Obika now open
Obika the Mozzarella bar had their soft launch today at the Avenues. I passed by after lunch so I wasn’t able to try them out but I did take a look at their menu and their prices seem decent at least when compared to Napket. They are open from 9AM till 12AM except for Thursday and Friday when they stay open till 1AM. Their phone number is 2597887.
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Oct 10, 2008
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26 Comments, add your own...
1. dj_will | October 10th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
the word bar is thrown around soo much ??
whats a mozerlla bar??
2. Bow n Arrow | October 10th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I have no idea :p but I’m always up for trying something new. :)
3. Ansam | October 11th, 2008 at 1:25 am
when you say “their prices seem decent at least when compared to Napket” are you sure you’re comparing apples to apples?
4. Mark | October 11th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Yeah, I see both Obika and Napket as upscale cafes.
5. Ansam | October 11th, 2008 at 1:28 am
OK :-)
6. Sn3a | October 11th, 2008 at 4:10 am
i might try it tomorrow!
thanx mark
7. Randy | October 11th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I have to admit that Napket is not all it’s cracked up to be. Prices are too high for food that is mediocre at best. Granted, it is only its first week in Kuwait. Hopefully, it will improve with time.
As for Obika, my wife & I passed by yesterday in the morning as they were making last minute adjustments and asked when they were planning to open. The hostess actually said she didn’t know if they will open Friday or if they will open on Saturday. Seems a little strange that they wouldn’t know when they will start taking customers. The concept seems “OK” and the menu a little less than “OK”. Guess will just have to try it out and report back.
8. dudeq8 | October 11th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I went to Napket the other day. DISGUSTING attitiude. horrible prices and the fact that you have to bend down to peer into the salad and sandwich section sucks too. Oh, and the fact that a small serving of salad costs 3 dinars and that you cant mix 2 or more salads…..
I hope Obika learn from them what NOT to do.
Napket might work in London,with refreshing white wine and interesting people nipping in…..what do u have in the Avenues? A bunch of over perfumed local chicks and spiky haired freaks…..
9. Realist | October 11th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Obika will fail miserably, because
a) it has a shitty location
b) it lacks wine which is a natural complement to fresh mozarrella
c) people here are not too wild about fresh mozzarella
d) It has so much competition around in phase 2, let alone the upcoming phase 3 that it will be a mere resting spot for morning joggers
If the owners love mozzarella that much, they should atleast put in some extra effort to go with their own concept that atleast appeals to the mass market.
10. teach | October 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Obika- firstly it sounds Japanese and I doubt the Japanese eat much mozzarella; secondly, what the hell can you do with it? OK- melt it on your pizza or melt it in with pasta or cover it with bread crumbs and fry it.
Now how can you possibly have a speciality restaurant based on those three options? Ah, you have a NORMAL restaurant but just put mozzarella with everything??? Can some one help me out here?
11. Daddy's Girl | October 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Obika mozarella bar is in London, Selfridges, it replaced momo in the first floor. and it is GOOD and Expensive
while when you compare it to napket in london, who is not at all expensive there, it means something..
How come an expensive venue in london be well priced here while an inexpensive venue in london have sky rocket prices?
Check the prices of Napkit London and see!!! I will post the URL in a second! if thats ok with you mark…
Obika is a good place though, lakin in UK the basil and veggies make a big difference in the taste, i dont know how they will recreate it with Kuwaits runny squishy tomatoes? I will have to taste it and see
All we need is momo now…
12. Mark | October 11th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I think the location might play a hand. Napket is in a very prime location with a large terrace outside and what looks like a very expensive interior. Obika on the other hand is tucked away in the back in a very secluded spot.
13. Daddy's Girl | October 11th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Here is the menu
print it out and go to Aveunes and check the prices… note that the dine price in UK is different than the take away…i dont know if its the case here.
Im not trying to rain on their parade or something, or else i would have written about my very bad experience… i actually tried to go to them again today, just to be fair because they must have settled down a bit now, I saw the worst looking croissant on earth, looks as if it has been baked without much flour and it is actually falling apart at the counter, which yes i have to squint and bend down to see the labels while a waiter is breathing down your neck… so i left… went to lovely Haggen Dazs who by the way have added new stuff to their menu… yum!!!
14. Daddy's Girl | October 11th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Ee w3lya mokan obika kilish mo nice. for people to be lured inside and tucked away there they must have very very VERY good food, In uk it is, but im not sure it will match up with Q8’s ingredients and palate. 7safa 3leeh…
I personally love the location and interiour of Napket, the seating in the terrace is just amazing, a whole new level above any of the other places in avenues.
if only it was possible they join forces and serve obika’s food in napket’s place…
15. highsky | October 11th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
i think they will keep expanding the avenues till they reach my room heheheh
16. think-become | October 12th, 2008 at 12:30 am
thank you mark for the information,
as for you people, i think you should try the food first before giving any initial thought about the taste of it. i personally have not tried it yet, but i will in the next few days.
17. Fahad | October 12th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Seriously Guys!! What is so about Napket! it seems that it’s the talk of town.
Everywhere i go work, diwaniyas, home and whatever i read facebook blogs etc …….. its all about napket.
Really guys i’m so excited to go and try it.
18. NdN | October 15th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Went to Napket last weekend, bad service, attitude from staff and the grossest wrap ever. Too bad, I loved the interior decor. :(
19. Aloosh | October 15th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
dudeq8 can’t stop laughing at ur comment.. that’s exactly how I feel about Napket…
On the other hand I was happy that Obika is opening in Kuwait.. tried the one in Milan.. wasn’t expecting much here so I wasn’t shocked… went to dinner.. it was ok..
- Prices are OK
- Portions of cheese are OK & Cheese is fresh but was pissed off they ran out of the smoked one , the answer was it’s because of the soft openning we don’t have it anymore.
- Amount of salad served with the cheese is so tinny not like the one in milan & i don’t understand why since the veggies are cheaper here in Kuwait.
- Bread sucked big time… tasted like rubber & i’m sure it was there for ages.
- Staff were friendly & to my surprise they actually said the names of the dishes in the right Italain accent :-)
I’ll go there again.. hopinh they will work on these issues since I already talked to the manager & he was nice & wrote down my remarks …
20. Aloosh | October 15th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Opps forgot to mention … on my way back from Obika.. hubby decided to pass by toilets.. waited out & guess what.. one of the staff of Napket was picking his nose in front of me.. in public.. ewwwww that’s it for me.. don’t care about the menue the prices ..etc.. picking the nose thing is a majour turn off from any place :-(
21. Nichols | October 15th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Is he picking his nose with the gloves LOL i guess no
22. Margoga | October 17th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Hello ,just want to share my experiance of Napket ,the waiter explained every thing to us very helpfull ,we took salad ,roast beef sandwitch ,1 allready prepared salad /souscous ,drinks .we went to the table out side i would prefer a candle on my table as it aws a bit dark ,the drinks arived wrong as i ordered deit and they brought normal ,the salad was amazing ,sandwitch was a bit dry ,we didn`t order any sweet as they were not that apealing ,the view was amazing .to tell you the truth then we walked to PAUL to have strawbary tart.
I would never go 2 OBIKA and feel sufocated with the low ceiling…
23. restocritic24 | December 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I went in Obika 2 weeks back. Werent able to enjoy much coz the chef was up in my throat, talking, talking ang talking for 30 freaking minutes. Good thing i was not alone, some friends was with me. I ended up showing him I’m displeased.
We were very hungry, i just want to eat and order and try this mozzarella bar. My advice to the chef? Take a bath first before entertaining the guests. You smell big time!!! Plus…. Dont get too familiar with the guests, most of them just wants to relax and eat. 10 minutes of your time will be enough. Oh yes…. before i forget… dont smoke either beside the restaurant…if you really are an executive chef u should know why…Pick a better place to smoke..And i meant not beside the escalator as well.
24. restocritic24 | December 24th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
oh yes…. went to obika again 3 days ago. They have a steak now!!! Hallelujah!!! and the chicken thingy is also good. But too bad, i ordered medium well, the steak was like…. well done. I could’ve sworn the chef or who ever did the steak does not know how to cook steak, only pasta. The pasta however will always be awesome….but kuwait needs more than pasta to patronize your restaurant. This is a muslim country, but it doesnt mean that we dont need PROTEIN!!!! Oh yes, before I forgot.. Can’t help but notice that the chef is overly friendly… I didnt know that al forno chefs can go inside the kitchen of Obika as well.
25. restocritic24 | December 24th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
one thing that will always makes me come back to obika? the asian staffs are great, best service i had so far.
(i mean in avenues)
Keep up the good work people!!!!
26. Aloosh | December 26th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I went there 2 weeks ago to buy some of the cheese to take back home.. it took them more than 25 min to do it.. I was about to jump on the counter , put my damn bloody cheese in a bag & just leave … and gues what I get the bill with extra charge.. I asked what is this.. they said oooooops sorry it’s a mistake we thought you sat inside & ordered .. it took them another 20 min to fix it I swear.. if I didn’t need that cheese so bad for a dinner i’m making & i was having ppl around.. I swear I would’ve left it…
This is the last time I go there.. it’s so crappy
They’ve got the name only.. it’s totaly diffrent in Milan or london
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