Restaurant review: Breakfast at Jon & Vinny’s Riyadh
The casual Italian eatery packs a tasty punch…
Open only in April, LA-born eatery Jon & Vinny’s serves some of the best breakfasts in town. And the place proves that the most important meal of the day doesn’t have to be a complicated affair.
Decked out in classic diner fashion with pale white oak interiors, booth seating, and a cosy, minimalist aesthetic, the restaurant feels lived-in and welcoming. The slender room is soaked in sun thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and you’ll enjoy how bright and airy the ambience feels during the day.
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The breakfast menu is an unpretentious nod to comfort food classics that playfully marries the flavours of Italy.
Purists like us would want to start with the simple yet creamy Hass avocado toast (SAR46). It features grilled ciabatta and gets plenty of avocado, olive oil, lemon and crushed red chilli for that extra kick.
That homey feel we mentioned earlier about Jon & Vinny’s? It comes across in their pancakes (SAR38). While not as visually stunning, they’re as straightforward as they get with light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes served with the usual accoutrements of maple syrup and salted butter. The real feat is the mastery of such simplicity.
Another breakfast dish that is absolutely worth a stop here is the scrambled eggs served with burrata, basil chives, tomatoes, and grilled ciabatta (SAR43). The kitchen makes them soft-scrambled by default, so if that’s your preference, you will absolutely love the preparation here – they are luscious and have a great soft texture.
So… there’s pizza for breakfast at Jon & Vinny’s (then again, it is technically a pizzeria). We must confess we tried the Breakfast Pizza 2.0 (SAR95) with a wee bit of scepticism.
The crust is neither pale like a California pie nor freckled like the Neapolitan model – it is charred and smoking, thin and almost too crisp to fold, almost destroyed by the intense wood heat. Topped with potatoes, fried eggs, red onion, rosemary, olive oil, Parmigiano, and Caciocavallo cheese, it turns out to be a definite palate-pleaser. So, don’t slouch on it.
What’s On verdict: With an energetic vibe and a tasty selection of food, Jon & Vinny’s is the perfect everyday neighbourhood Italian joint. The restaurant might always be busy, but the servers are on point. Plus, it’s worth enduring crowds for dependably good breakfast favourites. So, sidle up to the seat, order some coffee, and prepare to tuck into a wonderfully relaxed breakfast. To be clear, there’s nothing fancy about the dishes here, but that’s the magic of it – they’re comfort food at its finest.
Jon & Vinny’s Riyadh, The Elite, Al Dabbab Street, As Sulimaniyah, Riyadh 12234. Breakfast daily 8am to noon; Lunch & Dinner Sat to Tues noon to 11.30pm & Wed to Fri noon to 1.30am. Tel: 9200 18212. @jonandvinnys.ksa
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