Located in the swanky new King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Il Baretto has become something of a landmark in the culinary capital of Saudi Arabia since it opened in November 2021.
The fine-dining Italian eatery is co-founded by renowned restaurateurs Arjun Waney of Zuma, Roka, Coya, LPM and The Arts Club, and Giuliano Lotto of Zafferano, Memory of China and Aubergine, in partnership with Saudi entrepreneur Mohammed Jawa, who has more than 18 years' experience in the local market.
What to expect and where to sit
Entry is through massive yet elegant gold-trimmed doors, and the classy decor extends to the interior, which is strewn with Murano glass sculptures.
Il Baretto Riyadh stays true to its charming flagship in Marylebone, London, in terms of signature design elements — low lights, furniture in striking colours and live music. You can easily forget which part of the world you are in. The tables, too, are typically European, in that they are located close to one another and so contribute to the intimate ambience.
The food
Il Baretto is known for dishes that are at once authentic and creative, so ordering pizza or lasagne here would be a massive disservice to the masterfully crafted menu.
My dining partner and I started with the king crab salad with avocado (160 Saudi riyals; $43). Paired with grilled bruschetta and fresh tomatoes ($28), it was the perfect appetiser and the salad was light yet saucy. The special drink of the day, basil infused with lemon, also made a refreshing start to the meal.
For mains, we had the veal Milanese ($85) and lobster linguine ($59). The latter was respectable, but paled in comparison with the veal, which was easily the best in flavour and texture we have tried in Riyadh.
The stand-out dish, however, was the lamb ragout pappardelle ($32) which was in the form of gnocchi — little bites of delight that were soft yet kept their composition with a seamless beauty. The day we dined, the kitchen used some seasonal seaweed in this masterpiece of a dish, giving it an artistic green tinge.
Because this is an Italian restaurant, you might be tempted to get the tiramisu ($23), which we did and greatly enjoyed. However, it was the cassata Siciliana ($16) that truly blows the mind. A cassata is tricky to get right, but the chefs are right on the mark with this one, although the vanilla ice cream it's served with feels unnecessary. Instead we paired it with an Americano for the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity.
The service
The wait staff were very attentive throughout, while parking is plentiful with a valet service available. The place tends to get very busy, very fast, so make sure to reserve a spot well in advance.
Also ensure you discuss choices with the knowledgeable staff and go with their recommendations.
Price point and contact details
The menu is broadly divided into starters that range from $28 to $43; salads that go for $16 to $43; a fish bar that will set you back between $24 and $104; Josper-grilled meats and seafood that depend on the quantity you opt for, but can go up to $295 for the 1.6-kilogram Wagyu tomahawk; and mains and pasta that cost between $32 and $110. Desserts average out at $20 a pop.
Reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling +966 920 012 508 or from the website.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Company%20Profile
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