some popular fine dining restaurants in Riyadh. Fine dining isn’t something we have a lot of in Kuwait so turning a trip to Riyadh into a dining experience is really easy.
AOK Kitchen
When I’m driving to Riyadh I tend to get there around lunch and Cipriani is usually my first stop. I actually think about lunch during the drive since it’s like a reward at the end of the long journey. Anyway, check out the list below of some of the popular fine dining spots in Riyadh:
Beefbar
Amazonico
AOK Kitchen
Beefbar
Billionaire
Cipriani
Coya
LPM
Myazu
Nobu
Nusret
Zuma
If there is anything else you think should be on the list let me know:
There is a new rule that will come into effect Saturday (October 1) where food delivery companies like Talabat, Carriage, and Deliveroo will no longer be allowed to use third-party drivers. Delivery companies will only be allowed to use drivers registered under their company to deliver food and in cars with clear branding and information (no more plain white generic cars).
Since the majority of the drivers (and riders) are contracted from third parties due to visa restrictions and limitations, this is gonna cause a major disruption in the food delivery service.
So starting this Saturday, expect slower delivery times, many restaurants showing up as busy, or restaurants showing as not available.
Wooden Bakery is one of the most popular bakeries in Lebanon and they’ve just opened up their first location in Kuwait. It’s a small store in Bustan Mall next to Fanar in Salmiya, but they had a nice variety of Lebanese breads and biscuits including kaak termisyeh which is Lebanese dried bread that goes perfectly with tea.
They also bake fresh fatayer and a small seating area inside the mall in case you want to sit and eat. They’re open from 7AM to 11PM and here is their location on Google Maps.
ROKA, the award-winning modern Japanese restaurant is opening at the Waldorf Astoria this coming Tuesday. If you want to know what kind of food they serve or their prices, their menu is available online and you can check it out here.
They also opened up reservations and it’s filling up pretty fast. As of this post, the next available booking is on October 12. If you want to book, here is the link.
I was just informed by a reliable source that Beefbar, the popular meat focused restaurant originally from Montecarlo is coming to Kuwait. I don’t have a location or date yet, only that they have now signed with a local partner.
Beefbar is already available in Dubai and Riyadh so we aren’t going to have the first location in the Gulf but, it’s pretty cool that restaurants like Roka and now Beefbar are entering the market.
If you’re a fan of Tampopo then you’ve probably seen Chef Rashid AlSaif there working behind the bar. This coming Saturday he’s holding a cooking class at OFF THE MENU in 360 Mall where he will teach you how to make dumplings from scratch.
There are limited spots available so if this interests you, here is the link to book.
I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older, I rarely eat at new places anymore. Well, that’s not completely true, I’ve just gotten a lot pickier with where I eat. I have my goto places that’s for sure, and Cocoa Room is my favorite breakfast spot. Earlier this year Cocoa Room launched a dinner menu and yesterday I decided to pass by and try it for the first time as part of my new goal to try a new place once a week.
The Cocoa Room dinner menu is Mediterranean influenced and so the mains section has lots of pasta, a couple of steaks, one seafood dish, and a burger. Not a big variety to pick from, and nothing really interesting but that’s because their starters section is where all the exciting dishes are. Thankfully they had an iPad with photos of all their items because all the dishes were in French and I had a difficult time visualizing what they were (You can check out the full menu here). I ended up ordering the following items:
Milefeuille D’avocat
Brioche De Champignons Crémeuse
Carpaccio De Boeuf
Spaghetti De Capri
Gratin de Maiz
Picking just three starters was difficult and if I had to pick again I’d probably go with the seabass carpaccio instead of the beef only because it’s not something I’d find elsewhere. For the pasta, I decided on the Capri because I wanted to try a new flavor and I never had a zesty spaghetti before (it was pretty ok).
Overall everything I had was good, the avocado millefeuille was probably my favorite dish while the mushroom brioche my least favorite (not enough mushrooms). The only complaints I have with the menu is the item names being in French and the lack of interesting mains. Lots of places in Kuwait have pastas and steaks so I was looking for something a bit more different to try. Also the desserts section wasn’t that appetizing but you can always head to Burger Boutique after dinner for their chocolate brownie pudding.
The total bill came to KD27.500 so expect to pay around KD15 per person. I had to reserve before heading there although there were empty tables so you could probably just walk in. Cocoa Room is definitely my favorite breakfast spot in Kuwait, but not sure I’d go back as often for their dinner.
I assumed everyone already knew about this place since they’ve been open for a while now but recently I realized that wasn’t the case. There is a little bagel shop in Kuwait City next to Solo Pizza called While I’m Baked. If you head there in the morning before they sell out, you can get some of the best bagel sandwiches in Kuwait. I always order either their Turkey Avo Boi or the Kramer, and now while I’m typing this out I’m craving a sandwich so I’ll probably pick one up on my way into work this morning.
If you want to check them out, here is their location on Google Maps and they’re on Instagram @whileimbaked
Tim Hortons, the popular Canadian coffee chain is reopening in Kuwait today at 5PM. According to their Instagram post, the first 50 customers will be getting free drinks every week for a year. They’re opening 5 locations today which include:
I don’t know where the last two locations are, but if you do, let me know in the comments so I can link them.
GQ recently published a list of what they think are the 6 best restaurants in Kuwait. The 6 that made the cut are White Robata, Tatami, Dar Hamad, OVO, Roka and Cure.
Roka isn’t open yet and won’t be until the end of the year but the rest you most likely all know about. To check out the GQ article, click here.
I used to be a huge Subway fan back when I was in university in Lebanon and then again once I moved back here and started work. Then around 10 years ago I stopped eating there until just a few weeks ago.
Back in April, I posted about how the Subway brand changed ownership in Kuwait and moved to Kout Food Group. They ended up opening their first location in Salmiya next to AUK and it’s probably the nicest Subway I’ve ever been to anywhere.
Firstly there is a drive-thru, but more importantly, the branch is super clean. It’s tiny but everything inside looks really appetizing and the store smells of freshly baked bread. I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago and since then have been back a bunch of times. So if like me you wrote off Subyway years ago, its worth giving another shot now. Here is their location on Google Maps.