The restaurant scene in Saudi is flourishing, with a mixture of home-grown outlets and bespoke imports shifting and shaping the Kingdom’s culinary landscape. With a slew of new faces amidst old favourites, here are four restaurants worth putting on your radar
1. THE CITY’S BEST STEAK
Fancy your steak served with a side order of culinary theatrics? Latin-American restaurant Pampas,on the 17th-floor of Assila, a Luxury Collection Hotel Jeddah, has mastered the art of ‘dinner with a show’ thanks to its open kitchen that allows guests to be part of the action, witnessing first hand the skills required to grill premium cuts of meat to absolute perfection. The kitchen burns specially-selected Acacia wood to create embers that are then used to enhance the natural characteristics of carefully chosen premium dry-aged steaks. Using only the very best ingredients, the steaks are then match-made with the perfect accompaniments, like truffle mashed potato, creamed spinach and thyme roasted broccolini. The open kitchen also lets chefs showcase how simple cooking
can be and how good ingredients can become great ingredients when
grilled over a wood fire. Also on the menu is Hombro de Cordero (slow-roasted Australian lamb shoulder) pan-fried red mullet, aji panca lobster soup, Atlantic salmon ceviche and the ‘Wafaatina’ Australian Wagyu beef burger. While the ingredients spirit you to Latin America, the rustic- meets-modern interiors anchor you in Arabia. Dark wood floors and red leather-studded chairs create a striking setting for your steak, with walls peppered with Arabic artwork and floor-to-ceiling views of the city providing a focal point if you can tear your eyes away from your plate.
2. THE EXCITING OPENING
Siddharta Lounge will give Jeddah dwellers and visitors another reason
to visit Assila, a Luxury Collection Hotel, when it opens later this year. Already located in spectacular destinations around the world (including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat), it’s now the turn of Jeddah to open the doors to this stylish rooftop lounge, bar and pool concept, for what will be the first Siddharta Lounge by Buddha Bar in the Kingdom. With its proven excellence in combining dining, mixology, music and design, Siddharta Lounge Jeddah is set to become the city’s new all-day hedonistic hotspot, as it serves up lunch, dinner and after-dark soirées under the stars, from daylight to long after nightfall. A playground for the social set, guests can rendez-vous on the rooftop, segueing from indoors to outdoors, cigar lounge to poolside – wherever the mood or moment takes you. On the menu you’ll find a fusion of Mediterranean-Asian dishes, with dumplings, gyoza and sushi platters sitting alongside Thai curries, black cod, Waygu striploins and grilled Canadian lobster. One thing Buddha Lounge is world- renowned for is its mixology magic, so expect favoured classics to make an appearance on the menu, such as the Karma, with coconut purée, lychee juice and cranberry; the Esta Noche, with fresh blackberries, apple juice, Orgeat syrup and yuzu juice; and the Vasco, with mango juice, lime juice, homemade hibiscus syrup and passion fruit juice.
3. THE ONE TO WATCH
Opening at The St. Regis Riyadh later this year, Jackie promises to
be one for your Little Black Book of Best Restaurants. Inspired by Jackie
Kennedy’s love of the Mediterranean, the new restaurant will bring the best
of American Greek cuisine to the Kingdom, fusing timeless classics with
the chef’s specialty recipes. Taking over two floors, Jackie is the social
hub of the hotel, providing the perfect place for family gatherings enjoyed
over shared dishes laid across a large oak table, to more intimate moments
served in the restaurant’s elegant carved-out nooks. The seasonal
menu will take a contemporary twist on high-society dishes served in the
1970s, from both New York and the Greek islands Ω no nonsense, simple presentation, great flavours. Early morning, it’s all about long, leisurely breakfasts eaten at gorgeous marble- top tables for an elegant dining experience. Come night, and the restaurant will hit a more refined note, with white tablecloths and
a fine-dining menu. Design-wise, a modern 1970s approach blends
New York sophistication with the laid-back vibes of the Greek islands
Ω think grand chandeliers juxtaposed against casual seating, and Greek
olive trees sitting side by side with a blue grand piano, where the Aegean meets the Big Apple. The open- kitchen will enhance the restaurant’s ambience, whilst driving aromas into the dining room, prepping guests for what will be a vibrant and social occasion.
4. THE UNEXPECTED OASIS
On a constant mission to elevate the standards of restaurants in Riyadh, JW Glass Garden puts ingredients and sustainability at the forefront of its culinary modus operandi. Sourcing freshly-harvested ingredients direct from local farms, which are then cooked using holistic methods, allows each dish to retain its nutrients, resulting in more flavour-rich food finding its way to your plate. Located at JW Marriott Riyadh, with a plant-filled interior and plant strewn outdoor terrace to match its organic ethos, Glass Garden really is an epicure’s dream. The menu takes you on a journey from light breakfast bites through to more substantial lunchtime dishes. To start, there’s truffle scrambled eggs, served with truffle, avocado and brioche sliders; eggs Florentine with waffle, spinach, hollandaise sauce and horseradish; or brisket benedict. For something green and gorgeous, the salad section includes plates of Caesar salad with prawns; Ramsi tomatoes with toasted peanuts, lemon basil and tofu; and heirloom carrots with smoked chickpea hummus, date molasses and golden raisins. Then it’s time to embrace sharing, with smaller dishes of BBQ cauliflower tacos, tomato tartare and pea and pistachio falafel, before moving onto steak sandwiches, smoky butternut squash soup and miso marinated sea bass. All these dishes are best washed down with an ice cold mocktail specially curated by Glass Garden’s resident mixologist.
