Yesterday I headed to Em Sherif with Fajer the lawyer for futoor. I had pre-booked a few days earlier but was on a waiting list and luckily a table freed up so we went. If you’ve never been to Em Sherif before in Beirut or Dubai, it’s basically an upscale Lebanese restaurant with a set menu. The Kuwait location just opened up a few weeks ago in Bida’a behind Palms and I’ve been meaning to try it ever since I found out about it.
Photo from their instagram account @emsherifkuwait
The interior is beautiful and very tastefully done but star of the evening had to be the food. The amount of food we ate last night was just insane, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much before. The dishes kept coming one after the other and by dish #22 I had to ask the waiter how many dishes in total they were. They serve a total of 35 dishes, thats basically a 35 course meal and it’s crazy. I was falling into a food coma before I even finished having lunch. They really should give you a medal or some sort of certificate for completing the set menu, kinda like how you get a medal just for completing a marathon.
The service was also superb and just the overall experience was fantastic. The cost is KD25 per person (soft drinks not included) and it really is great value for money. Right now, this is by far my favorite Lebanese restaurant in Kuwait and I’ll definitely be going back.
For reservations you can call them on 90977997.
45 replies on “Review: Em Sherif Kuwait”
The food is top.
Wouldnt go again tho because i cant finish the food
Haha yesterday I was telling fajer I’m not having Lebanese food ever again, now I’m hungry again though so I could go back tonight. I think I’ll manage to pace myself better this time around.
Will it continue to have a set menu after Ramadan?
I’d love to go, but the amount of food sounds ridiculous!
Yup set menu always, you obviously don’t have to eat everything but it’s hard when everything looks and tastes so good.
u can’t imagine
Are you allowed to take leftovers home?
don’t think so, its like asking if you could take leftovers home from a buffet
Hmm… maybe I’m generalising but 25 KD for salad, houmous and fries sounds a tad pricey to me.
And 35 dishes with the associated wastage?? That to me does not sound like in keeping with the spirit of Ramadan.
we were two people, 35 dishes, thats around KD1.400 per dish which is less than the average price for a hummos plate at a Lebanese restaurant except here you’re also having fish, shrimp, meat, chicken, a ton of desserts, and you’re in an upscale restaurant. So not sure how you came to the conclusion it’s pricy. It’s cheap if anything.
Also according to the waiter nothing gets wasted with leftover food taken by some of the back staff that need it.
That’s good. My friend working in the industry told be that waiters are not permitted to take the food. There have even be cases where dishes have been completely untouched yet the food goes directly into the trash.
for 25 KD per person at least include some drinks.
unlimited evian water, jalab and laban are included. soft drinks aren’t.
Out of curiosity, how many of the dishes were sea food based?
two, a shrimp dish and a fish one.
Mark, it’s one thing to look at the price per dish; however how many people go to a restaurant in order to eat (let alone taste) 35 dishes?
Perhaps for some it’s an experience to pay 25 KD for 35 dishes, however the choice of picking your own food remains a basic option.
In comparison, many buffets at top restaurants do not cost more than 15 KD.
yeah but you can pick your own food at any lebanese restaurant, what sets em sherif apart from the rest is their set menu.
Many buffets do cost KD15 thats true but it also easily costs KD20-30 per person at a normal upscale restaurant in kuwait as well so not sure what you’re comparing here.
edit: spelling/grammar
The point is that you can still get served at high end restaurants for 15 KD per person…
The price that is being charged these days on food is ridiculous (ie: 25 or 30 KD per person).
Yeah I understand you can get served at a restaurant for KD15, but does that mean Em Sherif needs to reduce their price to match what you usually pay?
What exactly are you ordering at that high end restaurant? If you go to Peacock order a starter, a seafood main dish and rice you’re gonna end up paying KD20. If you went to Ora and ordered a few dishes you’d end up paying KD20.
Em Sherif has a set menu that consists of a feast from mezza to dessert and it costs KD25. If you want to pick and choose what you want from the menu you have like 100 other Lebanese restaurants to choose from. You have a lot of choices that fit your requirements. They have a different unique formula on the other hand and they’ve been pretty successful at it so far.
“The price that is being charged these days on food is ridiculous”
maybe for you,, but not the customers who over book restaurants
So for 1 person you pay KD25 for 35 dishes. And for 2 you pay KD50 for the same amount of dishes? If we were a group of 4, are we going to pay KD100 for what costs KD25? I don’t get it.
Kinda, their set menu consists of 35 dishes yes so if you’re 2 people or 6 people you’re getting 35 different dishes in the end.
But, when you finish a dish they ask you if you want more of it. If you’re 6, the quantity of those dishes on the table would also be more. So instead of say 1 hummos on the table you’d get 2 or 3. When you finished the hummos dish they’ll ask you if you want another.
Please remove the comment with my last name, auto complete’s fault..
your last name isn’t there
I love plate has 4 lettuces, or 13 fries, how about 4 sambosah.
if paying 25k.d. where is the meat!
is that the whole meal? if not place pictures, let us see.
I swear these comments are gonna drive me insane one day.
1) The picture isn’t of all the dishes
2) It’s eat all you can eat, so if you finish your 13 fries you can have 13 more
3) There are shrimp, fish, beef, chicken and lamb dishes
4) If you want to see pictures of every dish complain to them on their instagram account
sorry mate, i thought you took the picture.
Just the one on top, the second one is from their insta accoint
Hahaha 🤣🤣🤣 they will drive you insane ..but to me they just drive me into a laughing fit!! I was checking reviews for Em Sheriff and landed here.
Actually there is 15 fries
I think the Ramadan spirit of eating less food has got your readers lol
I would definitely try it if I could take some (not all) leftovers, I wouldn’t want to just waste the food
Ok the comments gave me cancer
“Set menu” isn’t a new concept. I’ve been to PLENTY of restaurants (outside of Kuwait ofc) that offer this service. Em Sherif is one of my favorites. Worth every fils I spent and much better than a buffet (you pay 20 KD but you barely ate anything worth 5+ KD – I always feel like I’m throwing money away)
I mean REALLY, 25 KD for 35 dishes is amazing
Use your words carefully – CANCER IS NOT A JOKE !
I tried Em Sherif in Beirut two summers back. I agree the food was good, but the amount of food is just insane and all goes to waste if you were 2 to 3 people. I don’t mind the set menu but at least have options in terms of quantity because not many can eat this insane amount of food.
Do they have a dress code?
25KD! seriously mark in Kuwait that’s extremely expensive.. Babel is much less, I had lunch there every week before Ramadan and it’s like 45 KD for 3 people.. Em Sherif is good but I think this concept will fail in Kuwait as not a lot of people will go experience a 25 KD meal weekly while there are lots of other premium restaurants that offer less prices and same food quality.
and I wouldn’t encourage such pricing as it will make all the restaurant go the same way if the restaurant succeed in the market.. better yet lets boycott it lol
Well first of all babel isn’t that good to begin with but more importantly, the amount of food you get at em sherif for kd25 is a lot more than what you would get at babel for the same price, a lot more. Babel is actually more expensive than em sherif.
Babel is good come one man, Tabouleh Seafood, Fateh shrimp and many other fusion that are amazing.. I get the lots of dishes at em sherif but when you calculate the 25 for 5 people it’s 125 KD! that’s quite high bro, think about it..
Bro, if its 10 people it’s 250 KD!! 20 people it’s 500KD!!! and 100 people it’s 2,500KD!!!!!!!!!! Think about it…
but seriously don’t knock something until you try it. Ask 10 people who’ve been to Babel what they think and they’ll give you mixed feedback on the food, ask 10 people who’ve been to Em Sherif about the food and the vast amount of responses would be that it’s pretty great.
Thanks for the review Mark. Just one question, is the restaurant 420 friendly? Is it alright if me and my people arrive with blood shot eyes as red as the muhammara?
I think the issue you might have is that they won’t let dicks into the place
rekt.
It’s definitely an addition to Kuwait’s food scene. A reputable brand with quality food. My only issue is KD 25 per person is way too over priced. I understand that it’s a high end restaurant and it’s a set menu; but it just isn’t practical for a group of people to go there regularly. Most will try it once for the experience and eventually end up going back to reliable and reasonably priced Lebanese restaurants in Kuwait like Leila & Villa Fairouz.
Upscale restaurants generally don’t do well in Kuwait ESPCIALLY if they aren’t located in Hotels. ORA and The Butcher’s Den are two examples of terrific restaurants that shut down because of their position and price point. I would hate to see this happen to Em Sherif.
Em Sherif will eventually be forced to offer more set menu options and show some flexibility in pricing. Perhaps they can have a set menu option that is cheaper where less items are served. In my opinion, KD 15 for 20 items would do much better than KD 25 for 35 items and sustain them long-term.
Have eaten at the original and the Kuwaiti one is priced higher. If I remember correctly the original costs equivalent of around KWD 16-17 for the same number of dishes, but I digress…..
A meal at Em Sherif is indeed lovely, but I must confess its overwhelming… barely do you have time to taste one dish, before another one arrives. For me, it takes away the joy of eating out, savoring your food, enjoying a chat and slowly eating through your meal and enjoying your evening out! I don’t think KWD 25 is way out expensive (given prices at some of the posh restaurants here) but I must confess, I cringe ta the food that gets wasted… and despite what your server said, I am not sure how of that food is actually given to the servers to take home :-))
But having said, the food quality is very good at Em Sherif and I assure they would have maintained the same here which is a relief because I have been to places like Peacock and the food is at best average. I have eaten there twice and both times was left wondering what the hullabaloo about the place was! So its good to hear that Em Sherif’s food is as good as I remember it!
It would be good if you think as single or a group each one pay for him self. But not here where is mostly families go to eat. So if you are a family of 3 persons only you will pay 75 kd. And this is the smallest family. So dear it won’t work where here in our culture no split pill .. the head of the family will pay