Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · food guide
What Is Kabsa? The Rice Dish at the Centre of Every Saudi Table
Kabsa is the dish you will be served most often in Riyadh, and the one most people mean when they say Saudi food. It is worth understanding properly, including the part most guides skip, which is that it is not really a Riyadh dish at all.
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What is actually in it
Kabsa is long grain rice cooked with meat, usually chicken or lamb, where the rice takes on the cooking liquid of the meat rather than being boiled separately. That is the whole trick, and it is why a good kabsa tastes of the animal and a poor one tastes of rice with something on top.
The spicing is the signature. Black lime, called loomi, is the one to know: whole dried limes that go into the pot and give the dish a sour, faintly smoky, almost medicinal depth you will not find in a biryani. Alongside it come cinnamon and cloves, and depending on the kitchen, cardamom, bay and saffron. The result is aromatic rather than hot. If you are expecting chilli heat, kabsa is not that dish.
It arrives on a large communal platter, meat piled at the centre, often with a tomato based sauce called daqqus on the side, and a plain salad of tomato, cucumber and onion.
How it is eaten
Traditionally everyone sits around a single platter on the floor and eats with the right hand, gathering rice into a small ball with the fingers. In a modern Riyadh restaurant you will usually be offered both a floor seating room and ordinary tables, and cutlery is always available. Nobody expects a visitor to eat perfectly by hand, and the meal is shared rather than portioned, so take from the part of the platter in front of you.
The honest bit: kabsa is a Gulf dish
Kabsa is eaten across Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf, where it also goes by makbous. It is genuinely Saudi, and it is genuinely delicious, but it is not what makes Riyadh's food distinct, and a visitor who eats only kabsa will leave without having met the region's actual cooking.
The food specific to Najd, the central region Riyadh sits in, is built on broth and dough rather than rice: marqooq, matazeez, qursan and jareesh. The Saudi state itself designated marqooq the regional dish of Riyadh Province in 2024 and jareesh the national dish in 2023. If you have one Najdi meal beyond kabsa, make it one of those, and the Najdi food guide explains what each one is.
Where kabsa is best
The pattern locals describe is consistent: the best kabsa tends to come from small, unfussy restaurants in the older districts rather than from the new dining estates, which lean toward imported international brands. Look for a place that is busy at lunch with people who clearly work nearby. For how the city's eating areas differ, see what to eat in Riyadh.
Planning a few days of eating in Riyadh without guessing? A TastePass itinerary lays it out day by day, from $4.99.
FAQ
What is kabsa made of?
Long grain rice cooked in the cooking liquid of chicken or lamb, spiced with black lime, cinnamon and cloves, and often cardamom, bay or saffron. It is served on a shared platter with a tomato sauce and a simple salad.
Is kabsa spicy?
It is aromatic rather than hot. The dominant flavour is the sour, smoky note of dried black lime, not chilli.
What is the difference between kabsa and biryani?
Biryani layers separately cooked rice and meat and is generally hotter and more chilli forward. Kabsa cooks the rice in the meat's liquid in one pot, and its signature flavour is dried black lime.
Is kabsa the same as makbous?
Yes, broadly. Makbous is the name used in several other Gulf countries for the same dish, with local variations.
Should I eat kabsa with my hands?
You can, and traditionally you would, using the right hand only. Cutlery is normal and always available in restaurants, and no one expects a visitor to eat by hand.
Restaurants are chosen for quality and reputation. If you follow a specific diet, or want to know whether any dish or drink contains alcohol, please check directly with the venue.
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