Taktaka describe themselves as ‘The Distinguished Hijazi Grill’ and have numerous branches — six — in Jeddah; they offer good food in a cheap and cheerful environment.

We dropped by the Khalidiya branch recently to give their mixed grill a go. The place isn’t hard to find; find McDonalds and you’ve found Taktaka. Just make sure you approach it from the right side. Bachelors should approach from the side facing ‘Wakan’ Restaurant while families enter from the inner court which holds Saudi Fisheries and McDonalds.

The brightly lit interior is not entirely Hijazi, although an effort has been made. The walls are adorned with photos of the Balad in ‘typically local’ baroque gold frames and there are some brass scales hung on one side of the wall. An antique radio rests above the partition that divides the restaurant. However these items are overshadowed by the corporate-like glass tables, stiff brown leather seating and false ceiling tiles. Decor aside, the place is well air-conditioned which is probably enough for most, and with free delivery from all Taktaka branches, you can always opt to eat at home. Once inside we ordered a selection of items including the ‘shish taouk’ (boneless, marinated and grilled chicken), ‘Al-Baladai moshakel’ — SR16 for grilled veal kebab and pieces of ‘awsaal’ and finally a large special dish of ‘goshashia’, a selection of veal kebab, ‘mabshour’, and ‘chicken kofta’ (SR75). We also tried the ‘hommous’, ‘Mutabal’ and ‘baba ganoosh’.

The food took roughly 20 minutes to prepare and we were out the door and on our way home. Once there, the food received mixed reviews. The bread was unfortunately the dry variety — it didn’t appear to be freshly baked. The ‘shish taouk’, although tasty, was thinner than expected, and not as soft was we’re used to.

As for the mixed grill, this varied. The ‘awsal’ pieces went down well, but they were few and far between compared to the other pieces of meat in the dish. The dish was primarily filled with finger-sized kebabs which crumbled apart a little too easily. Although not as juicy as we would have liked, they were quite tasty. The ‘chicken kofta’ was interesting to say the least, and for us an acquired taste.

If the mixed grill was local Hijazi, the desserts on our menu certainly were not. Lemons filled with ice cream sorbet? ‘Requeson con Miel’ and ‘Capa Nata Nueces’. Not local last time we checked, but perhaps this is what people are looking for. However we would have liked to see at least something like ‘Om Ali’ on the menu; instead we were faced with a menu of desserts from across Spain!

All in all Taktaka is good value for money if you’re looking for some local flavor but the food has room for improvement and it would be great to see more local dishes on the dessert menu.

Tel: 6064148 and 6060790

Location: Khalidiya Market beside McDonalds (Map on Jeddahfood.com)

Opening times: After noon prayer to 12.30 a.m.

(Rashed Islam is a food critic who hosts Jeddahfood.com)