Have you ever traveled abroad and eaten out only to find yourself experiencing dining in a completely new and refreshing way? Whether that be dining in the sky in Dubai or inside a treehouse in New Zealand, eating out can be an experience in itself.
For some fun, we came up with unique restaurant concepts we believe would be cool in the Arab world:
Hawker Centers In Dubai
In that tiny island known as Singapore, in open squares along the main road stand rows upon rows of food stalls serving up a melting pot of cuisines, from Chinese to Indian. They are known as hawker centers and are the ultimate open-air food court.
A cacophony of sounds clashes together from the sizzle of the grill to the fiery blast of the wok furnace as sizzling satay sticks, spicy crab, and fragrant curries grace the tables at the center of the square.
Now, picture that dining concept recreated in the Arab world. For this pick, we want to open a hawker center in a city that already has a bustling international dining scene—Dubai. When it comes to food, we are thinking of going for Arab street food, so expect everything from Egypt’s sizzling kebda sandwiches to fresh manakeesh.
Grandma’s Kitchen in Egypt
You know when you’re out with friends and a conversation pops up about your love of authentic homemade food. Somehow, the conversation will turn to whose grandma makes the best molokhia or makdous.
Grandmas are intrinsic when it comes to authentic Arab food; they are truly unbeatable. That is why they are our inspiration for our next restaurant concept, Grandma’s Kitchen. This kitchen is unlike any other, as it won’t just be one grandma rolling her sleeves and whipping out delicious recipes.
Instead, we are thinking that four different grandmas can operate this unique kitchen. One from Syria, one from Lebanon, one from Sudan, and one from Egypt. Each week, one grandma takes reign and cooks up her dishes for foodies to enjoy.
Nostalgic Picnic Cafe In Morocco
Eating in the great outdoors amidst endless greenery has a certain knack to it. Nothing beats a picnic sprawled across the grass with your favorite sandwiches at the ready.
To give you that experience with a unique touch, we are introducing the Arab picnic food experience. We envision opening a cafe that curates different picnic baskets to elicit a feeling of nostalgia. The picnic baskets will be themed by country.
So, for example, if the country is Lebanon, the basket will be filled with delicious cucumber labnah rolls, jars of olives, and a flask of jallab.
For the ultimate experience, we believe the cafe should be opened in Morocco. Why, you may ask? Morocco has some of the most picnic spots, including Jardin Majorelle, Anima Garden, and Ain Asserdoun.
BBQ Extravaganza in Lebanon
Nothing beats the taste of juicy, chargrilled meat fresh off the grill, especially in the summer. Across the Arab world, there are different renditions of a typical BBQ. Now, we want to have them all in one place, at a special BBQ spot in Lebanon.
To change things up, we recommend having their BBQ joint be in the mountains of Lebanon, where grill masters will cook in the great outdoors, among the snow. As an Arab BBQ spot, expect everything from Egyptian samak mashwi (grilled fish) to grilled Moroccan kefta. Meat lovers, your dreams will turn into reality.
It is sad to see that all these restaurant concepts still do not exist in the Arab world. We would love to see them exist as they will make for some really unique dining experiences.