Category: Food & Drinks

Yesterday I was at Lulu getting some honey when I spotted a Kirkland Signature product. Kirkland Signature is a private label brand that belongs to the US retailer Costco. Totally random, and it was actually priced pretty reasonably (around 2.5KD). No idea if they carry any other Kirkland products, hopefully they do cuz they’re generally pretty good quality and really good value.

Update: Carrefour also carries a couple of Kirkland Signature products, an organic apple cider vinegar and an organic creamy peanut butter.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kout Food Group (@insta_kout)

The Subway brand changed ownership in Kuwait recently. Kout Food Group who have Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell and Applebee’s have now taken over the Subway brand. According to their Instagram account, they became the new owners starting March 25th.

Joe & The Juice the popular chain of juice bars is coming to Kuwait. You’ve probably tried them or come across them while on vacation in the States or Europe and other than juice they also have coffee and sandwiches. A few days ago the CEO announced that they’ll be expanding to the Middle East and opening in Kuwait before the end of the year.

The Copenhagen-based chain will open its first stores in Qatar and Dubai next quarter before setting up shop in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman by the end of the year. In total it will add 200 to 300 juice bars in the region over 10 years, with the help of a franchise model to accelerate expansion and help reach a goal to grow 20% annually, the CEO said. Source

I haven’t tried Joe & The Juice before since it never seemed appealing but I’m sure someone is gonna be happy they’re opening in Kuwait.

Thanks Moey

For 2022, I decided to put together a Ramadan Desserts list with the aim to highlight the interesting desserts for the season. There are a lot of delicious-looking ones this year which is why I also included all the photos. In addition to listing them here on the blog, I also compiled them into a PDF which you can download [Here]

Check out the full list below.

Due to the pandemic, I haven’t put this list together since 2019. But, buffets are back now and so is this list.

A couple of observations, obviously a lot of restaurants closed down which is sad. But, I also noticed that most of the small places either reduced or kept their prices the same, while the more premium offerings increased their prices considerably. For those applicable, I highlighted the price increases over the 2019 price in red, and the decreases in green. The most expensive buffet award this year goes to St Regis Hotel at KD25. The most affordable offering goes to IKEA for their set menu at KD2.950, or to Inn & GO Hotel for their KD6 buffet.

Here is the full list divided into two parts, hotels and restaurants:

Hotels

Al Jahra Copthorne Hotel & Resort – Taima’a Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 24590000

Courtyard by Marriott – Atrium
Buffet Price: KD15 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22997000

Crowne Plaza – Al Ahmadi Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 1848111

Four Seasons – Jawaher Tent
Buffet Price: KD24 (+3.000)
Telephone: 22006000

Hilton Garden Inn – Avenues
Buffet Price: KD20
Telephone: 22262000

Hilton Resort – Teatro Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD19 (+1.000)
Telephone: 22256222

Inn & GO Hotel – Al Dallah Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD6 (-4.500)
Telephone: 22436686

Jumeirah Messilah Beach – Badria Tent
Buffet Price: KD24 (+4.000)
Telephone: 22269600

Millennium Hotel & Convention – Lamar International Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD14
Telephone: 22050505

Movenpick – Free Zone – Bays Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD12.5 (+0.500)
Telephone: 24610033

Movenpick – Al Bida’a – Breeze Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD15
Telephone: 22253100

Radisson Blu – Al Bustan Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 25673000

Safir Hotel – Fintas
Buffet Price: KD14.9 (+3.000)
Telephone: 25455555

St Regis Hotel – Coral Tent (Previously Sheraton Hotel)
Buffet Price: KD25 (+5.000)
Telephone: 22422055

Symphony Style Hotel
Buffet Price: KD14 (+1.000)
Telephone: 25770000

The Regency Kuwait – Silk Road Restaurant
Buffet Price: KD22 (+3.000)
Telephone: 25766666

Restaurants

Ahwet Zeitouna
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 22214999

Al Noukhaza
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 24732100

Almayass
Set Menu Price: KD13.5
Telephone: 25761001

Assaha
Buffet Price: KD12 (+2.500)
Telephone: 22533377

Babel
Set Menu Price: KD14.5
Telephone: 22081111

Dar Hamad
Buffet Price: KD16
Telephone: 22275555

Enab
Set Menu Price: Starts from KD5
Telephone: 22063000

IKEA
Set Menu Price: KD2.950 (+0.700)
Telephone: 1840408

Jihan Khanah
Buffet Price: KD10
Telephone: 1819991

Joori Min Beirut
Buffet Price: KD12
Telephone: 22062068

Kuwait Towers
Buffet Price: KD13 (+1.000)
Telephone: 24965500

Naranj
Buffet Price: KD10.950 (+0.450)
Telephone: 22268666

Paul
Set Menu Price: KD8.5 (+0.550)
Telephone: 22208204

Saraya Palace
Buffet Price: KD7 (-2.000)
Telephone: 25711101

Vapiano
Set Menu Price: KD6.950 (+0.950)
Telephone: 22597171

Villa Fayrouz
Buffet Price: KD12 (+2.50)
Telephone: 22650052

If you think I missed a place, let me know in the comments below.

Arby’s in Kuwait closed down a couple of years ago but it looks like it might be coming back. The previous Head of Food & Beverage for the Emirati company Majid Al Futtaim has just joined the company Inspire Brands and taken over the role of Director for International Business for the Middle East.

Inspire Brands is an American company and the owner and franchisor of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John’s, Rusty Taco, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.

I’m a huge Arby’s fan so hopefully this does mean it’s coming back. Also, it would be completely random if they opened Sonic here.

Thanks Moey

Fuddruckers was one of the first restaurants to pop up on the Gulf Road and was the go-to place for us teenagers back in the early 90s. Eventually, more restaurants started opening up in Kuwait which made Fuddruckers irrelevant until they eventually closed down. But last week I found out that they’re still alive on delivery platforms.

Fudds used to be known for their burgers and cookies and both are available to order. I’m not sure if they have a physical store or a ghost kitchen but according to Google Maps there is only one Fuddruckers location and it hasn’t been updated since 2019 so I’m assuming its closed. If you’re feeling nostalgic and order from them, let me know if their burgers are still any good.

Dave’s Hot Chicken is a Los Angeles based chain that was started back in 2017 by four Armenian friends in a parking lot with just $900. Today they have over 40 locations, Drake as a major investor and will soon have 30 more locations opening up in the Gulf. According to the press release that was published yesterday, the company that got the rights to Dave’s Hot Chicken in the region is the UAE based Lavoya, a company that also has the rights to Joe & The Juice.

The press release doesn’t mention an opening date only that they will be opening 31 locations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. I’m trying to remember if I ever had Dave’s Hot Chicken while in LA since the logo looks familiar (plus they’re Armenian) but can’t seem to find any photos of the food in my vacation albums. The food does look really really good on their instagram account so you can drool over those for now @daveshotchicken

Have you gotten your loved one a Shani today? [Link]

The inaugural list of the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants was revealed yesterday and White Robata was the only restaurant from Kuwait that made it coming in at #43. Since they were the only restaurant from Kuwait that also automatically gave them the accolade of The Best Restaurant in Kuwait for 2022.

The majority of the list was dominated by UAE-based restaurants (19 in total) including the overall first place winner going to 3 Fils which is located in Dubai. Five restaurants from Saudi Arabia made the list, two from Bahrain and one from Qatar while five restaurants from Lebanon also made the list and four from Egypt.

To check out MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants, click here.

The other day out of the blue I remembered this drink I used to have back in the 80s called Hapi. I used to only have it in one place, a drive-thru car wash I used to go to with my dad. It was in their vending machine and I think it tasted like root beer. I doubt it was a popular drink and don’t think a lot of people remember it.

Anyway, just a random flashback for those who might remember the drink.

One of the first burger franchises to open in Kuwait was Wimpy back in 1969. So when I was approached by Wimpy’s marketing team to visit their newly relaunched concept I was intrigued. There are so many more burger places today than there ever were back in the 70s and 80s so I was curious as to how the OG burger joint would decide to compete. I ended up passing by yesterday for lunch to try the place out and I left impressed. Wimpy didn’t just get a new logo and some new packaging, instead, the whole concept got rebuilt from the ground up and every single part of it got upgraded.

I ended up ordering their Tripple Wimpy B combo but based on the messages I got from my instagram followers, I should have ordered the old school with egg burger or the chicken pury wrap since these two seem to be their most popular items. The last time I had Wimpy my experience wasn’t so great so I’m glad they fixed things up. The new branding is bright and fun and their new burgers are wayyyyy better than they ever used to be. Wimpy now use beef patties that are made fresh to order and they’re smashed similar to other good burger places. I didn’t have the chicken but they’re also now fresh and hand-breaded. For the buns, they’re using custom potato buns by Kuwait Flour Mills. I was only planning to take photos and have a few bites of the burger since I was on my way to a tasting when I dropped by, but I ended up eating the whole burger because it was that good. Oh, and if you’re a fan of crinkle-cut fries then you’re gonna like the new Wimpy fries.

Wimpy currently has two locations, a branch in Nuzha and one in Shamiya. They’re also planning to open a new location in Jabriya next week right next to the large KFC facing the 4th Ring Road. They offer delivery, car hop, and pickup as well as having a small outdoor seating. If you’re interested in checking out their full menu including their all-day breakfast and newly expanded beverage menu, check them out on instagram @wimpykwt

Toby’s Estate have been popping up all over the place. They just opened their Assima Mall location a few weeks ago (pictured above) and now have another new location down the street in Arraya.

Burger Boutique are also now open again in Arraya. They had closed down their location temporarily but reopened again today.

If you don’t know where Arraya is, here is the location on Google Maps.

iHop shut down all their locations in Kuwait earlier this year but it looks like now they’re making a come back again. A few days ago iHop updated their instagram page saying were back.. but only as a delivery brand on Talabat.

Hopefully, they’ll eventually reopen a physical location since I always liked their breakfast.

Back in 2017 there were rumors that Pret A Manger was coming to Kuwait but that rumor didn’t end up amounting to anything. Now I’ve been told that it’s confirmed that Pret A Manger IS coming to Kuwait and it’s being brought by One PM Franchising which is owned by Hamad Al Sayer.

One PM acquired the rights to Pret A Manger in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and potentially Qatar. The first Pret is expected to open in Kuwait in 2022. Exciting!