Jeddah’s Al Balad has welcomed a new addition to its lineup of heritage cafes: say hello to Irth Café.
Irth Café is located in one of the historic buildings of Jeddah’s Al Balad, specifically in the "Al-Kutab" building on Gold Street. It’s the second branch of this café series, following the first one in Madinah, with a third branch soon to open in Riyadh.
Launched in collaboration with the Saudi Culinary Arts Commission, this café joins a number of newly opened local restaurants and shops in the historic Al Balad district, such as Naug, Mina, and Zawiya 97. Irth offers a taste of Saudi culture through a unique traditional culinary experience and serves as a platform to promote Saudi chefs.
Service and Décor
As soon as you step into Irth, you can feel the spirit of history in every corner, from the old wooden door to the tables and the blue and brown interior design. While listening to old Saudi tunes, the staff warmly greets you with Saudi hospitality, starting by serving water infused with mastic in traditional "Toto" metal cups.
This is a custom cherished by the people of Hijaz, especially during Ramadan.
The staff then brings a pot of Saudi coffee, followed by dates and traditional hospitality, which includes shureik bread, whole wheat bread, and side dishes like white cheese, tomatoes, olive oil, tahini with honey—dips we grew up enjoying.
The menu features dishes from the five regions of the Kingdom: North, South, East, West, and Central — offering some authentic and favourite Saudi dishes like Kibbeh Hail, Madinah Brik, Jareesh, and more.
To start, I ordered the Hijazi Formosa, which is distinguished by its crispy, thin dough and rich filling of lamb, onion, and cumin. It’s served with delicious Laza, a red pepper pickle sauce. Another standout was the Kibbeh Hail, which I tried for the first time. This traditional dish consists of vine leaves stuffed with spiced rice (Temmen rice), served with a piece of lamb, crispy potatoes, and sauce.
For the main course, I chose Saleeg, a much-loved dish hailing from the Hijaz region. Saleeg is creamy rice dish served with roasted chicken pieces, garnished with milk flakes, mango pickle powder (Ashar), and clarified butter. Wholesome and warming, this is a time honoured, traditional Saudi meal. At Irth Cafe, the Saleeg was accompanied by Duggus, a flavourful sauce made of coriander, pepper, and tomatoes.
For seafood lovers, I recommend you try Hamset Roubian (shrimp stew), Kizbariya (fried grouper with coriander sauce), or Mashramel, a crispy fried sigan fish served with tahini sauce.
Drinks and Desserts
The drink and dessert menu is diverse, but it was the black lime drink caught my eye.
Black lime, typically used in savoury dishes, is creatively used here to create a refreshing cold beverage, some sweetness is balanced well with the sour but flavourful taste of the black lime. I also chose the lemon and basil drink, and the menu includes other delightful options like Kujarat (hibiscus), Amardeen juice (apricot juice), and Qassimi peach iced tea.
The finale of my journey was sweet, as I tried the Sago Dessert, a perfect summer treat made of sago pudding topped with mango slices and aromatic Douj leaves. Of course, one dessert is never enough, so we also tried the Marsa. Similar to Masoub, Marsa is a traditional banana bread pudding dessert; mashed bananas is layered with crumbled sweet bread, and garnished with caramelised banana slices and drippings of Sidr honey.
Don't Miss the Irth Store
On your way out, the shelves of the Irth store are bound to catch your attention.
Irth supports local producers, offering a variety of products from across the Kingdom, including various types of honey, olive oil from Al-Jawf, Shagra pepper, date-filled Ma’amoul, Hijazi pickles, and Hassawi concentrated lemon.
Open Monday to Saturday, from mid-day to 11pm
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