Great dishes, lovely atmopshere, but way too slow: Restaurant Naya @ voco Riyadh, an IHG Hotel (6. December 2022)
Since we were looking for something close with a decent rating, we ended up at the Naya in the voco Riyadh, where I had the pleasure to dine my very first evening. Once you’re seated, and you’ve placed your order, you have to be patient. Eventually, you are served some nibbles like “bread, veggie sticks, and olives”. I like the fact that they serve you vegetable sticks, since getting veggies seems to be the hardest part in the region.
Then, we went for an assortment of different starters like the “hummus bil lahm (classic hummus topped with sautéed lamb cubes in Lebanese spices, and pine nuts)” (51.75 SAR) which was as good as always. Just really my favourite form of hummus. Another form of hummus I’ve never tried so far, which is somehow more like a soup but not (not sure how to describe it), the “fatteh bil hummus (chick peas, yoghurt and crispy fried pita topped with clarified butter, pine nuts)” (51.75 SAR) was actually almost as enjoyable (but still not as good as with the lamb cubes).
The “tabouleh (freshly chopped parsley, tomatoes cracked wheat, flavoured with young onions, fresh mint, olive oil and lemon)” (36.80 SAR) always looks nice, but I just don’t get the excitement for parsley. But each one his/her own. Ultimately, I tried something I hadn’t tried before, i.e., the “grilled kibbeh (Naimi lamb and fat marinated with pomegranate molasses, red onion, and cinnamon powder)” (28.75 SAR per piece) which was exquisite. Also, the traditional version, the “kibbeh krass (grounded beef and bulgur, bowl shaped and stuffed with lamb meat, onion and pine nuts)” (13.80 SAR per piece) was quite enjoyable, but I definitely liked the grilled kibbeh better.
As a main course, I went for the “lahmeh meshwiyeh (lightly marinated tender lamb in olive oil and Lebanese spices)” (103.50 SAR) which was great. Usually, I find these grilled skewers not so tasty due to the quality of the meat, but this one was excellent. And if you took a little bit of the garlic sauce, it was a perfect match!
The place is nice, thus when you sit outside, since it’s located right next to the pool and is atmosphere-wise quite lovely. The only downside is the speed of the kitchen – especially, if you’re starving. It took the kitchen more than 45 minutes to serve the starters – which is just way too much! Other than that, the place is quite nice, and I assume, if you tell them to bring whatever they have ready (instead of all at once), it might be a bit quicker!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Naya @ voco Riyadh, an IHG Hotel
Opposite of Ministry of Interior
King Fahd Rd
An Namudhajiyah
13003 Riyadh (KSA)
Tel.: +966 11 457 9999
Homepage: https://www.ihg.com/voco/hotels/gb/en/riyadh/ruhsd/