Calling all fans of South Korea’s culture, it’s time to separate the kimchi from the K-pop. Because Riyadh can’t get enough of the songs, fashion and food from South Korea.
K-pop is a popular genre of music today in Riyadh, be it the catchy tunes, intricate dance moves or – who are we kidding – the visuals. We love it all. With bands and artists like Stray Kids and Chungha performing concerts in the kingdom on Friday January 14, K-pop in Riyadh is thriving.
Riyadh even hosted one of the biggest boybands in South Korea – yes, we are talking about BTS. The popular group were not only the first-ever K-pop group to play in Saudi Arabia, but the first foreign artists to play a solo stadium show in Saudi Arabia. As part of their Speak Yourself tour, BTS performed a sold-out concert at King Fahad International Stadium. And K-pop? Well, the culture has soared ever since.
It’s not just about the music, however, Squid Game-inspired events have been popping up (Riyadh Season even has one in the works) and Korean restaurants are on trend in the capital. Here’s our pick of the best Korean cafés, restaurants and shops in Riyadh.
G90
If you need a cool spot to hang out with your K-pop-loving friends, make a beeline for this coffee shop. It’s a little low-key, and has menu that includes drinks named after song titles. It previously hosted a special Squid Games event, giving away merchandise to its customers.
Open Sun-Thu 7am-midnight. Fri-Sat 4pm-midnight. Ghirnatah, Imam Saud bin Muhammad Rd, instagram.com/g90cafe (056 162 8928).
Jinji Restaurant
With Riyadh Season bringing around two of the biggest K-pop stars, Stray Kids and Kim Chungha, it is also bringing restaurants that represent the South Korean culture, too. Jinji is a great fusion between old and new, they serve traditional South Korean delicacies in a restaurant that is fit for all the cool kids. They host a live DJ, too, so you can bop along while you’re grilling your meat at their Korean barbecue station. They also serve up the tasty Korean dessert bingsu (an iced dessert with sweet toppings) in different flavours like oreo, mango, and many more. The place is a real find in Riyadh, so if you want to experience some of that Korean culture you see in Korean films, this is a cute restaurant for you to start at before diving into all things Korean.
Open daily Sun-Thu 5pm-1am. Fri-Sat 5pm-2am. Boulevard Riyadh City, instagram.com/jinji_sa.
Korean Food Store
Here’s the thing with Korean snacks, they are so moreish that it’s difficult to stop eating them. Whether you’re after spicy noodles and ramen or tasty chewy tteokbokki, you can find it all at the Korean Food Store in Riyadh. Here, you will find special drinks, chips, and, of course, sweets. And, if you’re anything like us here at Time Out, you certainly adore your ramen, and here you can pick your poison, if you’re feeling like a challenge grab a packet of the Samyang 2x spicy noodles, and if you want something just a little tamer try out
a cheese flavoured Samyang Spicy Noodles too. Samyang was the first instant noodle company in South Korea, and have made its way to Saudi Arabia. So grab your chopsticks and dig into traditional (well, as traditional as it can be when it’s instant) tteokbokki and ramen.
Open daily 9am-10pm. Shaddad Ibn Aous, Al Olaya, (011 414 0020).
Korean Place
Want to eat like your favourite K-drama stars? Let us help you out. In Riyadh, we have so many different cultures and cuisines, and so restaurants specialising in each of them. For authentic yummy South Korean food in Riyadh, you want to head down to Korean Palace. They have an old-school vibe in the restaurant, being one of the oldest Korean food establishments in Riyadh, it is certainly one of the experts in the cuisine. Serving up delicious Korean food in the most traditional ways, they offer sizzling kalbi gooi jungshik (beef short ribs) and bulgogi jungshik (marinated beef), and multiple side dishes like kimchi, bab (steamed rice), and gimgooi (crispy dried liver).
Open Sat-Thu 11.30pm-3pm, 5pm-11pm. Fri 12.30pm-3pm, 5pm-11pm. Takhassusi St, Ar Rahmaniyyah, (011 419 8878).
Meatin Grill
And if you want to try the much-loved Korean barbeque, we have a place in mind for you. Meatin Grill’s brings you an authentic Korean barbecue experience, as you can watch you food being grilled next to your table. It’s a cool space with plush blue couches and catchy slogans on the wall, from “if you’re looking, you ain’t cooking” to “if it ain’t BBQ it ain’t BBQ.” The grill serve meats of all kinds like chicken, beef, and shrimp, each marinated to perfection and served with the traditional side dishes. Munch on, Riyadh.
Open Sat-Wed 1pm-midnight. Thu-Fri 1pm-1am.
Anas Ibn Malik Rd, Alyasmin, meatin-grills.business.site (050 251 0941).
Storm Coffee
This is where your love for K-pop will meet your love for coffee. Cafés like Storm Coffee pride itself on hosting delightful celebratory events for group anniversaries and birthdays, where they will give you a free photo card along with a drink of your choice. Storm Coffee has since taken it a little further, by supplying custom cups, photo cards, and stickers for big BTS days like the members Jungkook’s or RM’s birthday last year. They also came out with a BTS army box that was available on each member’s birthday.
Sat-Thu 3pm-11pm. Fri 4pm-11pm. Al Murooj, King Abdulaziz Rd, instagram.com/stormcoffee.sa
The Face Shop
South Korea has been taking over the world in every aspect, and the beauty scene is no different. With trends like glass-skin originating from South Korea, the brand, without doubt, knows what they are doing. Head on down to The Face Shop and browse the K-beauty products, which are suitable for all skin types and contain all sorts of healthy ingredients like chia seed toners and aloe vera cleansers. They have a sleek and minimalistic décor on the inside, with knowledgeable staff who are ready to help you with every make-up step of the way.
Open Sat-Thu 9am-11pm. Fri 3.30pm-11pm. Al Qasr Mall, Suwaidi, store.thefaceshop.com.sa (920 0128 24)
Spiral Pen
At Spiral Pen, you can get some top notch K-pop merchandise. They mostly carry BTS-centric merchandise in store at the moment, and are bringing in Exo, Blackpink and Stray Kids merchandise, too. What seems to be a small and charming stationary store from the outside, surprises you in one of the coolest ways possible on the inside. They also carry the BT21 range – for the uninitiated, that’s products inspired by the animated characters based on BTS. They have pop sockets, fans, keychains and so much more. It carries plushy dolls of each band members, so, next time you miss your favourite boyband member, you can give the stuffed dolls a little squeeze. While you’re there, check out the extensive collection of cute anime-like stationary.
Open Sat-Thu 9am-11pm. Fri 4pm-11pm, Prince Muhammad Ibn Saad Ibn Abdulaziz Rd, Al Malqa, spiralpen.com (053 131 6263).
Vlore
Be it BTS, Black Pink or Stray Kids products, Vlore has got your back. They sell albums, photo cards (because who wouldn’t want a cute picture of their K-pop fave as their phone case?). For those of you that are a little extra, go all out and buy the glow sticks for concerts. And if you still want more, drop a few riyals on the cute hoodies, pyjama sets, and make-up collaborations with K-pop stars. They carry the BT21 (BTS collaboration) range of the very huggable, and comforting plushies called Tata (V), Shooky (Suga), Cooky (Jungkook), Koya (Rap Monster), Chimmy (Jimin), RJ (Jin), Mang (J-Hope). The store itself is always crawling with Saudi K-pop fans so it’s always a great place to be among fellow K-pop lovers.
Open daily 4pm-11pm. Al Othaim Mall, Eastern Ring Rd, Ar Rabwah. instagram.com/vlore.ksa (050 833 3534).
For more cool things to do in Riyadh, click here.
