Sky-blue rocking chairs at the entrance of Clementine KSA hint at the resto-café's homey feel. (Credit: Yara Malke/L'Orient Today)
Lebanese dwellers in the capital know that, come summertime, it's tough to find things to do in the searing heat. In this Riyadh special series, L'Orient Today highlights standout cultural sanctuaries for evenings well spent.
In classic Lebanese fashion, subtlety has been declared missing at Clementine KSA (كلمنتينا), and I don’t think it wants to be found. From the get-go, the motif of the resto-café on Al-Sulaimaniyah Street, in central Riyadh, is abundance, seen in the patterns, colors, and mounds of clementines splayed in every corner.
I stop for an evening coffee and treat. Wael Kfoury's inexplicably climactic “layl w raad w bard w reeh, dinyi barra majnuni” plays through the speakers. As soon as I hear the word majnuni, my gaze lands on the bougainvillea’s magenta petals peppering the outdoor area, endearing intruders known to populate every Lebanese village.
The space is a refraction of visual incoherence, yet it is comforting, and the jagged pieces just fit. My senses are full before I even load up on pillowy knefeh.
"The idea was for people to feel like they're at home, in their salon," the restaurant manager tells L’Orient Today. "Even the menu reflects that. It revolves around home-style Lebanese cooking rather than restaurant staples."
Every table is its own homage to a typical mid-century Lebanese living room: vintage sofas upholstered in floral prints and chintz fabrics, wood-and-cane settees, rattan chairs, muted pastel furniture, traditional namliehs [cupboards] repainted in soft, faded colors, and mysterious glass jars of mouneh whose contents only a Lebanese teta would recognize without a label.
Citrus fruits are recurring characters here, stacked throughout the restaurant in old wicker baskets. A rolling saj cart parked near the terrace makes me crave fresh mar’ouk [flatbread].
Tabekh [cooked meals] is what’s for lunch/dinner at Clementine, while baladeh [traditional] breakfasts feature eggs, labneh, cheese, zaatar, olives, saj, mana'eesh, and ftayer. The menu also includes traditional Lebanese desserts, arguileh, and a variety of hot and cold beverages.
Outside, fwenees [lanterns] hang above the terrace. Small trees and potted plants are cooled by misting nozzles, which are lifelines to patrons looking for reprieve from the Riyadh heat.
The objects and cultural shorthands — like the intricate terrazzo blat [tiles] reminiscent of older Lebanese homes — are more than just quirky decorations. They are strewn together to implicitly alleviate homesickness. They certainly helped with mine.
As Saint Levant's "Kalamantina" comes on, I joke with one of the Lebanese waiters — my worthy opponent in an impromptu game of tawleh [backgammon] — that it's my cue to leave. He laughs without flinching. FYI, dry humor comes with the territory.
Since 2021, Clementine has become a beloved gathering place for Lebanese and Levantine people in the city. Find opening hours and directions here.
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