LE Ciel — The Sky — is a unique French restaurant, which recently opened in Jeddah. The restaurant is not only unique because of its superb international cuisine, decoration and efficient staff but for its location on the 15th floor which provide a spectacular panoramic view to remember the city of Jeddah. The restaurant rotates slowly, making a complete circle, which takes approximately an hour and a half to finish a turn, during which diners are able to enjoy both the views of Jeddah and their meal.
According to Joseph Haddah, the restaurant’s public relations and marketing manager, all materials for the decorations were brought from Italy, France and Germany. “The decoration was inspired by the palaces of the French King Louis XV. The design was done in Italy with ways of making the restaurant move but without making people feel dizzy,” said Haddah adding that the project cost about SR7 million. Haddah stressed that the aim was to make the customer feel comfortable and enjoy the friendly service, adding that this is what distinguishes Le Ciel from other restaurants. He said that the prices were competitive if looked at in terms of service and menu. “All working staff are well-qualified Lebanese and Filipinos. We enroll them in courses and bring highly qualified chefs to provide ideas and cooking techniques. Professional chefs came from France, Belgium, and Switzerland to train our staff.”
Head of cuisine Chef Khalid Tahir was trained in Lebanon but had completed many courses in France. “We benefit a lot from the experience of others. Their ideas help us add more to our menu. We are also looking forward to adding more international dishes to what we offer.”
About the interiors Elie Elhajj the restaurant manager said, “The two colors, gold and red, are dominant in the hall. Eighty percent of the area is golden. From the entrance, all the way to the seating area, the two colors are united.” Elhajj said that the working staff speaks Arabic, English, and French and the menus are in the three languages. He also added that people tend to come to enjoy the views as well as the food. “The menus include appetizers, main courses, salads, and desserts. Among our specialties are Le Ciel steak which many customers order as well as fungi steak (grilled steak, potatoes grilled vegetables and mushroom sauce), gamberoni (grilled shrimp with tartar sauce).
Elhaji continued, “To break the routine we renew the menu every three months, adding that they change meals after consulting with customers since customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal. Elhajj said also that their chefs conform to the highest standards in order to provide the most delicious international meals. “We offer French, Italian, and Mexican meals and during Ramadan we added Lebanese food to our list,” said Elhajj.
The kitchen is located on two separate floors to give the chefs the widest area to show off their skills. The staff is in uniform and the place is clean and well organized. The waiters are trained to welcome customers and give them the choice to sit wherever they want. All tables are located at windows, which allow every customer to enjoy views of Jeddah.
Among the restaurant’s special desserts is chocolate fondant, a mixture of chocolate, fondant, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The dessert is a favorite with many customers, according to Elhaji. One popular way to beat the Jeddah heat is by having tart tattin, which is a mini apple pie with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The fantastic mocha would make you do nothing but watch Jeddah and enjoy one sip after another. The soft music in the background fits the mood and adds to the overall comfortable feeling. Le Ciel is located at Alsuhaily Center on Jeddah’s famous Al-Andalus Street, home to a variety of restaurants.