Meet The Female Restaurateur Preserving Saudi Cuisine

When Hadeel Al Motawa decided to open a restaurant, she thought she knew all about Saudi cuisine. She had grown up in Riyadh, surrounded by the dishes of the central region. But as she began shaping the menu for her first restaurant, Takya, she quickly realised how little she knew. “I hadn’t scratched the surface,” she says. That realisation sent her on a year-long journey across the kingdom to learn about Saudi cuisine. What she brought back forms the backbone of Takya’s menu—a celebration of the country’s regional dishes reimagined with a contemporary lens.

Like many Saudis, Al Motawa’s palate was shaped by the food of her upbringing. Despite the country’s vast geographical and cultural diversity, regional dishes often remain unfamiliar, even to locals. Before the 2016 reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative, domestic travel was limited, and few people explored beyond their hometowns. “People travelled for business or pilgrimage, but not tourism,” she says. As a result, the culinary traditions remained hidden in plain sight. With Takya, Al Motawa set out to change that, starting with her own understanding of Saudi food.

A Trip To Collect Recipes 

Over a year, she travelled across Saudi Arabia to understand the depth of its cuisine. Having visited Mecca and Jeddah as a child, she began her journey in the east, exploring Dammam and Al-Ahsa. From there, she moved north to Tabuk, AlUla, Khaybar, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, and Ajyad.

Rather than dining out, she chose to eat in people’s homes. “Every region is so distinctive in terms of the landscape, architecture, and even the way people gather and greet one another. Naturally, that reflects in the food,” she says. “The east is known for its seafood and Hassawi rice, a nutty, red grain native to the region. In the cooler, mountainous north, dairy features heavily, and meats like pigeon and quail are staples.”

The menu at Takya is a culmination of her travels, showcasing the culinary breadth of the country. When we visited the restaurant last month, our table represented every region. From the west, there were mento—pillowy dough balls filled with spiced pumpkin. From the central region came a modern take on mathlouta, a layered dish of jareesh (a cracked wheat porridge), grasan (wheat flatbread), and fragrant rice, topped with tender meat. From the north, we tried kebiba, grape leaves stuffed with herbed rice and vegetables, slow-cooked in a lamb broth. The eastern region was represented by shrimp muflag, a dish of broken durum wheat with shrimp and vegetables. And from the south, there was marsha, a warm Saudi-style bread pudding.

Traditional Recipes Reimagined 

However, Takya isn’t just an archive of traditional fare. Al Motawa wanted to honour ancestral recipes while presenting them in a way that resonated with younger Saudis and international diners. “We felt the best way to get people to try and appreciate these flavours was to present them in a way that felt familiar,” she says. “The ingredients are the same, but we’ve reinterpreted the dishes through a contemporary lens.”

Having travelled extensively outside the kingdom before she explored it within, Al Motawa brought a global sensibility to the plate. Her take on shrimp muflag draws from Spanish paella. Salads are plated with Italian flair while showcasing Saudi ingredients. “Traditionally, in the eastern region, meat is cooked with the Hassawi rice,” she explains. “At Takya, we cook it separately and carve it tableside—something inspired by the American way of serving steaks.” Pigeon is wrapped and roasted in foil, a nod to classic French techniques, while sleeg, a wheat and milk porridge, is served with the creamy richness of risotto.

A New Chapter For Saudi Food And Its Women

Takya’s contemporary take on traditional cuisine echoes Saudi Arabia’s broader transformation under Vision 2030—an effort to modernise while keeping its heritage intact. The restaurant is located within Diriyah Gate, a 15,000-square-metre dining and cultural precinct adjacent to At-Turaif, the UNESCO World Heritage site that marks the birthplace of the first Saudi state. The nationwide push has seen ambitious investments pouring into tourism, food, and culture. 

Alongside this infrastructural transformation, Al Motawasees a social one taking shape. She’s long been an entrepreneur, but until recently, women were rarely visible in the culinary world. “Before 2016, we’d never seen a female chef, or even a female waiter or host,” she says. “Today, Saudi’s culinary space is dominated by women. It’s a proud moment.”