Carluccio’s – Kuwait

I’ve been waiting for one of my most favorite casual restaurants to open in Kuwait, Carluccio’s, and it did! I first tried it in Dubai Mall, and later in Pearl, Doha. The first branch was located in London right behind Selfridges. Their concept is basic: Authentic Italian food. What I love about them is they sell their own products, and boast their recipes by sharing them with everyone to enjoy at home.

A new location in Avenues mall was very well executed in terms of design, and display of their wonderful sandwiches and pastries, with their every so famous market.

Their menu in the gulf is different from London; they have an audience to target, and everyone knows how many global restaurants and franchises have altered their ingredients to adapt to the local taste.

We started off with the Carpaccio, the thinnest sliced beef you will ever have at a restaurant. Though the beef was tender and fresh, I prefer seasoned Carpaccio to plane Carpaccio salads. I later tried a new item on the menu: fried riceballs stuffed with Bolognese and cheese which was very pleasing, definitely a thumbs up!

Believe it or not, the never order pasta at Italian restaurants, the only type of pasta I like is Gnocci. I always choose signature dishes that are creative and are bursting with flavor. So, I ordered the mighty Ossuboku: a juicy tender lamb shank on a bed of saffron risotto. The branch in Kuwait though didn’t satisfy my meat crave. The shank wasn’t as tender as I had hoped, but I’d still order it again!

I loved it overall, but both Avenues branch and Dubai cannot be compared to the quality of the Doha branch.

Grade

B