Review: Shatea Al Watyia (Oum Habib)
For lunch I passed by Shatea Al Watyia, a small Kuwaiti restaurant located behind Casper & Gambini in Kuwait city. The restaurant is in an old Kuwaiti style home which goes well with the menu which is based on traditional Kuwaiti food.
The inside of the restaurant is divided by regions, since we were a large group we sat in Fintas which was a private room with enough seating for 8 people. Flipping through the menu there are a lot of dishes to choose from ranging from machboos to grills. I decided to go with the Mourabian which is a rice and shrimps dish.
We first got the starters which were made up of a variety of dishes including sambousak, yerish and a lentil soup. The sambousak was so so, but the yerish was pretty cool. It was my first time trying it and I honestly forgot whats it made from but to me it tasted like a chilidog’s chili which is pretty cool. The lentil soup was also really great.
The main course arrived soon after that and the quantity was huge. Last week I was in Ta’al and ordered the shrimp curry which disappointingly came with 8 pieces of tiny shrimps. In comparison at Oum Habib the Mourabian had at least two dozen tiny shrimps and the rice portion was gigantic!
The general atmosphere of the place was quiet and the staff friendly and fast. I don’t know how packed the place gets in the evening but I imagine its even cooler when filled with a lot more people. The prices are also really cheap. The soup was KD1, the appetizers around KD1.500 and my main dish was just KD3.500. Thats a really good deal for what you are getting in return. The shrimp curry at Ta’al for example was KD5.500 without rice. Good food, great prices and good service, final score is a 4.5 out of 5. I would definitely go back there again.
update: Erzulie decided to edit my review since my vocabulary is limited to three words “good” “cool” and “amazing”. If you want to check out her interpretation of my review [click here]
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32 Comments, add your own...
1. Marzouq | June 27th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Sweet, I’m so freaking hungry right now. I want to try this place out.
2. M | June 27th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
I miss that place, I always try to visit Oum Habib when I’m in Kuwait.
3. sam | June 27th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
i am freaking hungry too, the food looks very delicious and yummy. And the interior of the restaurant looks like the famous “TABBAK” Restaurant. I hope you know it.
4. Purgatory | June 27th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I did not know they had seating, always thought it was for takeout
5. garga | June 27th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
oh you reminded me of om Habib, I should take my coworker their sometime
6. Flippa X | June 27th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
mark, can you compile a list of the famous kuwaiti restaurants in kuwait plz? thanks.
7. Ansam | June 27th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Its rare to find a good Kuwaiti-food restaurant that you will actually like! I would rather have Kuwaiti food home cooked, but your post made drool LOL! me wanna give this one a try!
8. Ansam | June 27th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Oh and by the way I love Taal.. Pricey? Yes, but the atmosphere and service are so good.. I enjoy going there.. Do you have a review on Thai Chi and G Cafe? That place is also goof? (all in the same strip alongside Taal)
9. Amjad | June 27th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
“..The sambousak was so so, but the yerish was pretty cool…”
The sambousak was so what? :-s
10. Mark | June 27th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
the sambousak was so so, meaning not good and not bad.
ansam, i think i posted about Thai Chi before, G Cafe I have only had once, I should probably have ice cream from there again since it was good.
11. Exhaleq8 | June 27th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Good place to take foreign visitors. I think Kuwaiti clientele would be very picky since they will compare it with home cooking. Never the less it is the best place for anyone to atleast get an idea of what Kuwaiti food tastes like. Their potato kubba is very tasty !
12. erzulie | June 28th, 2007 at 12:26 am
*looks at Amjad’s confusion regarding Mark’s attempt to describe and rate the sambousa*
So Mark? Can I say “I told you so!”?
13. Muh'd M. Mansour | June 28th, 2007 at 12:50 am
the place looks nice and the food seems to be tasty.
I’m may try it next visit.
14. kodder | June 28th, 2007 at 4:09 am
I am curious, did you stop riding or what?
you haven’t posted any news about your ducati for a long time now.
15. Angelo | June 28th, 2007 at 7:41 am
I think LaialyQ8 made an impression regarding this recently. It looks good even though I’m not really into Kuwaiti food…I mean I like that but do not love it. I will check it out.
16. fractal00 | June 28th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Oh man i remember this place, it is so nice:) i miss going there on weekends, that area used to be a favourite of mine when i was in Kuwait
17. Intlxpatr | June 28th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Just the place we’ve been looking for. Great review, Mark, and thanks for putting in photos, too.
18. Mark | June 28th, 2007 at 8:54 am
kodder its just been tooo hot. Was planning on coming to work today on the bike and i even cleaned my bike and started it yesterday but today morning i woke up and was like fuck no
19. KoOka | June 29th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Mark…
Congratulations on choosing “the right” main dish (Mrabyan)…yummmmmmyyyy…I am a (Mrabyan) addict..I also call them for a take away (adding “daqqoos 9baar” = Sour Tamarind sauce)! I also highly recommend their (Yereesh); and ask for (achaar Kuwaity) to add a twist to the taste!
Aaaahhhh ya Maaarrrrkkk…I’m definitely ordering some soon =P
20. fwz | June 30th, 2007 at 8:17 am
oh my god very nice restaurant & food, good my mom will happy if i go out to not like burger or pizza (junk food) can any 1 tell where is the specific location 4 the restaurant plz i wanna go there thanks anyway
21. pearls | June 30th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I ordered from Mahmas over the weekend, the food was so oily but pretty good. We had Emrabyan, Emtabag Fish, and Machboos deyay.
22. Desert Girl | June 30th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I LOVE Shatiya! Been going there for years; it has been there for 15 years. They used to serve camel, but it takes too long to cook. I wish they still had it because I would love to try some. What is nice is that they also have a private room for about 10 people. The manager, Nasser, is a very nice/cool Egyptian. I’m trying to get him to list Shatiya with 6alabat.com.
23. cookxie2 | June 30th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Any one has the telephone numbers for delivery?
24. KoOka | July 2nd, 2007 at 1:22 am
cookxie2
Call 2422088/77 & you won’t regret it =P
25. zaydoun | July 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
It’s actually very good food, expertly prepared. The only problem is that it’s deathly quiet, some old Kuwaiti music would be a nice touch and would certainly keep other customers from eavesdropping on your conversations!
27. Thamer | September 4th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Where is Kuwait City is Casper and Gambini’s located? I’m trying to find out so I can find Shatea Al Watyia. I tried finding the information online but I haven’t gotten anywhere.
28. Mark | September 4th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
its behind the large church in Kuwait city.
29. Thamer | September 5th, 2007 at 8:01 am
Sorry, but you mean the one that’s almost on the Gulf Road, before Souq Sharq? I don’t know of any other churches.
30. Mark | September 5th, 2007 at 8:12 am
yup thats the one. its before souk sharq if you are coming from shuwaikh/jahra area.
31. Thamer | September 5th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Ah, that’s easy to find. Thanks for the information.
32. SEEDO | October 9th, 2007 at 10:31 am
very very nice place, i love this place.
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