Best Burgers in Kuwait City: Salmiya and More

The best burgers in Kuwait City are spread between Salmiya, Sharq and the Arabian Gulf Street seafront, with another large cluster inside The Avenues mall in Al Rai. Souq Al-Mubarakiya, the old market in the centre, and Shuwaikh add older food streets. Patties are halal, and beef and chicken burgers sit side by side.

Burgers are a fixture of eating out in Kuwait, and homegrown brands compete hard with international chains for the same evening crowd. Alcohol is banned nationwide, so a burger comes with soft drinks, milkshakes or coffee. Kuwaitis eat late, and a drive along Arabian Gulf Street is part of many nights out. The national dish is machboos, spiced rice cooked with meat or fish, a reminder that the local palate leans on baharat, saffron and dried lime.

Burgers in Kuwait City: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Salmiya, Sharq, Arabian Gulf Street, Al Rai around The Avenues, Shuwaikh and Souq Al-Mubarakiya.
• Local palate: baharat, saffron and loomi, the dried lime used in machboos.
• Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (KWD), divided into 1,000 fils and the highest-valued currency unit in the world.
• Getting around: there is no metro; most people drive, and taxis and ride-hailing apps fill the gap.
• Weekend: Friday and Saturday, when restaurants stay busiest.
• What our guides check: the branch and its district, since popular brands run several sites across the governorates.

Every guide we publish on Kuwait City is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify, and all of them sit in our burger restaurant guides.