Illustration by Fig & Ginger, drawn from the review. The venue's own photo is on its way.
Contemporary Palestinian and Levantine by Chef Sawsan Da'ana in Surra (The Avenues), Kuwait
Matbakhi
Mussakhan, no apologies
Matbakhi means my kitchen, and Chef Sawsan Da'ana cooks it that way. A Kuwaiti Palestinian chef, she opened in spring 2024 and landed on MENA's 50 Best in 2026 at number 50. The list calls it crowd-pleasing Palestinian fare for the twenty-first century, and the generous plates back that up.
Order the mussakhan: roast chicken with sumac, onions and pine nuts on taboon bread, built to be torn apart. The kabab bil bandoora, lamb skewers in tomato sauce with fried potatoes, is comfort food with a lineage. Shish tawook comes with garlic sauce and pickles, and a good version of a dish everyone thinks they know. Finish with om ali, the cream-soaked croissant with pistachio.
Note for the map: the 50 Best entry puts it at the Avenues, while the owner's list says Sabhan. Check before you set off. Either way, the draw is the same. Portions are hearty and the room feels like someone's family dining table, only with a kitchen that works. This is a place for the kind of meal where you pass plates, fight over the last piece of bread and leave without needing dessert, then order it anyway. Bring an appetite and a big table. The mussakhan alone can end an argument between two hungry people.
- Order this
- Palestinian mussakhan, Kabab bil bandoora, Shish tawook, Om ali
- The damage
- $$$
- Go
- Dinner with a group, so you can order the whole table
- Find it
- Avenues Mall, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Road, Surra, Kuwait City
- Website
- ordermatbakhi.com