Restaurant Review: Mohalla Riyadh
Great Indian fare served in a casual setting…
There are very few things in life that can’t be sorted by a comforting bowl of butter chicken or biryani. So, when we’re feeling a little down on our luck, we make a beeline for Indian cuisine. Now, enter Mohalla Riyadh.
Mohalla, which translates into ‘my neighbourhood’ or ‘my community’, was born out of a love for food, family and bringing different cultures together. A homegrown street food-inspired concept from Dubai, which first opened its doors in the capital two years ago, Mohalla pays homage to the authentic cooking style from different parts of India.
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The look and feel
Walk in and you’ll see gorgeous colourful tapestries hanging from the ceiling, wooden tables, high backed weaved chairs mixed with plush fabric benches underneath the famed hand-painted wall art mural of India’s street scene.
Tucked away at the back, you’ll find the bar shaking up all manner of drinks including Indian classics like lassi, chaans, and karak chai plus mocktails like belinis and mojitos.
The food…
We came to Mohalla for one thing, and one thing only, but the amazing menu left us wanting more.
Divided into small bhook (appetisers), big bhook (main course), kebabs, and biryanis. We ended up picking vada pav (SAR37) and malai tikka kebab (SAR60) for our apps. The vada pav is made with fried masala potato stuffed in a Pav served with spicy garlic powder, chutney and fried green chillies might have been the best thing we had, though the malai tikka kebab comes in close second.
Another clear winner was the Delhi 6 butter chicken (SAR79), we cleaned this dish up right after it was set down, so it’s safe to say it was a clear hit.
Also, a must-try is the chicken tikka biryani (SAR75) and the incredibly tender mutton kohsa (SAR70) which went very well with the delicious butter naan (SAR10).
Mohalla, GF 09, The Esplanade, Prince Turki Bin Abdelaziz Al Awwwal, Kind Saudi University, Riyadh, daily 1pm to 1am. @mohallaksa