In Al-Raya Mall, in a unit of sixty square metres, Burger Boutique opened in 2004. That original unit is still trading, and it is still the first Kuwait address on the company’s own branch list.
It belongs to Basil Al Salem of Gastronomica. In two interviews published in Al-Rai he said he graduated in finance in 1999, incorporated the company in 2002, hunted for a site from 2003 until he found Al-Raya, and began trading in 2005. The opening budget was 50,000 dinars, raised with two friends and his father. He calls it the first fully Kuwaiti restaurant brand because everything else in the market then was a foreign franchise run by an agent.
The group’s restaurants now employ about 1,500 people across Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
Branches. Four are open in Kuwait: Murouj at the Sahara Club, View Mall, Al-Raya Mall and Gate Mall. A fifth is marked “coming soon” at Assima Mall. Abroad: two in Qatar, one in Muscat, five in Saudi Arabia.
The menu. Forty-seven items in nine sections, starting at 0.750 for a bottle of water. The cheapest thing to eat is House Fries at 1.750, and the cheapest burger is the BB Burger at 1.950 single, 2.950 double.
The Mini B section is all small burgers between 2.250 and 3.000: BB Cheese at 2.250; Texan, Classic Chicken and Dangerous at 2.500; Midnight and Beet & Bean at 2.750; Hooked at 3.000.
The Stacked section carries the ceiling: Solar Gravity at 3.500 single and 5.000 double, the dearest thing on the list. Roma and Truff N Swiss run 2.950 and 3.950.
Starters run 3.000 to 3.750, loaded fries 2.750 to 3.950, desserts 3.500 to 3.750. Soft drinks are 0.950 and fresh juice 1.800.
Photograph: a beef burger; a generic image, not from the restaurant. By Len Rizzi, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: the Burger Boutique page on the Gastronomica site · the restaurant’s own ordering menu · two interviews with Basil Al Salem in Al-Rai, 3 September 2012 and 4 April 2023. Prices as published on 6 September 2026.
Kuwait One, once a week.
The most useful stories we published this week, in your inbox.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
