Riyadh

Food and Restaurants

Al-Nakheel, Khozama Centre 7F (next to Al-Khozama Hotel). Though widely acclaimed as the best restaurant in Saudi Arabia, Al-Nakheel’s décor is unchanged since the 1970s and is run-down rather than rustic. It offers an uninspired buffet (no a la carte menu) of the usual Arab offerings. The main clientele appear to be visitors, tour groups, and hotel guests. Dinner buffet costs SR110, not including taxes, service, or drinks.

Showing 1–16 of 16 restaurants

City guide section

Top picks in Riyadh

Showing 1–16 of 16 restaurants

Browse the highlights below, then open any place for maps, area notes, and practical details.

Al-Shallal

The largest and best-known Shisha/Hookah/Nargila café in Riyadh is Shallal. It is an exotic complex of indoor and outdoor venues for socializing with tea, Middle Eastern snacks, and traditional water pipes.

Al-Nakheel

Sheraton Riyadh

Sheraton Riyadh offers a very rich buffet for breakfast, covering a wide spectrum of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern delicacies in addition to regular European food.

The Globe

Located in Al Faisaliah Hotel is an expensive restaurant that offers both a delectable cuisine and a spectacular ambience.

Assaraya

This very popular Turkish restaurant is packed during the evening hours. Meat is the name of the game here, and it comes in numerous tasty variations. SR30.

Chilis

Quite good rendition of TexMex with a typical American look-and-feel. The Buffalo Wings / Tenders are recommended and are excellent with the hot sauce. SR60.

Korean Palace

Korean-run eatery offers reasonably authentic Korean, Japanese, and Chinese food at reasonable prices. The restaurant is popular with the local Asian community. SR50.

Burger Boutique

This is the Middle East's first gourmet burger joint. They specialize in a wide array of classic and gourmet burgers as well as mouth watering sliders, fresh salads, and sides.

Mirage Restaurant

This Taiwanese-Saudi-run restaurant offers a variety of Asian foods, but it is recommended to indulge in the Taiwanese or Chinese menu items. The restaurant accepts mixed gender groups.

Duo

The Spaghetti Curry dish - fried chicken, peas, pineapple curry pasta - sounds weird, but tastes good.

Steak House

This is a basic chain steak house with an unexciting array of steaks and other meat products. Prices are around SR60.

Al Fawar

This cheap and cheerful Lebanese eatery offers tasty shawarma, kebabs, dips, and more. Shawarma is priced at SR3/6.

Al-Malaz Restaurant

At lunchtime, one can get four standard curries (meat or veg), pickles, fresh veggies, rice, chapattis, pappadums, dessert and tea, all with infinite refills, for the scarcely credible price of SR6.

Mama Noura Juice Center

This immensely popular chain does excellent thick, fresh juice cocktails, but the main draw here is the famous shawarma, arguably Riyadh's best. Sandwiches are small, but cheap, at SR3.

Shayah

Iranian restaurant offering a good range of kebabs and a better range of mezze like tabbouleh, hummus, eggplant, vine leaves, etc. Single portions under SR10, huge set meals are priced at SR21.

Ya Mal Asham

This restaurant is set up similar to a cafeteria with a grab-a-tray and-point-service mentality, but there is a great selection of Arabic food from shawarma to soups, grills, stews and desserts and the style of