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Food Gossip & Rumors Kuwait

International food chains that are opening soon in Kuwait

This is a list of confirmed (or at least 99% confirmed) and unconfirmed international food chains that will be opening in Kuwait. If I’ve missed anything out leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list

Confirmed
– Olive Garden
– Red Lobster
– LongHorn Steakhouse
– IHOP (International House of Pancakes)
– The Hummingbird Bakery
– Pei Wei Asian Diner
– The Cheesecake Factory
– Texas Roadhouse
– Potbelly Sandwich Works
– SNOG Frozen Yogurt
– The Upper Crust Pizzeria
– Tim Hortons

Unconfirmed
– Arby’s [source]
– Wendy’s [source]

Wishlist
– Five Guys
– In-N-Out
– Ben’s Cookies
– Pret A Manger

83 replies on “International food chains that are opening soon in Kuwait”

I think we already have, aren’t we number 3 now?
Anyway the main problem isn’t restaurants it’s people love fatty food. Even when we had almost no franchises except Mcdonalds guess what everyone ate lol

thats assuming that MOST … again MOST kuwaities eat at these places and not MOSTLY eat at home… where they get their traditional foods….

In Kuwait expats make a higher portion of the population than kuwaities … so these resturants dont have one target which are kuwaities….

and you know what assumptions are …

People will go to any food place. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter as long as its new and “imported”.

Definitely not true, a lot of these places fail pretty quickly. In fact a couple of the restaurants on this list already tried to enter Kuwait in some fashion and failed.

Restaurants in Kuwait have to act as restaurants, bars, clubs, hookup spots, libraries lol. All these things are replaced with a restaurant in Kuwait.

yeah exactly!! take a look at dunkin donuts for example. I’ve seen many in the states and they are just donut place! Not HUGE like the fanar one which they turned to a cafe. Same thing with starbucks, people go there to drink coffee, read newspaper, but not staying for hours studying for a midterm or final..’

Our concept is so screwed up!

Actually at my university in the states the Starbucks had desks to study on, people definitely studied there. Difference is people took their books there and read lol not the Kuwait style of “studying” which is sit having coffee with papers you didn’t read in front of you

I prefer the seating and fries at Shake Shack but I think I prefer the 3 patty vertigo burger at Elevation. Need to try it again to make sure.

man you’re so brave .. how can you talk about food again .. aren’t you afraid to be asked to leave the country for this ?

i heard a rumor about five guys .. just a rumor .. i heard one Kuwaiti richie rich in a diwania is talking .. it seems that he was working on bringing it .. so lets hope .. it is easier than shake shack i suppose ..

Hi, I am new to Kuwait, can you recommend a nice place to go for a wedding anniversary preferably with a complimentary cake or some special trimmings? I read about quite a few at the fancy restaurants but too expensive for me, perhaps some place nice and small and not expensive, any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Had the Outback Fillet last weekend in Dubai Mall and it is by far the best piece of beef I’ve ever had in the Middle East, maybe it was the cook at the grill! My fillet I had at Gaucho Grill last month was very crappy!

@vince I sent him a probable post that I ran across reading Gulf News about a battle of the bands in Dubai this week-end and much to my surprise two of bands are from Kuwait. Go figure? I did not know there were rock bands here. but the poor kids had to go to Dubai because off the strict censorship laws. Can someone liberate this place and put some life into it? Let the kids have a concert here. I think that they are afraid people would enjoy it and feel happy. I wish the bands good luck this week-end in Dubai!!!

They used to have battle of the bands in Kuwait, I remember going to rock concerts in shaab park in 2004 or so.

Steakhouses is what is giving me a —–. I love steak ๐Ÿ™‚ I could care less about American garbage like Potbellys, Olive Garden, IHOP etc…but Texas Roadhouse….mmmmm yummy.

With the large amount of rotten meat being discovered by the municipality that is in the press, I don’t think that I would ever eat meat in Kuwait. Potbellys will flop in Dubai and Kuwait, this is not a winter place where soup and sandwiches are a staple, not sure why AlShaya would bring this to the GCC? IHOP will not do well either in the Middle-East because breakfast is not a social occasion like in the US. Maybe Olive Garden will go well?? Especially in Kuwait, not sure if it will do well in Dubai.

Subway does well in Kuwait and potbelly is basically the same thing.

As for Steakhouses cook your own steaks, easier cheaper faster.

We should stop westernizing ourselves so much with everything. All these international american chains don’t even taste that good! It’s just the hype about them! It’s not the american food that bothers me but bringing their restaurant here that does.

The owner of Slider Station, Cocoa Room etc. has shown that you can make your own quality food. Look at Solo Pizza and Lita’s as well!

I don’t really care about the food being fatty. If someone is stupid enough to gorge themselves with burgers dipped in 10 different fattening sauces everyday then it’s their mistake. The topic of raising awareness for these idiots is another case.

PROMOTE LOCAL BUSINESSES AND LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS!

I totally agree with you about supporting local business, but they are ridiculously overpriced. I don’t mind paying, but why would I pay above average prices just cuz it’s a Kuwaiti place? Don’t believe me? Try Coco Roam & Slider Station & 52 Degrees. I know I have a choice whether to go or not, so I chose not to go their cuz their ingredients are not shipped from US/Europe. They are bought from Kuwait. Try the Pink Pasta from Choowy Goowy and notice how it tastes exactly like canned food! I feel ripped off when I go to these places. Food is greasy & cost more than it deserves. I totally support local entrepreneurs but not when I don’t get my money’s worth! Not a hater, just my 2 cents.

canary + barbar + bader il bodoor are cheap

owned by kuwaitis

+ there is a new pizza place owned by some kuwaiti guy i forgot its name but i remember paying about 4.5 kd for 2 large pizzas (cheaper than pizza hut ) + it was good

sadly we usually have to dig deep to find these guys

That is because people bringing these franchises are Kuwaitis that are brain-drained by ministry jobs or/and successful businessmen like AlShaya know that you have nothing else to do but go to restaurants with your leisure time. Why don’t these malls build ice-skating rinks, aquariums, in malls? It is costly to build these, because most of Kuwaitis these days are cash-strapped by a failing economy due to the lack of the development plan,so they can only do the minimum in the society without proper government support like other GCC countries. Do you know how much money is pumped into Emiritis farmers, Emirates Airlines, Emiritis businesses by their government? It is significant.

Kuwait actually supports local businesses quite well, any cash you come up with they’ll give you 5 times as much to finance your company, they own your shares and you can buy them back if you make enough money. Also the farmers receive lots of subsidies.

Considering In n Out just started to open restaurants outside of California, Arizona, and Nevada, I don’t expect Kuwait – or any other country for that matter – will be getting one soon. Besides, if the burger meat is Halal it will never be juicy enough either. I am moving to Kuwait soon and I am going to be mourning the loss of easy access to fresh, quality beef and other food I take for granted here, including spirits and brewed drinks. As for one of the earlier comments about U.S. people being fatter than Kuwaitis, I doubt that. Maybe some midwest U.S. people are huge and inner city people, but there are lots of Kuwaitis that are big. Most of the men don’t actually work, but just sit around and collect money, right? If I am wrong, please correct me. I still have a lot to learn about Kuwaiti culture.

Shake Shack had like 2 locations when they decided to expand out of NY and Kuwait was one of the first locations they announced. Check the video in the link below the reporter was like “Why Kuwait??” lol

https://248am.com/mark/kuwait/shake-shack-confirms-kuwait-store/

Also check this response when I asked In-N-Out if they were coming to Kuwait
https://248am.com/mark/kuwait/in-n-out-burger-opening-in-kuwait-i-think-so/

They’ve changed their tone, it’s no more “we’ll never open outside cali or we’ll never open abroad”. Now it’s more like “we’ll see”.

Just show them the money ๐Ÿ˜‰

I see. As a longtime California resident, we have always enjoyed others being jealous over not having In ‘n’ Out in their towns. The business has been family owned for a long time and has resisted franchises since it gives them less control over the finished product/store. Now, I believe most of the original family has ceded control to the younger generation and that is who is likely behind the expansion into Texas more recently. My comments about who is fatter U.S. v. Kuwaitis were just in fun, in case I offended anyone. I myself have recently cut most fast food out of my diet, so I won’t get to eat at these places often, but I still like knowing they are around. I have to thank you for your blog, it is interesting, and fun to hear about Kuwaiti business and culture from a younger perspective. I know this is off topic, but one thing I would love to see is a opinion poll from young people in Kuwait as to what is the best Internet provider for service and value. My fiancee currently has a wireless USB type internet service that is horrible, but we will be upgrading once I arrive, and I will need the best connection I can get.

most men do not work?!

kuwait unemployment rate= 1.5%

U.S. unemployment rate= 9.2%

ahem ahem.. ๐Ÿ˜‰

@7amood.They’re employed but majority of them sit on their @sses most of the time,is what I think Californian tried to imply.It has nothing to do with the unemployment rate.And btw if you remove all the expats then Kuwait will definitely be listed as the fattest country.

Loads of the expats here are fat too, it’s definitely not a Kuwaiti thing exclusively. It’s just the lifestyle, you can’t walk anywhere, most jobs are desk jobs, fatty food everywhere.

@ Californian, do ur reserch before moving to an entirely different culure! Dont be the ignorant, arrogant american stereotype! Halal beef is juicy and more importantly its more humane.

@7amood your unemployment rates dont take into account the thousands of bedoon people living in near- poverty, becuz ur country denies them rights, and jobs!

most bedoons are in kuwait illegally. and even though illegal immigrants are not allowed to work (legally)in the u.s., get married (legally), or get health care (legally).. kuwait in comparison does a good job of providing them with those rights and not ship them off like cattle.

some bedoon are being wrong done.. but most have put themselves in this situation.

@7amood, yes she rushed to stereotype you there, but apologized in a later e-mail. This is why these franchises are desperate to come to the GCC, especially to Dubai and Qatar, because of the struggling US economy, and this is why she is coming to work in Kuwait because of the high unemployment rate. Your points well taken!

It is because the demand is here for more restaurants! Peolpe here in the GCC whether middle eastern, asian, or westerner will eat at all these places based on popularity!

How often have you seen the low carb or low calorie alternatives in any of the fast food (or other) chains in Kuwait? In the States, even McDonald’s has alternatives – and posts the calorie and fat content of food.

I think Kuwaiti franchises should step up in that regard. If you are going to bring these restaurants in, at least be socially responsible to give people a choice.

The US franchises “stepped up” if by step up you mean “legislation was passed in certain states or by the FDA that required having nutritional info by law” so yeah

KFC in the states didn’t stop using Transfats until california banned them.

In n out burger and five guys are opened in many states out side California state now so expect the unexpected .. !

ุฎู„ุงุท ู…ูˆ ุจุทู†

This subject needs to reach the MOE because they have an obligation to ensure that all students have a healthy option whilst attending schools in Kuwait. All fizzy drinks, chips, and chocolates should be banned from all canteens which should be inspected for safety and should offer students healthy food choices. I have alot to say to the MOE here and think that there strong emphasis on Islamic religion classes and Arabic classes has sidelined the true problems in schools and this is one of them.

mark what do you think will be more successful in kuwait, in N out or five guys?
in N out has over 250 locations while five guys serves 40+ states.

five guys is going to open in Kuwait. I called them up to open it here and they contacted me to say that there is already someone thats going to open it. So yeah;p just wait.

In-N-Out has 28 locations in ARIZONA
203 locations in CALIFORNIA
16 locations in NEVADA
9 locations in TEXAS
9 locations in UTAH

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