IT’S not every day that you sit on top of the world. So try Spazio 77. It is located on the 77th floor of Riyadh’s Kingdom Center, the tallest skyscraper in the Middle East. So what’s so special about it? It’s a matter of “location, location, location.” From a height of 200 meters your eyes can wander through the streets and alleys of Riyadh. “People will also have the opportunity of shopping as well as enjoying leisure time in the Kingdom Tower,” said Abdulrahman Al-Khathlan, chairman of the Athwaq Foodstuff Company, owners of the restaurant. One of the most fascinating aspects of Spazio 77 is space — from the Italian word “spazio.”The restaurant’s 2000-square meter interior can seat up to 280 persons. The seating, the wooden and glass interior, the soft colors: all have been chosen to enable visitors to feel as if they were on board a space ship. The owners tried to maintain the region’s heritage and blend it with modern style. The result is a light and warm atmosphere. “Unlike other restaurants in Riyadh with the main focus is on the inside where people sit and look at one another, Spazio’s focus is on the magnificent view outside,” says Interior Designer Magda Andraos, the restaurant’s designer. The rich colors, soft lighting, music and the service add a special touch. Spazio allows guests to create their own dining styles. Depending on taste, dining varies from relaxed sofa seating to lounge seating to fine dining.
Spazio’s café offers a causal, informal atomosphere, suitable for a gathering or chats over coffee. The café offers hot and cold beverages, soft drinks and sandwiches. Open from 10 am to 2 am, it can seat up to 110 people. No reservation is required. Two private rooms are also available for special occasions such as business gatherings and meetings.
On the wooden decks of the dhow in the middle of the restaurant is the tepanyaki bar where diners have the opportunity of choosing their own ingredients and having their meal cooked to order in front of them. The brasserie, also on the dhow decks, continues the Italian theme and features preparation stations for sandwiches and snacks. As for fine dinning, diners can enjoy true Italian cuisine plus elements from the far east, mainly Japan and Thailand.
The owners have made sure that they maintain the highest standards in cooking and freshness. None of the meals are pre-prepared and kept refrigerated. Everything, down to the smallest item, is made in the restaurant from its original ingredients. Vegetables are flown in from Europe three times a week, and the meat comes from New Zealand. “We are like magicians. We start from zero,” says French executive chef Bijou Alain who formerly worked in Verona.
Seventy-five multi-national waiters, mostly Europeans , tend to your smallest needs with first class service. And all of this at a reasonable price that is within a medium budget. The affordable price is one of the policies of the restaurant, as mentioned by Al-Khathlan, which is “to have people visit the restaurant several times a month.”
— Arab News Review 16 October 2003
