Last night I passed by Street, a new restaurant that just opened up this past weekend in Kuwait City. I had been waiting impatiently for this restaurant to open ever since I heard about it two months ago. The chef and mastermind behind Street is Faisal Al Nashmi, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate whom I had heard a lot of great things about, mostly from friends who had experienced his experimental eatery.
Street is part of the Al Makan project which consists of a coffee shop, restaurant (Street), art gallery and a workshop studio all sharing the same space. They’re located on the first floor of a tower on the same street as Pick Yo and Karak House in Kuwait City. I found the place pretty easily since the restaurant overlooks the main road and is all glass so I spotted all the diners as I drove by. When we got there the place was packed and there was a 45 minute waiting period so me and my friend ended up walking to Souk Mubarkiyah down the road to kill time while our table freed up.
The interior of the restaurant is very industrial looking with an open ceiling, bare concrete walls and a polished concrete floor. Some of the tables were standalone while others like the one we sat on was communal which I actually like. A communal table basically means you’re dinning next to strangers since everyone sits next to each other. Not only is it a great way of meeting people but it also allows you to see what others are eating (and if you’re nosy what others are talking about).
The menu is inspired by street food and isn’t that big consisting of around 16 main items and 5 desserts. Everything is meant to be shared so me and my friend ended up ordering the following dishes:
Crispy Duck Salad KD3.5
Spicy Crispy Rice Cakes & Brisket KD3.5
Green Curry Glazed Ribs KD4
Kimchi Fried Chicken Burger KD3.25
Brisket Bun KD2.75
Tiger Prawn Yakitori KD3.5
Chicken & Egg Bowl KD3.75
White Chocolate Tres Leches KD3.25
Snickers with Coffee Icecream KD3.75
Caramelized Pain Perdu KD3.25
Looking at it now we pretty much ordered everything on the menu, it definitely was a cheat meal. Even though Street was packed and had only been open for four days, the service was pretty good and the food came out fast and at a steady pace. I thought that was impressive. The dishes overall were delicious, some a lot better than others. It’s street food yes but more like gourmet street food which is an interesting combination but also explains why the prices aren’t very street food like. My favorite dishes were the Spicy Crispy Rice Cakes, the Green Curry and the Chicken & Egg Bowl (pictured above). My least favorites were the Tiger Prawn which didn’t look that great presentation wise but also didn’t taste that great either, the duck salad which was just pretty boring compared to everything else we had and the Snickers with Coffee Icecream because I hate both snickers and coffee so worst combo ever. They’ve only been open for four days so I’m sure they’re still fine tuning all the dishes.
I really liked Street and the whole concept and space. This is Faisal’s first restaurant and I think he has a lot of ideas he wants to share and Street is his canvas. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up changing the menu often or revamps the dishes whenever he feels like it. He’s young, full of passion (as you can see from his instagram) and most importantly, he has good taste. They’re currently in their soft launch phase and so are open from 7:30PM till 10PM. Check out their instagram [Here]