Najd Dining

For traditional Saudi dining, Najd Village Restaurant is the place to go.

Apparently there are two Najd Restaurants. The one we went to was in Takasussi Street.  When Noor dropped us out front I had to ask him where it was because the front is quite unassuming.  No blaring advertisment in neon announcing it's existence which is not a criticism.  In fact, the lack of flashing neon in this city is something I like about it, though it is slowl,y but surely, creeping in.

The restaurant reflects the traditional mudhouses of the area and, as you enter, you find the walls adorned with traditional art, craft and wares.   The main lobby has more antiques and tidbits of interest to look at before heading to the eating areas which, for families, are out the back. 
Our friends had pre-ordered a private room.  Our shoes were left outside the door and there was more than sufficient space for we seven expats to spread our legs because the seating in our little space was traditional Saudi style - long, flat cushions on the floor with a leaner or two spaced here - and sitting cross-legged for many of us (moi included) doesn't happen easily. 

An empty fireplace occupied the back wall (we went to Najd in summer when fires are definately not required) and above it were shelves adorned with dullah (arabic coffee pots), weaved baskets and enamel tea pots reminiscent of days spent camping on the farm with billy's on the campfire, except these pots were painted with pretty patterns.  

The ceiling exposed typical materials of Najd yester-year -strips of wood beneath which thinner natural twine bound wood panels could be spotted.  It reminded me of tukutuku panels.

The evening began with qahwah and dates and a bit of chit chat about life and Saudi living. One of our crew was more au fait with the menu, and Arabic food in general, than the rest of us so was in charge of ordering.    Requests were put in for something lamb, something camel and something trraditional we've never had before.

The food, when it arrived, was served on the floor on a small weaved mat which meant manoeuvring our less than lithe bodies around the mat to serve our food into painted plastic plates.  The effort was worth it.

The food was delicious. 
I can highly recommend a night of traditional Najd dining.

Wooden Bakery

The Wooden Bakery, Khurais Road is a nice place to have lunch.

The Wooden Bakery company hails from Lebanon.  Their specialty is Arabic and European breads, French Pastries and Arabic sweets.

The shop downstairs displays all their bakery delicacies and bread as well as a selection of deli meats.  Wooden Bakery also makes pizza.  Most bakery items you see downstairs you can buy upstairs in the family section.

The restaurant also has more substantial items on their menu.  Salads, sandwiches and so on.  I do like the coffee here, except the cups are too small.  Price wise you could probably buy cheaper at other bakeries, but the food here is quite good quality. 

I tend to make a beeline for the tables with comfy lounge though everybody else seems to prefer those seats as well, so going off peak times is better for your butt.

The Wooden Bakey has opened smaller branches in a couple of other locations around Riyadh, but the one I prefer is on Khurais Road.  The building has the unmistakable windmill on it which was subject to Muttawa scrutiny not long ago.

Story has it (and yes this is gossip) that the original windmill was a 4 bladed wooden structure.  The Muttawa deemed that the 4 blades looked too much like christian cross so asked the company to do something about it.  They added another blade, although it didn't fit correctly with the existing 4 and looked more like a stump than a blade (according to Hubster).  Plus the weight of the extra blade put a strain on the mechanism that turned the windmill.  So, the company had to take down the entire windmill and reconstruct a 5 blade structure made out of lighter material, hence the blade that now adorns The Wooden Bakery.

How true is this story?  Who knows!.  And it doesn't really matter.  With or without the windmill the food and coffee at The Wooden Bakery has still maintained excellent quality

Where I've been so far

The following is a list of other eateries we've been to and I will get round to adding more extensive comments as time permits

• 11A - Arab cuisine, buffet, nice views
• Al Bohsali - large interior, beautiful entry, food is pretty good.
• Appetit - take time to craft their meals, decent portions, Parisienne decor contrasting with pipes
• Applebees - American style family dinners
• Café Blanc - cave set up and air con made the place cold as the day we went. Interesting food
• Centro - Red decor, good service, OK food.
• Corsini - Sign out front says health food and all the pictures have fries.
• Crepe Place - serves the usual chips and burgers menu as well.
• Dairy Queen - burgers and ice-cream.  Go elsewhere for good coffee.
• El Chico - Mexican , quacamole made at the table.  Quite a nice place.
• Elements – Four Seasons Hotel, another expensive options.
• Entrocote - the most expensive steak, chips and salad I've ever had.
• Filicori - most of the menu is not available both times we have been
• Fish n Chips Tahaliah - for your F'n'C hungers.
• French Corner - cakes downstairs, eat in upstairs.
• Fudrukers - family venue, noisy, busy
• Gate of Jazeera – Chinese, our favourite.
• Globe - expensive option, they also serve non-alcholic wine if you want to try that, lovely views
• Golden Lobster - asian, not stunning but ok
• Golden Palace – Chinese with ice cream
• Granada Mall – La Wein - expensive coffee, plastic food
• Hagendaas - ice-cream....yumm
• Hediards - have a deck up top.
• Hindi Akudh - very plain decor, food is ok
• Indian Summer - lovely decor, food repeated on me for days.
• Kingdom Ladies Floor - a few eating and coffee options that are nice enough
• Kosebase - Turkish, tables jammed in, food nice.
• Ladauree - French me thinks, nice cakes on lovely china
• La Cuchino - part of Faisaliah, presentation of food is beautiful. Italian
• Lamborghini - totally expensive for a coffee place
• Lebanese Corner - plain decor, nice food.
• Le Baron -- good place for reasonable lunch.
• Le Sani - Pakistani, buffet, ok
• MBCo - say there food is fresh each day but I've had a stale cake from the frij.
• Nino’s - must go again.
• Seattle’s Best - coffee.
• Steakhouse - family restaurant. 
• Steaky – nice steak
• Tao - roomy eating areas, lots of curtains, expensive but nice.
• The Crepery – Riyadh Gallery - very popular.  Crepes and ice-cream variations
• The Mexican - hubby says he will never go again. I haven't been, so am willing to try it one day.
• The Tea Garden - don't expect cucumber sandwiches.  A fast food menu.
• Tony Romas - eat chips, burgers and nachos American style, family target
• Yamama - nice chicken kapsa
• Yoshi Sushi - one of the few places to do sushi and it's ok.

Chocolata Cafe

Are you a chocolate freak?

Then you may find Chocolata Cafe to your liking.

It's on King Fahad Road in the block of diners between the Novotel Hotel and Kingdom Tower.  Access to the family section is around the back, which, the first time I went was a bit of a freaky experience because there wasn't much light at night.

The foyer of Chocolata Cafe is decked out as a chocolate bar - dark chocolate I think.  The dining area for families is, as per usual, upstairs.

My first impression of the interior was dark, small and...bitsy.  There's an area in the middle of the cafe that looks down into the Singles Section below which might have been nice on the architects design plan but only serves to take detract from the space in the Family Section upstairs.  

The booth was a bit dim, but on request there was a light hiding behind a curtain that brightened things up sufficently to read.  The menu is loaded with chocolate goodies, so if you're a chocolate lover you'll be happy, though Hubster thinks the chocolate is the 'less cacao, more sugar' variety. 

For those, like myself ,who are not in love with chocolate there are other options.  The carrot cake made up for any doubts my first impressions may have formed about the place.