A few weeks ago a new restaurant opened up called ROTO which is based around the concept of a wood-fired rotisserie. The restaurant is owned by the guys behind Little Ruby’s and Chef Khaled Al Baker (@chefkb) whom I’ve previously posted about on the blog. I’m not generally a fan of rotisserie chicken but because Khaled is a friend of mine I decided to (translation: I had to) check the place out. Good thing I did because I’m now actually a huge fan of Roto.
I think the main reason for me not liking rotisserie chicken in the first place was because I only ever had it from those street side rotisserie places and I always found it too greasy plus I don’t like chicken on the bone. So when I told Chef KB that he assured me it would be a different experience, plus they serve the chicken off the bone so I didn’t have an excuse not to try it. Before even getting to the chicken though I have to say what I probably like most about Roto are the starters. Two things you need to have, his Burrata dish and the Corn Brûlée. I’ve literally gone to Roto just to have the corn brûlée, it’s that good!
The rotisserie chicken, on the other hand, tasted wayyy better than I was expecting it to. It definitely didn’t taste like a regular street side chicken and the ability to choose from a variety of different dipping sauces gives it an even greater appeal. Part of what makes the rotisserie taste so good is that it’s grilled in a Josper Rotisserie using wooden coal, so you end up with a nice crispy exterior, a juicy interior, and a slightly smokey flavor. But, what I liked even more was the pulled chicken sandwiches they have on the menu which have become my new favorite lunch thing. The Musahab panini with extra garlic sauce is my favorite one with the shawarma panini coming a close second.
Pricewise it’s fairly reasonable with the rotisserie chicken costing KD4.5, the musahab panini with fries KD3.5 and the corn brûlée for KD3. So a meal for two can cost around KD10 with drinks which is pretty good nowadays. Roto is located in Kuwait City in the new glass tower across the street from Crystal Tower [Google Maps]. They’re open from 1PM to 11PM and you can follow them on Instagram @ontheroto
Top and bottom photo taken from Roto
12 replies on “New Restaurant: ROTO”
That’s freaking expensive for rotisserie chicken!
Why isn’t he serving musakhan? 😉
why the wink?
Not a big fan of rotisserie chicken but 4.5 KD is way too much. Do they hand feed the chicken or the wood is from chestnut?
Compared to where? Cuz you can’t compare it to Naif since that would be like comparing pizza hut to solo pizza for example…
they need to get on carriage or deliveroo ASAP….
Is the rotisserie chicken expensive because of the unique oven or the ambiance of the restaurant? Plus their chicken portion is so little considering it’s a “full chicken”
Baker & spice has a great rotisserie chicken for a bit cheaper and it’s a huge portion!
Combination of both I would say. I mean a grilled chicken breast at Zuma is like 9.5KD, so if you compare this full chicken price to what you get at Zuma then it’s a great deal. So it’s all relative. I think most people here are comparing to Naif and going wtf 🤷🏼♂️
4.5KWD for rotisserie chicken? You having a laugh mate!
Here in Canada we would call that place Swiss Chalet or Chalet BBQ.
And here in Quebec it would be St. Hubert BBQ
A national treasure for sure.
Since he’s your friend, you might want to tell him the food was great but the glasses smelled like they weren’t cleaned properly.
Went there last year. It was nice but its too little for too much cost. Not worth it.