Phet Phet
Riyadh’s dining scene has exploded in recent years, with a parade of big-ticket names—Carbone, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, and Sadelle’s among them—sweeping in since Saudi Arabia first opened its doors to tourists in 2019. Since then, the fickle foodie crowd has been perpetually pulled in the direction of the next big thing—which makes the already-proven staying power of Phet Phet all the more impressive. The stripped-back Thai joint was first founded in Kuwait by lifelong friends chef Shoug Al Sabah and Dalia Behbehani when COVID-19 curbed their Thai travel cravings; they quickly built a cult following for the restaurant’s punchy, frill-free cooking. Now, this subsequent Riyadh opening in Al Takhasoussi, the capital’s de facto restaurant quarter, has been a soar-away success, with the dining room still running at full tilt every day of the week as a virtual queue swells into the hundreds. Diners come for sharp, lime-lashed salads, blistering curries, and stir-fries crackling with chili heat that stay faithfully close to the source in a city so often seduced by spectacle. Must-orders include som tam or the green mango salad, both lime-bright and peanut-studded; pad Thai bundled in a delicate egg parcel with peanuts and dried chili; and palate-cooling mango sticky rice—the only dessert on the menu—best washed down with a tongue-tingling glass of citrus-packed lemongrass lemonade. They don’t take reservations and the line can stretch for hours, but few tables in Riyadh feel more worthy of the wait right now. —Scott Campbell
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Riyadh’s dining scene has exploded in recent years, with a parade of big-ticket names—Carbone, Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, and Sadelle’s among them—sweeping in since Saudi Arabia first opened its doors to tourists in 2019. Since then, the fickle foodie crowd has been perpetually pulled in the direction of the next big thing—which makes the already-proven staying power of Phet Phet all the more impressive. The stripped-back Thai joint was first founded in Kuwait by lifelong friends chef Shoug Al Sabah and Dalia Behbehani when COVID-19 curbed their Thai travel cravings; they quickly built a cult following for the restaurant’s punchy, frill-free cooking. Now, this subsequent Riyadh opening in Al Takhasoussi, the capital’s de facto restaurant quarter, has been a soar-away success, with the dining room still running at full tilt every day of the week as a virtual queue swells into the hundreds.
Diners come for sharp, lime-lashed salads, blistering curries, and stir-fries crackling with chili heat that stay faithfully close to the source in a city so often seduced by spectacle. Must-orders include som tam or the green mango salad, both lime-bright and peanut-studded; pad Thai bundled in a delicate egg parcel with peanuts and dried chili; and palate-cooling mango sticky rice—the only dessert on the menu—best washed down with a tongue-tingling glass of citrus-packed lemongrass lemonade. They don’t take reservations and the line can stretch for hours, but few tables in Riyadh feel more worthy of the wait right now.
