Arabian Business released their list of “The Middle East’s top 10 restaurants to sample in 2012” and Cucina, the Italian restaurant located at Hotel Missoni made their cut. I have yet to try Cucina so it’s now on my to do list. Here is a link to their top 10 list [Link]
28 replies on “Cucina, Kuwait – A Top 10 Restaurant to Sample in 2012”
I tried the restaurant when it first opened, definitely “fine dining” and staff being all italians was a nice touch. the food was ok, loved the salad, very different
Kuwait’s BEST restaurants are still the hole in the wall places that only a few know about. The best part about it is that most of kuwait’s toffee-noses wouldn’t be caught dead eating in these places so they retain a sort of exclusivity.
can you name a few?
and what exactly is a “toffee-nose”?
yup..
This restaurant is very over rated. The food wasn’t all that, the staff were kind of stuck up. Open Flame Kitchen deserves to be on the list. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the middle east, if not the world. I know people who travelled the world, tried the best restaurants, and they say some of the best food they have ever tried is at OFK.
i think they were after newly opened restaurants since its a kind of a to do list for 2012
OFK one of the best in the world?? Seriously? Its an uppity casual dining establishment and that’s about it … Slider Station on steroids if you will.
It literally is “Slider Station + Fancy” it’s the same owner. He just has 3 stores that serve more or less the same thing with different atmospheres lol
agree
Loooooooool OFK best in world ? You gotta get out more. It’s fine but nothing special.
Almost half the restaurants are in dubai. they should rename their magazine from Arabian business to dubai business. Since apparently the editors have no clue about anything outside dubai.
haha so true…arabian business makes anyone outside dubai and occasionly qatar feel like we are villagers… :* P
OFK is basically glorified comfort food. Their Tokyo salad is drenched in mayo sauce. Everything tastes delicious if there’s a ton of mayo mixed in. Oh, and they’re famous for their burgers. Elevation > OFK burgers any day.
You’re ordering the wrong things.
Order the coca cola braised short ribs for starters
Order the fungi compana pizza for main course
Order the chocolate brownie pudding for dessert
I agree with you … OFK is a tad bit heavy on sauces … its pretty decent but not best in in world or Middle East .. probably not best in Kuwait even … they do make a decent burger like the Double Manhattan but the quality of the bun is deplorable.
@Lucky_boy, that’s because the best restaurants are in Dubai. You can’t have ‘fine dining’ without alcohol and ambience and that is what restaurants lack in Kuwait. There is no such thing as ‘fine juice’. Get real Kuwait!
I go to plenty of “fine dining” restaurants and I don’t drink when I’m there, you don’t need alcohol to enjoy food
Italian staff? Yes. But they barely speak English, so good luck to you Arabic speakers. I had a fillet, they opened a can of Heinz baked beans and plopped the fine cut of meat on it. I would have had a better meal if I was camping out in the woods. Also, you should be able to judge a Italian restaurant on its Arabiatta….perhaps the most basic Italian dish. They scored maaaaybe a 3/10 on their Arabiatta. Salad was average at most. Over priced, over-rated. All in all I would give it a 4/10 only because the bread basket was good. Other than that 2 thumbs down.
gaucho grill?
yes its deffinitely dining at its best! (besides the lack of fine wine to go with the steaks)
whoops just read the list, its actually on it but the dubai branch.
The whole problem with the eating out scene in Kuwait lies with an unusually heavy accent on casual American diners and/or franchises operating in the country, something that can only be upped by neighboring Qatar.In terms of choice there is very little: either you have Pax Americana (or should that read Pax Burger-n-fries I am less sure), or you have Libanese- some more Libanese and still more Lebanese, and nothing in between. Even if a classy new place opens shop it invariably morphs into a Lebanese place or a variation, thereof, with time. Of course, then, there’s the Indian which again leans heavily toward North western or Punjabi cuisine only leaving out the tastes and flavours of the rest of India untouched.
On balance, we need to see more of mom and pop operations coming along as holes in the wall to revv things up a bit. You need an infusion of French Vietnamese inspired food, some South Indian aromas and a greater slice of mainland China food into Kuwait. Given the lack of wines and spirits in the country together with a blanket ban on live entertainment in restaurants as well as given the lack of a theatre district in Kuwait, the whole dining scene has, is and always will remain rather lacklustre compared to say Dubai, Beirut or Muscat. Also there needs to be a shaking up of the mall and it follows the food court culture – this cookie cutter approach to eating out is slowly asphyxiating survival on the Kuwaiti high streeet, and in more ways than one is disparaging toward having of food districts, the likes of Lang Kwai Fok in Hong Kong, Ginzha in Tokyo or London’s Soho. As for street food it hasn’t a cat in hell’s chance here!
Are you serious? What about Kebab Il Hijja? The restaurants in Mbarikiya? The shawarmas on shari3 mata3em? Those are all excellent examples of “street food” and to say Kuwait doesn’t have it just shows you don’t know it well enough. Please don’t say something like “WHAT ABOUT HOT DOGS” because you don’t like Kebab because if you think a processed lump of leftover meat is better than a fat minced meat stick with Irani spices I don’t want to know you.
Just because all you know of Kuwait is the fancy overpriced places doesn’t mean that’s all there is.
There are a bunch of South Indian places in Salmiya, I’ve eaten at some of them and some are decades old. There’s the Thai restaurants that have been in various overlooked parts of the city for years, the Philipino restaurants that neighbor them, several Korean restaurants serving genuine Korean barbecue. You can find tons of great food from different cultures that’s actually authentic because of the transplants from those countries.
I feel like you are going to malls and hotels then complaining that the food is too samey. Explore Kuwait a little.
Can u pls let me know where the Korean and Philipino food places are? i’ve tried out the South Indian food… luv the dosa n idlys specially for a weekend breakfast…
Also i’m looking out for pure Mexican food stops in Kuwait, if anyone knows please enlighten….
I tried this place out a month ago and frankly the food isn’t as good as their accents. Definitely doesn’t top my list.
to all the people who say that Kuwait does not have good food, has not explored Kuwait yet…
Just an FYI, Kuwait has the best quality food with very reasonable prices compared to the Middle eastern countries.
from breakfast, and burgers to indian food and Thai and Arabic (Lebanese, Iranian, Kuwaiti)to street food… Kuwait has it all..
Also we do not need alcohol to enjoy the meal, and ambiance is excellent in some places…u just need to know the right places.
i think people should stop saying that “best restaurant in the middle east or world” coz i am sure no one has been to all the restaurants in the middle east or world even if they are frequent travelers….
we can only say that “the food is excellent” OR “chops are great”
or the “pasta is to die for” but no one can say that “best pasta in the world or middle-east”
what do u guys think??