Kuwait City's restaurant scene is one of the best reasons to visit. With alcohol off the menu, Kuwaitis channel their social energy into food, and the result is a city with an extraordinary range of restaurants -- from traditional Kuwaiti, Iranian, and Indian to Japanese, Chinese, and American.
Souk Al-Mubarakiya is where to go for authentic, inexpensive Kuwaiti food. Small eateries serve machboos, grilled kebabs, and fresh bread at communal tables. This is the real Kuwait, and the prices reflect it.
Totally Fish in central Kuwait City does excellent seafood -- the baked sea bass is outstanding. No alcohol, but the food speaks for itself.
Asha's is a popular Indian restaurant with South African-trained staff and reliably good chicken tikka and prawn curry. Book ahead; it fills up fast.
Peacock is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city, centrally located with a good lobster dish and decent sweet and sour chicken. Pricey but worth it for a special meal.
Fuddruckers serves American-style burgers and milkshakes for when you need something familiar. The steak burger with a strawberry milkshake is a reliable crowd-pleaser.
Villa Fayrouz on Istaqlal Street does excellent lentil soup and grilled chicken in a relaxed setting. Good value.
Badar Al Badoor near the Safir Hotel is the go-to for a quick, authentic shawarma.
For the experience as much as the food, The Horizon Le Cafe in the Kuwait Towers offers a rotating buffet 82 metres up, with views of the city and the Gulf. It is a tourist experience, but a worthwhile one.
Thursday night is the big night out in Kuwait. Families and friends crowd into restaurants across the city for long, social dinners. If you want to experience Kuwait at its most convivial, eat out on a Thursday.