367143 Fri Feb 02 19:55:47 -0800 2007 3 53 Middle East and Africa 0 2255360 In the unlikely event that any hapless hounds have found themselves in Riyadh, please report on any decent places to eat other than your average middle eastern fare/overpriced and mediocre 'international' stuff...thanks! Fri Feb 02 19:55:48 -0800 2007 45184 lainamalone 1 4512368 oh come on - it;s not that bad! have you tried nafura? excellent sea food buffet on the weekends. i highly recommend it. it's on old airport road - a little before extra, on the left. Tue Mar 17 06:52:03 -0700 2009 2255360 275128 grapefruit 1 4600880 Ate at Riyadh Chinese Resturaunt, founded 25 years ago by Mr. Cho. Excelllent spicy fish dish, crispy chicken and Seven treasure soup. Thu Apr 16 08:03:15 -0700 2009 2255360 283169 Doc Matt 2 4758145 Interesting thread - original email was in 2007 and follow-ups in 2009! Since April 2008, I have been to Riyadh four times, and going back in October and December of this year (2009). I usually stay at the Riyadh Sheraton, at the Olaya junction of King Fahad and King Abdullah Roads. It has two pretty good restaurants - the Al Bustan and La Piazza restaurants. We usually eat breakfast at Al Bustan and have had some lunches there. Usually pretty large buffet with lots of very good stuff and one of the best omelette chefs. On my last visit (April 2009), I ended up having their Wednesday night seafood buffet - which was unbelievable. A wide variety of seafood on ice - you choose what and how many - and they grill it fresh! Accompanied by the largest seafood salad and other seafood item buffet I have ever experienced! On this same trip, I had dinner one night at La Pizza and it was very good. On this last trip we also ate at an Indian restaurant called Avadh - which our local Indian manager said was his favorite. The food was good, but because he made poor choices (Avadh is Lucknow in India - and well known for kababs - which is what I would have ordered primarily), we did not probably sample their best dishes. Competently done, but there seemed to be Indian restaurants choc-a-bloc on this road near the shopping district. I don't remember the name. Near the Sheraton there is also Al Bohsali, a middle eastern restaurant where they speak little English. But the food is very good. We shared a salad platter amongst 3 hearty eaters, and it had some eggplant salads (like baba gannouj - but more spicy and different texture) that I have not had in US. The individual kebab platters were also very decent. One night our Saudi host took us to a steak place - don't remember the name - but it is on the road to the airport. Since this was somewhat far from our normal hunting grounds, I assumed it had good steak, or why else would he drive that far. Seems like he likes their salad bar. I should have realized something fishy when he ordered their chicken instead of steak. My blackened New York steak was one of the worst I have had when paying for it. Utterly forgettable experience. The salad bar was nothing special when you consider US eateries, but I guess for Riyadh it may have been. On a previous visit we went to an Italian restaurant (again near the shopping district) which does not have regular tables and chairs - they only have sofas and coffee-tables. The food was ho-hum, but looks like Italian is one of the ethnic cuisines popular in Riyadh. On that same visit, we also went to the restaurant that is on top of the Kingdom Tower (or maybe the other tower - the one that shapes up like a pointed spire). This is upscale dining, and the food was good. However, we were completely fascinated and captivated by the alcohol-free white and red wines we were served (from Israel and South Africa). I had to come Google how such wines are produced (they remove the alcohol after the fermentation is complete!). Also during that visit the sandstorm had reduced visibility to half a block, and so we had very poor views of Riyadh, one of the attractions of this roof-top restaurant. There are two traditional Saudi restaurants we have visited on two trips. These are those big places where sit on the floor and food is served communal style in the center. In both instances, it is a novel experience, but to my personal taste the food was nothing exceptional. The centerpiece is lamb cooked with rice (two variations), and a number of non-vegetarian and vegetarian accompanying dishes, and some flatbreads. it is a great way to spend time savoring traditional Saudi hospitality, but I lower my expectations in terms of food. Near the hotel there is a chain called Mama Noura. One of our older guests has a crush on this place, but I found it to be quite pedestrian. Wraps and fresh fruit juices. The Indian manager explained this other gent likes the fresh fruit juices, but I have had much better ones in India. I saw on Anthony Bourdain's trip to KSA a chain restaurant which is the Saudi equivalent of KFC, except that the chicken is quite spicy. On this last trip I tried to locate one, but was told it is not in Riyadh, but in Jeddah. My October 2009 trip will take me to Jeddah, so I hope to try this out. Tue Jun 09 17:47:44 -0700 2009 4600880 27669 suvro