Restaurateurs from across the world are descending on Saudi Arabia. This year we’ve seen big cheeses – Jason Atherton’s Maraya Social, Rainer Becker’s ROKA – arrive to open their first ventures in the country. And now, we’ve got two David Burke restaurants in Riyadh, straight from the Brooklyn-born chef himself.
With restaurants in America’s New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Colorado, David Burke restaurants Riyadh bring a taste of the States to the capital’s offering. For many chefs the leap would be a challenge, but Burke isn’t your average cook.
With more than 30 years’ experience, Burke was one of the youngest executive chefs at the world-famous River Café and is the only American chef to be honoured with the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Diplome d’Honneur. And, to give you some idea of his personality, he’s previously been named Time Out New York’s Best Culinary Prankster.
After recently opening two of his signature David Burke restaurants – one in Riyadh Front and the other in The Zone – he’s embracing the nation.
“If Saudi hits the ground running, we could open ten restaurants over the next ten years,” he says.
Burke is a champion of big, bold American classics. So if a Porterhouse steak, salt-aged beef burgers and mac ’n’ cheese sound like a bit of you, it’s time to get that table booked.
So, what brought to here to Riyadh?
When I met the partners, I just had a good feeling about being on the ground floor of something as exciting as the evolution of Saudi. There is a boom in the restaurant business right now and a growth in the country right now. We want to be part of that unsaturated, as opposed to a market that is pretty robust and full.
You opened two restaurants in just a few months. How was that?
They are 25 minutes apart and freestanding in different locations. The boat is in the water and now we have to sail. When you open restaurants, people don’t realise from a chef’s standpoint: you have to work so hard towards the opening day to get it ready, but then you open you have to work equally hard to feed all the people. It’s a Herculean task to get going.
What did you learn from opening the first David Burke restaurant Riyadh?
We’ve learnt what sells, the temperature of the steaks compared to what we are used to and portion control. We’re working on our mocktail programme and pushing desserts and side dishes. We also need to keep it entertaining. Instagram is really important and Saudis like to take pictures, they like a bit of action at the table – so things like cutting the steaks at the table and cooking them on a salt slab is important.
Tell us about the menu…
The menus here are similar to the US. We do have nods to steak, pizza and pasta. We have great pastries, good desserts and great mocktails. We added two really fun, eye-catching desserts that are kid-friendly. There are lots of families [coming in to
the restaurant] so we are heading in the right direction.
The menus for the two David Burke restaurants in Riyadh are similar. Did you consider doing something different for the second restaurant?
When we first signed on, I tried putting some Middle Eastern touches on the menu, but American food is what was wanted. We have to have a comfort zone though, there has to be some things on the menu the kids like, the adults like… There’s a lot of window shopping in these malls from menu to menu. It’s like a bustling Paris street.
What diner differences are you noticing between Saudi and the States?
In Saudi, people are strolling around to dine at 11pm and that’s even during the off season. In the States we don’t get that and by 10pm we’re done. The amount of people out strolling is promising and it’s partly why I’m so excited for the high season.
What should customers expect from a David Burke restaurant?
If we’re a steakhouse, we’re not just another steakhouse, we’re a steakhouse with bam, bam, bam, bam. Different stuff. The message of what David Burke is has to be conveyed
to the table. Here’s how we do our Caesar salad and this is why, and say when a dessert has won dessert of the year in New York City – bingo.
Have you had a chance to visit other restaurants in Riyadh?
Well, I was when I first came here a couple of years ago, I went to Cipriani and a couple of local places. I am going to a barbecue in a home and will have a traditional lamb dish. I have a list of restaurants I want to go to. We have to get involved in local culture, see what people are serving and the competition – it’s always important.
Should we expect more David Burke restaurants to open across Saudi?
There’s a third location in Riyadh our partners are looking at, which is fine dining, but the key right now is to focus on the first two we have open. Saying that, if you’re having two children, you may as well have six, right?
David Burke restaurants Riyadh can be found in the Riyadh Front Mall and at The Zone. Sat-Wed 1pm-midnight, Thu-Fri 1pm-1am. Riyadh Front Mall, King Khalid International Airport Road (050 044 0202); Sun-Wed 4pm-midnight, Thu 4pm-1pm, Fri 1pm-1am, Sat 1pm-midnight. The Zone Square, Takhassusi Street, Al Mohammadiyyah, davidburke-ksa.com (011 210 2080).
