As I mentioned earlier in the week, there are 18 restaurants opening up at the new Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre and thanks to a reader, I got the names of the restaurants that are opening there. They are the following:
Haleeb Wa Heil
Villa Fayrouz
Gogosh
Cocoa Room
The Chocolate Gate
Baker & Spice
Kashwanat Al Bait
Dakakeen
Cafe Meem
Rococo
Burger Boutique
Over Jar
Days Cafe
Beit Shakry
My Fair Grill
Cafe Organic
The Bowl
She Shawerma
All the restaurants are local creations since that was one of the main requirements of the Amiri Diwan. Also note I might have misspelled some of the restaurants since the list I got was in Arabic.
35 replies on “List of Restaurants Opening at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre”
That’s actually cool that its all local creations. I just hope that they don’t price gouge now that they have the monopoly (oligopoly if you’re gonna be a nerd about it).
Oh yay, more restaurants. Exciting.
You sure it’s “Over Jar” not “Jar”?
yeah, that was one of the few that was actually written in english.
I don’t know why people do that. Name their restaurant after a popular establishment. Are they hoping people will confuse the two and end up going to the new one?
I don’t get it.
Not 100% sure but I think their concept Over Jar has those outrageous (but delicious) over jar shakes that are wild in NYC. So don’t think they wanted to take a popular name or anything.
Oh………
You referring to the “Freakshow” shakes? I think they’re popular everywhere now.
and they’re the very definition of decadent.
I’d love to see you photograph some.
“All the restaurants are local creations since that was one of the main requirements of the Amiri Diwan”
Good job Amiri diwan folks, the government need to protect and invest in the local small business scene if they want them to succeed and help our economy.
Majority of the restaurants in Kuwait are locally created and majority of them I wouldn’t consider a “small business”. Burger Boutique, Baker & Spice and Villa Fayrouz are not “small businesses” and an example.
Instead, what would have been more interesting to do is what Al Shaheed Park have done which is select a few local chefs and local restaurant entrepreneurs and give them the space to create something new. So far we have Three&Barista, Table Otto and The Reading Room at Al Shaheed Park which are very cool and there are a few more new concepts opening up soon as well.
I agree, what Al Shaheed team does is fantastic and I like their approach of helping local chefs like Fahad of St. Al-Makan.
You mean Faisal
Yup Faisal.
I agree, although it’s a nice gesture to have local businesses, unfortunately they have become boring and pretty much the same. Kuwaiti cuisine is limited, the other ‘fusions’ are mostly fried crunch with mayo for mains and nutella for dessert.
Any book stores by any chance?
Al shaya should bring Barnes & Noble..
Nope, just whats listed above, no bookshops. Plus Barnes & Noble wouldn’t do so well in Kuwait, the English speaking community in Kuwait is small and the amount of people from that small community who read is even smaller so Barnes & Noble would probably close down due to lack of business.
Where and to whom are they applying to get these govt locations?
i do want to say that im glad coca room is opening up in a new locations closer to my office however, is it smart being so close to the original location?
If its anything like Al Shaheed Park, there was a tender where different companies submitted a bid to take charge of the restaurants. In Al Shaheed case the company that won was MMC (same company that owns LeNotre) and the guy in charge there called me up and asked me if I knew anybody that would be interested in the spots, they had I think like 9 spots and 2 food trucks available. I passed on his contact to all the owners of the businesses I liked and then some deals were made.
Regarding Cocoa Room, I think this is actually a good idea. The crowd at Cocoa Room recently has been… different. Like a more Kuwaiti family crowd or more TK’s and GCC tourists. I think that this crowd will hopefully start going to the Cultural Center location instead and leave the strip for the younger and more expat crowd.
Did you actually say that out loud?
😀
We have confirmed deals with various F&B concepts that been awarded highest rating in their categories from F&B publications such as Food & Wine, WSJ, Grub Street, New York Post, Time Out, Food Network…etc.
What’s “TK’s”?
Baker and Spice is a local Kuwait restaurant? I thought it was a franchise?
i thought it was a local concept that was open in Dubai but i just checked their website and it says:
Baker & Spice is an award-winning food shop and restaurant with several locations in Dubai. The concept originated in London in 1995, quickly becoming an inspiration for food artisans and copied all over the world.
and the UK shop is the same logo as the Kuwait shop
https://www.bakerandspice.uk.com/
So not sure how they managed to get in… wasta?
Who are the owners of Baker&Spice here in kuwait?
The same owners as bread talk
Al Mejhem if im not mistaken
the owners are ALkharafi Global, the same owners of Bredz, Figs, Johnny Rockets, and Nino
Baker & Spice is run by Kharafi global which is owned by Haidar Al Naqeeb and Waleed Al Kharafi(same owners as Nino, Johnny Rockets and Bredz)
So the Cultural Center will basically be Kuwait’s latest see-and-be-seen restaurant village. Fun.
A very intelligent decision. Finding a parking space for a weekend performance would be a great joy when all the cool people of kuwait are gathering in the opera food court.
I think it has a huge parking area
Dear Mark,
Found out yesterday that Shrimpy fast food opened in the Boulevard Salmiya yesterday.
WOW!
Are you serious?!
Can’t wait to get my fisherman’s platter with extra tartar sauce on the side !
While I do think the venue needs some dining options, this list is frighteningly long! I would’ve thought 2-3 restaurants would be enough
On the other hand… this could be a way to lure people into checking out cultural events they normally wouldn’t