Andre and his steak sandwich from Bait 7

Eating in Kuwait

          There are so many choices in Kuwait when it comes to eating. It doesn't really matter where you are from or what you like to eat. There should be plenty of options for you.

Read our restaurant reviews HERE!

          Kuwaitis, Americans, British, Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, or any other nationals should have no trouble whatsoever finding just the food that they love to eat and at the price that can be afforded.

          You can go from super expensive to super inexpensive and still find great quality. So, no matter what your budget is, you should be able to make it work for you in Kuwait.

          Oriental fruit and vegetables are widely available in Kuwait at both the cooperative societies and the major supermarkets. But if you still haven't found what you are looking for, there are many smaller specialty stores that carry a wide variety of Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino fruit, vegetables, and other specialty foods. In addition to that you should be able to find plenty of sweets to satisfy your sweet tooth no matter where you are from.

          Most of the shops that sell specialty Filipino food are in the city, but there are others around. The Indian and Pakistani shops concentrate in the city and around Salmiyah, particularly between the park and Amman Street (across from Rumaithiyah).

          Americans, Brits, Irish, and other UK nationals (and everyone else) will enjoy shopping at Sultan Center, but will also find great things at City Center and even the cooperative societies. (A cooperative society is literally a cooperative that the residents of a certain residential area set up in order to have good foodstuff at a low price, so you can get some good deals. Usually, every cooperative society has specials once a week on vegetables at either the main branch or another smaller branch, and the deals are amazing!)

          There are also plenty of oriental choices at Sultan Center as well, including Japanese specialties and more! All Arabic nationals will be pleased to find most of the foods that they are used to having, and the best thing is that, if you don't find it, all you have to do is ask! They will usually bring it in short order and call you to let you know that it came. If there is ever any item that you don't find at the supermarket you can always ask for it. While the cooperative societies are helpful, Sultan Center is even more so, and will do their best to go out of their way to get whatever the desired item is.

          In  Shuwaikh, Feheheel, the City, and some other places you will find large markets where you can find fresh vegetables and fruit. These places are interesting, but since you must bargain if you go there, you really need to know your prices before you go, and be ready to stand your ground. I personally have given up going to those places, simply because it is so much easier to go to the Sultan Wholesale Center and get quality inexpensive things, in air-conditioned comfort and with no bargaining. Also, I can get the rest of my items as well, so for me, it's more trouble than it's worth.

          On the other hand, the fish market (one near Souk Sharq, one in Mubarakiyah, and one in Feheheel) is a real bargain. But again, it helps to have the prices in your mind before you go, because then you will know if you're getting a bargain or not.  You can get some real bargains, particularly on crab and rock lobster. But, again, don't back down, if you have a price in mind and know what you want to pay. Usually what you're getting there is going to be very fresh, but check it just to make sure.

          If you want to order in or eat out, there are bazillions of places for you to choose from no matter what your budget is. You can go high end with one of the luxury restaurants in Kuwait, costing up to 15 kd per person, or super bargain with the small sandwich, fetayer (like a little dough calzone like thing filled with various choice fillings, like cheese, meat, etc), or Indian super cheap (chapati, samosa, or whatever), costing around 250 fils per person....

You can get full meals from the various smaller Iranian, Indian, or Arabic restaurants for only 1 to 1.250 kd, which include meat, chicken, or fish, a huge plate of rice, loads of bread and vegetables (including a pile of greens) and often little soups to go along with all of that! And they taste great to boot! You can also have many of these delivered right to your home at no extra charge. (We will be getting you pictures and more information very soon)!

 (to be continued)