beit dickson

beit dickson
hamad al-mubarak street, salmiya
tel: +965 25725777

what was consumed: hummus, samboosas, lots of bread, fatoosh, grilled meats, shrimp murabiyan (regular and with dried shrimp)

the restaurant, not the museum.

i only recently learned that being able to go out to eat kuwaiti food is a relatively new phenomenon. WHAT O_O i've been trying to try as many places as i can. for now, beit dickson is my go-to place for kuwaiti food.

i'd been trying to go to beit dickson for a long time. i wasn't sure if it was because i couldn't read the map on their website (i swear, their map is wrong. wrong i say!) or because i'm just that dense (c&j and i may have gone around in circles trying to find it once upon a time). turns out, i probably passed by their store front, like, a hundred times. i just didn't know! in the end, m took me and now there's no going back. ha!

beit dickson is located toward the old salmiya area of kuwait (i hear it has gone through multiple iterations). one of the great things about it is that it looks like a traditional kuwaiti home (well, sort of). you enter, go through its "gates," and then the main dining area takes on many of the characteristics of a traditional kuwaiti home's central courtyard. i like sitting next to the window, even though the window looks out on to a dirt lot where lots of people park (haha). and for those who need, there are separate/small dining rooms that can be requested.

the other thing i love about beit dickson is that you can watch them make the bread (iranian-style bread), pass an imitation "baqala" aka corner store, and even take a look at some of the traditional kuwaiti sweets. yes, it's sort of touristy and even a bit cheesy. but if the point of this sort of restaurant is to introduce the general public to kuwaiti cuisine and the local culture, all of those things are important and should be included.

and the food! beit dickson serves a variety of regional fare. but, as mentioned before, beit dickson is a kuwaiti restaurant, focusing on cuisine that is uniquely kuwaiti and/or kuwaiti twists on regional favorites.

i recognize i haven't had the whole gamut of kuwaiti cuisine (my kuwaiti friends keep saying things like, "omg, my mom makes the best food." ummm, where's my invite, buddy?). that said, there are certain dishes that i love love love (e.g. shrimp murabian, both whole and dried!) and that i have got to learn to make before i leave! kuwaiti cuisine generally comes on a bed of rice (avoid the cardamon!) and while i don't eat a lot of rice otherwise, i definitely fill my belly when enjoying kuwaiti food. nom nom nom.

now that i know were it is, let's go! beit dickson? any time!

online: www.beitdickson.com/eng